Temp gauge fault

[srj]

Hello all, just found this site and am really impressed with it. We have recently bought a 1983 T25 1.9 Campervan and am thrilled with it. Never heard of Bugjam before but someone mentioned it and we had a great time there. However on the way there the temp.gauge went up to the right hand side of the gauge and the red warning light continually flashed. Sods law dictated that this was on a stretch of the motorway where there were narrow lanes and no hard shoulder. We eventually got to the services and noticed that the tank behind the number plate was a bit low. We topped it up but noticed the engine certainly didn't seem too hot. Carrying on the journey the gauge went back to normal after a while. It has alternated going from normal to the red light flashing all the way there and back. She drives well and like I said shows no signs of overheating. Would anyone have any ideas as to what might be wrong and whether it might be an easy fix? Also,on the drive home after picking her up the speedo stopped working, could this be a cable maybe and are they easy to fix?. Thanks in advance, and info would be greatly appreciated by this new T25 fan.....

[Ian Hulley]

The red light does 2 things ... 1) overheating ... it tells you when a critical temperature uis reached but more often 2) it comes on to tell you the coolant level in the header tank (NOT the one behind the cat flap which is the top up tank) is low. The header tank is inside the engine bay to the left when viewed from behind.

Test the wiring by removing the plug from the sensor in the top of this tank and bridge the 2 connectors with a short piece of wire, with the ignition on the red led on the temp. gauge should flash continually. Assuming you have an early cooling system (which at '83 you should have) check the temperature gauge by removing the single slide on connector from it's sensor on the metal thermostat housing and putting it to earth, the guage should go all the way to the top and stay there until you move the terminal.

I'd strongly advise you to stop immediately if you get a warning light ... there are very few but they are critical to your financial well-being.

Welcome to the forum btw

Ian

[srj]

Thanks very much for that,I'll give it a try when I get time.

[Notty Noo]

I have a similar temperature light problem with my 1982 T25/T3. I will have a go at Ian's suggestions tomorrow. So far I have just been looking at the dash rather than the sensor itself. With the ignition on, the warning light flashes. With the engine on, the warning light flashes and the needle goes right over to the right hand edge of the guage. If I turn the headlights on though, the warning light goes off.

I am wondering wither I can trust the guage? Could it be cold on the right and hot on the left? This seems the wrong way round to me. With the ignition off, the needle sits at the left.

I suspect a bad earth or something like that. The previous owner said it had been doing that for quite a while with no problems so we tend also to ignore it! Trouble is, I have no idea how to start testing this stuff. All the instructions I have read are meaningless to me and I can't make sense of the reading I am getting from circuit testers and meters.

--- Alistair (and Notty Noo)

[kevtherev]

When I searched for your problem I found this
you must of missed it

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... y#p7649756" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;