Date:         Sun, 16 Oct 94 15:44:55 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: low temp and howling

On Sun, 16 Oct 94 14:18:18 CDT Gerald Skerbitz said:
>1. Since it started getting a little cool outside my temp gauge has been
>reading very low.  Is there any way of finding out whether my temp
>is really low or the sender is bad?  Are there any dire consequences of
>running the car with the temp not high enough?  Will the water temp
>that's being measured here affect the combustion process?
>Sometime's it's up near the center, but most of the time it's just
>barely above the mark at about 1/4 the gauge.

only way i know to 'test' the sender is take it out and test it with hot
water on the stove. or just replace it ($40) and save the old one for 'spares'
or something.

consequences? well ... the engine will never heat up 'correctly' on trips,
so i guess the fuel injection would continue to run in 'cold' mode, like you
were still warming up ... so your fuel economy would be down.

i can't see how the water temp would affect the combustion process, that's
an air-fuel-spark thing, and the temp of the sides of the cylinder/head
wouldn't bother it. if you were a diesel engine, i'd say that it might run
a bit worse being cool or cold, but not a gasoline spark engine.

you might consider a bad thermostat ... it might not be opening up enough.

>2.  I've got a strange howling in my engine compartment that I can't hear
>when I open the engine compartment.  I only hear it from the passenger
>compartment.  It's always there, and starts when I start the engine.  It
>doesn't vary with engine RPM.  It sounds like a howl at C-sharp an octave
>above middle C.  Can anyone think of something that might cause a
>constant sound - moving or not?

try turning on the ignition switch to 'ON', but do NOT engage the starter.
see if you can hear it then. if so, it's the fuel pump. mine makes a high
pitched noise when i first turn the ignition on. but i wouldn't classify it
as a 'howl'.

everything else should be audible from the open engine compartment and ought
to change pitch/sound as you increase engine speed.

joel