Condensation inside of my gas gauge

[Pepperbilly]

This is my stock original gas gauge in my ‘67 Westy. Especially in colder weather condensation is obscuring my view of the face of the gauge. I am thinking a new glass seal is in order, if there is a seal. Anyone else ever take one of these gauges apart?

Bill

[j.pickens]

[johny__utah]

also check your windshield wiper seals.
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[robin.richard]

[Pepperbilly]

robin.richard,

Spot on! That is what I think. Cold, damp, pacific northwest weather. Once.you start the bus and turn the lights on, bingo the condensation forms. Goes away after the interior warms up. I have no leaks in the front and all seals are new…I double checked that. So I suspect the gauge glass seal. There is a youtube video by someone taking his gauge apart…kind of cride but one gets the idea. This guy does explain the jumping, erratic needle syndrome because of the corrosion within. I have had this problem for years even before I restored the bus. So the hard part is to seperate the bezel from the housing without damaging that bezel. The gauge has to come apart to fix 2 problems. Any ideas to successfully do this without sending it out to a shop would be appreciated.

Bill

[DustyDirt]

My 66 does the same. 12v conversion. In winter on dry days. Begins to show condensation after about 15 minutes. Doesn't get any worse than this.

[Eric&Barb]

Thought of drilling in a small hole in the gauge housing at top and up toward the face, then glue a bit of felt over the hole to keep out dirt dust as much as possible. That way the warm air from the light has a place to let out the humidity that gets trapped into there.
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[KTPhil]

If moisture will rust and damage the gauge, you might try drilling a hole and using a plug to be able to introduce either silica gel pack, or camphor as a moisture absorber/repellent. Periodically replace the pack. A bit of work to fix up, but easier than replacing gauges regularly!

Silica gel will absorb moisture.
Camphor fills the space with its vapors, and does not leave "space" for water vapor, so it won't rust. Smells nice, too! My uncle turned me onto this trick. He partially opened a cellophane-wrapped cake and dropped it in his toolbox. Despite living on the coast, his tools never rusted.

Drug stores used to carry them, but they are harder to find these days.

[Clara]

[Pepperbilly]

Thanks for all the ideas and opinions everyone. But no one has said how to take the gauge apart, which is what I was asking initially. Can I be successful at not damaging the bezel which is apparently the difficult operation? My bus so far has never been wet since the restoration and sits in a garage. By the way Clara, your front door and kick panels are beautiful! Love them. I also replaced the two baltic birch panels on the cargo doors. It all came out looking factory stock. You are the go to person for the Westy interiors!

Bill

[heimlich]

There is a product that sucks the moisture out of the air. You can buy it at the usually house cleaner stores. It comes in canisters and bags. It's a bit like a bunch of granules. Maybe you can take that product and put your gauge into it. It should suck all the moisture out.
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[Glenn]

I've used this and it's unscented.
https://www.amazon.com/NATRUTH-Unscented-Dehumidif...NrPXRydWU=

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[BonTonRoulet]

[Pepperbilly]

BonTonRoulet,

I like that idea. I think I will try it.

Thanks,
Bill

[Marcdeb]

Did anyone find an answer to the condensation in a VDO gauge? My Ghia's fuel gauge will have condensation within just a few minutes of local driving. It only happens on the fuel gauge and it happens every time I drive the car. It's never been enough to see it drip down the inside of the glass but it's enough to cloud up the glass. I thought it was due to the front trunk having a bad horn boot, causing a fast change in temperature and humidity. I installed a new horn boot today and it made no difference. Are these gauges intended to be more or less sealed?

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Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[BarryL]

Maybe run a jumper from the + power terminal to the light bulb + so the heat will evaporate the fog.

[localboy]

[Eric&Barb]

Same as before, one needs to make it so the moisture can go up and vent out. Have run the dash lights all day long and it does not dry out the gauge. Gauge we have this problem is above the dash, so no way water is dripping into it. Still need to fix it.

Same problem with peaked wood roofs here in the PNW, that causes wood rot. Not too long ago the long peak vents were invented to solve such.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=roof+peak+vents&ia=web
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[excalibur]

My 70 Ghia has both the fuel and speedo glass fogging - not as bad as some have shown - but bad enough to see it. I can find no rain intrusion. It is stored indoors in low humidity with relatively warm days here in N. Texas.

So I think I will pursue the 'drill a hole' in the speedo and see if it will clear the moisture. I may introduce a bit of canned air through the hole to see if I can speed the process. Yes, cover the hole with felt.

Will report both success and failures.
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Mike
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70 restored/mod Ghia 2110 cc
20 Jeep JL weekly driver