Posted: May-04-2008 03:44PM

Resolved......
Right after my last post I had gone and checked for broken wire, wire off in the pod, etc.  Then I thought to myself, self...why not swap out the sender and rule that out.
So I had another head laying around and swiped the sender from it.  Thats what the problem was....temp reading is as it usually is (a hair higher...but each gauge is different).

So...what the hell would cause a sender to fluck up like that.
I'll try your idear there Mike......and swap it out again tomorrow.

A FATHER CARRIES PICTURES WHERE HIS MONEY USED TO BE 

1130cc, 12g295, SW5 cam, LCB, HIF38, CA spec.

Posted: May-04-2008 02:48PM

(just thinking out loud here)

I wonder if you got a little water infiltration into the sender itself?  IIRC, there's a spade lug imbedded into a plastic core, which is centered in a metal body which then screws into the head.

If you got some water "into" the engine bay side of the sender, you'll have affected the resistance (Ohms) of the sending unit itself.  If it were me, I would remove it, and cook it in the oven at the lowest heat possible for half an hour or so, or put it in front of fan or dehumidifier overnight to see if the water will work its way out.

I wish I could recall what the resistance of a MKIV sender should be, but perhaps someone will chime in with the resistance (cold) and (hot) and you can compare it against yours. Was it in the 200Ohm range? Geez, I don't know...and my Mini is put away in a temp storage area, so I can't access it easily at the mo.

If all that still doesn't work, a new sender is around $10....

-OR-  (??)

your 10V reference voltage regulator on the back of the binnacle may have bitten the dust....is the gas guage reading correctly Matthew?

       ~ 30 minutes in a Mini is more therapeutic than 3 sessions @ the shrink. ~

     Mike  NB, Canada   

Posted: May-04-2008 01:52PM

OK...just took for a run again to get engine warm.
Gauge started out at just below N and gradually went up to H.

Came home and checked water temp...only 120F

A FATHER CARRIES PICTURES WHERE HIS MONEY USED TO BE 

1130cc, 12g295, SW5 cam, LCB, HIF38, CA spec.

Posted: May-04-2008 01:35PM

Thanks mur....engine isn't hot

A FATHER CARRIES PICTURES WHERE HIS MONEY USED TO BE 

1130cc, 12g295, SW5 cam, LCB, HIF38, CA spec.

Posted: May-04-2008 01:33PM

If it is stuck on H, then either the engine is hot or their is complete and total continuity between ground and the wire to the sending unit.  If this is a MK IV car, there is a joint in the sending unit wire down by the dizzy, perhaps that plastic covering is broken and that is where the short is.  Or,there could be a break in the wire and it could be shorting there, maybe where the wires leave the slam panel.

Start by siconnecting the sending unit and then move up the harness towards the guage.

Posted: May-04-2008 01:10PM

I had just rinsed my engine bay and engine after cleaning.  I didn't use high pressure at all.
Took it out for a run to dry things out.

Now my temp gauge is maxed out above the "H"   (no, it is not overheating....)
What could the problem be???

Although I know it's not overheating etc., I don't like driving without a real reading

A FATHER CARRIES PICTURES WHERE HIS MONEY USED TO BE 

1130cc, 12g295, SW5 cam, LCB, HIF38, CA spec.