Chris, You should go ahead and change out the coolant temp. sensor if unplugging it appears to solve your problem. It's $12 bucks including the o-ring and real easy to swap out (be sure to get the o-ring). You'll need a short/large bucket to go underneither to catch the coolant that comes gushing out (anywhere from a pint to well over a gallon). You'll want to be sure to do this when the van is VERY cold (let it sit overnight). After you've put the new one in, you'll need to bleed your system of air and replace whatever coolant came rushing out (if you were lucky--and caught the coolant in a clean bucket--you can reuse what came rushing out when you pulled the old sensor out). Your symptoms aren't exactly the same as mine when my sensor was bad, but yours may be in an earlier stage of deterioration. Mine worked great for about an hour, then, when quite warm, would exhibit a severe loss of power leaving me stranded on the side of the road until it cooled considerably. It was a self-preservation feature. The sensor was telling the brain that the engine was too hot (it wasn't) so the brain was shutting down trying to keep the engine from frying. Good luck! Tonya 87 Vanagon GL Wolfs 74 S. Beetle
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