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Hi,
Still glad to hear you are enjoying some progress with the readings and know that you are not overheating.
I having a real problem with you saying you cannot see the temperature needle.
That doesn’t seem right at all.
The gauge might be fatigued. It can happen in a couple or three ways. 🙄😋
I have a 1984 and the needle sits right over the “C” below the operating zone.
I’m not able to look at my 1978 GT but I’m pretty sure VDO manufactured both fuel and temperature gauges for all the 240 years.
That is at least up to the electronic versions .
Speedometers are cable driven versions from 1984 and back. Maybe even to the beginning Volvo making cars.
When it comes to instrumentation on all these gauges have to use voltage regulation.
as they are heating elements in them. They like a steady voltage/current relationship.
This power regulation is set between 9 to 10 volts in the units with the advent of 12 volt systems world wide. This way no matter how low the battery get or current draws from elsewhere will it affect the reading substantially.
On extremely hot or cold days the needle’s location will vary only slightly.
You can see it on the engines temperature more noticeably.
You probably think it’s because the radiator is doing more or less work but it’s the gauges element.
The reason is the regulator and gauges are in essence heating elements, just like a light bulb.
In fact, the old Volkswagen bugs used one to regulate current to their fuel gauge.
If the light burned out, that causes a loss of current to the gauge, it said empty all the time.
If you didn’t have a working gauge you probably wouldn’t have a very bright instrument panel at night.
I never drove one at night to know.
Nowadays on our speedometers they are using a solid state transistor that chops or pluses to ground.
Some are called Zener diodes in other circuits. On bugs, if you cannot get the bulb, as it’s in a case with an hole, any longer, then what you have to wire one in place of it.
I suspect a substitution is possible off a later speedometer. But that would take someone else’s opinion or knowledge on this board to answer that question. Hello Art Benstein!
As answer to your question, “ Any ideas?
Voltage regulator, grounds?
Gauge fatigue as above, makes three.
If the fuel gauge, if accurate (?) that has been discussed, would point again to the temperature gauge.
Most Anything that’s drooping out of sight surely has an explanation.
🤭 Is your car named a he or she by chance? 🤭
Phil
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