[Vwdiesel] 1984 Rabbit Diesel- taming the hothead

[Val Christian]

Gentlemen,

A recent addition to my tool kit is a passive IR thermometer.  The one
I got is good from -35 to +999F, has illimination and targeting LEDs
and laser LEDs, and cost about $150.  Since then, I've seen that Sears
has ones with an upper limit of 500F, which are about $50.  At that
price, every gearhead should have one.  You can verify cooling system temps,
fan cycle temps, and even temperature gradients across your tires.

My favorite use is finding the bad cylinder when having a "bad mag" on an
aircraft engine.  600F on each exhaust, and something like 187F on the
one with the fouled plug.  Means just pulling one plug (isolated by
L vs R), instead of more.

I use it to monitor AC operation, temps out of the compressor, temps in
the condensor, temps of the air leaving the evaporator (well, really temps
of the louvers), etc.

'nuf said.  I have no financial interest in this technology.

Val

ps: You can scan the inside of your frig to find the coldest spot for
keeping the beer...









>     Something is amiss, either with your thermosensor or your dash gauge.
> While I've never used a lab thermometer to check when the fan should kick
> on, every VWD I've ever had turned on the fan at around the 3/4 mark.  And
> 200F sounds a bit low for it to be the red zone, although a good point for
> the fan to kick on.
>     Maybe some of the other guys would have more experience in that area, as
> overheating is definitely a critical issue.
>     Scott Kair