Date:         Sun, 3 Nov 1996 07:30:13 PST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         kdlewis@juno.com (kenneth d lewis)
Subject:      Re: My Own Private FAQ

TWIMC;
There are two separate coolant temp senders on our 85 and 86. One sends
data to the gauge and the other sends info to the computer. The gauge
sender has a ONE wire slide on connector where the computer's sensor has
a TWO wire push-on connector. The sensor for the computer(I use the term
loosely) had a blue plastic body. It was the cause of a hard starting
problem last winter with our 85 GL. 

To check it:
Reference graph page 24.32 in Bentley..
At zero degrees C the temp sensor should have read 5750 ohms (+/- 750
ohms) across it's two terminals. Mine was reading about half that (about
3000 ohms), hence telling to the computer the engine was 15 degrees C
warmer than it really was. The computer responded by LEANING out the
mixture so much that it could not start.
TMSAISWI(that's my story and I'm sticking with it)
Good Luck
Ken Lewis
kdlewis@juno.com
86 VW crewcab
85 VW Vanagon GL
60 356 coupe 

> Would the coolant temp sensor be the cause of the flashing red light on
>the temp guage?