My guess is that there was a version of the Rabbit... a real econo model... with no temp gauge... just a simple "I'm overheating" light... which is why ETKA shows a temp switch as an alternative to the temp sender...
Probably the VW "Bronze Edition", BTDT... a real stripper, not a carpet to be seen, extra plain upholstery, no armrests on doors, and even sold without functional vent windows in the front doors! Radio: Nope! Instruments: Speedo & fuel gauge, that's it! (We replaced the cheap_ _ _ factory cluster with an early Scirocco instrument setup, plus some additional VDO 2 1/16" gauges mounted 'in-dash'... much nicer then!)
J.R.
SoCal
Being new to the rabbit, all I can say is that this is one of the issues that has confused me now for some time. I also want to say that the responses herein have been helpful and appreciated ... as is this forum with it's many 'guru' members. Really helps a novice like me.
Revisited Roger Brown's site last nite, and came across this article again. It is the one that I thought of earlier, but just could not find it to elaborate on. The link is .....
http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/CheapTricks/GlowPlugs.shtml ....
and the salient part that I clamped on is ...
"The glow plug relay is the heart of the glow plug system. It gets input from a temperature sensor on the cylinder head which it uses to adjust the duration of the glow plug pre-heat cycle depending on the engine's temperature. Longer when cold, shorter (or not at all) when its warm (or hot). The sensor it located on the heater hose fitting on the end of the cylinder head. It should be a brass sensor with a single connector stud on the end, screwed into the body of the fitting. In fact, you should actually have two such sensors, the other one is used for either the coolant temperature gauge (or idiot light) on the dash. An obvious question arises, which is which and what happens if they are mixed up?
Well, it sort of depends. On some early VW diesels (maybe through 1984), the senders are different. If you have only an idiot light, you can tell its sensor easily by use of an ohm meter. The sensor will probably read open when cold and then close when hot (to turn on the idiot light). The glow plug sensor will register some resistance (between 100-200 ohms when cold). If you have a temperature gauge, its sensor will register a higher resistance at any given temperature than the glow plug sensor, probably 500-1000 ohms when cold. If you get the two mixed up, you'll find the glow plug relay may cycle on and off after starting before the coolant heats up. Since the other sensor registers higher resistance, the relay is thinking it is *really* cold. You may also get the little yellow glow plug light blinking on and off. (Both of these symptoms happened to me with switched sensors).
Topic: Oil cooler-pressure gauge project questions (Read 10154 times)
