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How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender?
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TC/TeamEvil
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 3:47 pm    Post subject: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

I'm installing a VDO head temp gauge and picking up one of those thermal coupler "senders" that fit under the spark plug. Has anyone done this sort of thing before? If you have, what color wires on the sender go to which spades on the back of the gauge, there are two wires and two spades on the back of the gauge, GOTTA be an simple answer out there.?

I've looked online and asked on other forums here but never managed to get a simple answer ! The gauge has two spades, the sender has two wires, what goes where?

Thank you !
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SGKent Premium Member
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 3:50 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

is it a VDO sender kit, and a 0 - 600 F cockpit style gauge?
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ToolBox
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:27 am    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

The TC Type designatation needs to match the Gauge Type designatation. You can't mix and match Types...
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:29 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

You have a 50-50 chance of getting the connections right and it will not hurt to hook them up backwards.
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aeromech
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:39 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

I believe the wires between the sender and gauge are special. You can’t use ordinary wire
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:19 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

Here's the VDO CHT installation manual:

Rev 03/00:

https://www.germansupply.com/pdffiles/VDOCHT_InstallGuide.pdf

Rev 07/03:

http://vehiclecontrols.com/products/ASeries1_5.pdf

Notice the wiring is reversed between the two diagrams which could be a mistake or a difference in the way the signal wire was made.
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:45 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

ratwell wrote:
Here's the VDO CHT installation manual:

Rev 03/00:

https://www.germansupply.com/pdffiles/VDOCHT_InstallGuide.pdf

Rev 07/03:

http://vehiclecontrols.com/products/ASeries1_5.pdf

Notice the wiring is reversed between the two diagrams which could be a mistake or a difference in the way the signal wire was made.


As per the reason I said for him to just hook it up. 50-50 chance it will work correctly and if not just swap the wires and try again. What is important is that the polarity of the wires at the junction near the sender is correct.
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 5:01 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

Wildthings wrote:
ratwell wrote:
Here's the VDO CHT installation manual:

Rev 03/00:

https://www.germansupply.com/pdffiles/VDOCHT_InstallGuide.pdf

Rev 07/03:

http://vehiclecontrols.com/products/ASeries1_5.pdf

Notice the wiring is reversed between the two diagrams which could be a mistake or a difference in the way the signal wire was made.


As per the reason I said for him to just hook it up. 50-50 chance it will work correctly and if not just swap the wires and try again. What is important is that the polarity of the wires at the junction near the sender is correct.
not only that but for a while VDO was accidentally wiring them backwards so they had to be reversed anyway.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:01 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

Ratwell—

I found that diagram on-line BUT there is no indication of the color of the wires attached to the sender? Useless—

Anyone got a diagram with the colors indicated or better yet anyone actually connected a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sensor ? ! ? !

Thanks!

I honestly just can't believe that this is such a difficult question, somebody here MUST have a head temp gage in their ride ! ! I've asked this same question on almost every forum here and so far, NOTHING useful . . .
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MorkC68
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:29 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

What colour wire have you got coming from your gauge and, also what colour wires have you got in your compensating cable?

https://www.thermometricscorp.com/thermocouple-wire.html

The link above will help, I hope.

On a thermocouple you mostly have N, K or J type and each has different types of wire in the positive and negative (detailed above). You must match the correct compensating cable with the thermocouple and its readout else you will get incorrect readings, for example you cannot have a K type t/c with N type compensating cable matched to, say a readout for J type.

The must match all through.

Part of my role at work is fatigue testing metallic materials at temperature and we have to adhere to the correct configuration of temperature readouts else we get incorrect measurements.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:35 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

TC/TeamEvil wrote:
R
I honestly just can't believe that this is such a difficult question, somebody here MUST have a head temp gage in their ride ! ! I've asked this same question on almost every forum here and so far, NOTHING useful . . .


50-50 chance of getting it right the first time and two minutes to swap the wires if you get it wrong. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill.
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skills@eurocarsplus
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 3:08 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

why not just call vdo and ask them?

http://www.usa.vdo.com/meta-navigation/contact/
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ratwell
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 6:36 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

TC/TeamEvil wrote:
I found that diagram on-line BUT there is no indication of the color of the wires attached to the sender? Useless—

Probably because the connector was keyed.

All the K-Type thermocouple wires I've purchased (Fry's, Omega.com) has been red/yellow like the charts:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Yet what you have may not look like this which would indicate the polarity of the wiring.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

or this:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Can you post a photo of what you have?
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 8:42 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

I never thought of grinding the case away like this:


Link

It's why we use NGK plugs with a ring terminal replacing the captured gasket.
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TC/TeamEvil
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 12:46 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

Thanks all for the info and such. I'm gonna take a stab at it once the cold abates a bit. We got hit here in the North East pretty hard . . .
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 12:50 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

"50-50 chance of getting it right the first time and two minutes to swap the wires if you get it wrong. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill."

But I ALWAYS do, you know? Shoot myself in the foot every time. Ask my wife what it like to live with me . . . ?

Possibly hooking up the wires wrong the first time around doesn't kill the gauge? If not, thanks for letting me know, sounds like the easy way out !
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 1:16 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

TC/TeamEvil wrote:
"50-50 chance of getting it right the first time and two minutes to swap the wires if you get it wrong. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill."

But I ALWAYS do, you know? Shoot myself in the foot every time. Ask my wife what it like to live with me . . . ?

Possibly hooking up the wires wrong the first time around doesn't kill the gauge? If not, thanks for letting me know, sounds like the easy way out !


The voltages are very low so not much energy there to hurt something. I have hooked mine up wrong as the wires weren't marked and it didn't hurt a thing and I have fixed other peoples setup that were wired backwards.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 1:34 pm    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

The output voltage of the thermocouple is in mV so if you have a multi-meter that can display mV you can figure out which wire connected to the meter's +ve lead produces a positive voltage.

Test: hold the junction between your fingers which will heat it up. If the voltage increases on your meter, then you've got the polarity correct.

K-Type thermocouple reads 0mV @ 20ºC:

https://assets.omega.com/pdf/tables_and_graphs/thermocouple-type-k-celsius.pdf
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 8:49 am    Post subject: Re: How to connect a VDO head temp gauge to a VDO head temp sender? Reply with quote

There is a wiring diagram in the following 1992 VDO catalogue:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/1992_vdo_catalog.php

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Here is another which came with my 50~300 degC VDO Cockpit gauge kit

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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