Re: Cold engine or faulty temp gauge?

[Andrew Duane USG/PE <duane@zk3.dec.com>]

Sorry if this is a resend, my mailer barfed at the last one.

Hairy green toads from Mars made Mike say:

> Just got back from a long trip in the ol' 89 100 and was disturbed midway
> in the 5 hr trip when I noticed that my water temp gauge apparently
> stopped working.  It read below the lowest mark on the "cold" side.  Oil
> temp remained very close to 80C throughout (as it always does).  The trip
> ended and I parked the car and turned it off.  Then, before getting out of
> the car we noticed it was a no parking zone, so I fired her up to move
> and--presto!--the gauge now registers about 1/4 to 2/3 of the max.  

Sounds like an intermittent temperature sensor in the engine.
Been there. Done that. On both cars ('89 100Q and '90 90Q).

If the problem is that the temp guage either reads correctly,
or "zero", then it's almost assuredly the sensor. It's about $80-100
to buy a new one, less than 5 minutes to install.


I'll have to peek inside my engine to remember where it is and
what it looks like, but it's pretty obvious, and easy to get at in
a 100/200 (give it up on the 90).

-- 

Andrew L. Duane (JOT-7)			duane@zk3.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation		(603)-881-1294
110 Spit Brook Road			http://www.zk3.dec.com/~duane
M/S ZKO3-3/U14
Nashua, NH    03062-2698

Only my cat shares my opinions, and she's too heavy to care.