| Author | Message | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 1217 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.47  Rating: N/A |
Folks, As always, when I get stuck with problems like this, I turn to you all here on the board. My temperature gauge is kaput. Grounding the signal input, which should deflect the pointer all the way to the right, does not move the needle at all. The gauge bezel is pressed onto the housing, so the gauge is "sealed" for all intents and purposes and I don't see any way I can repair it. I need a replacement. While temperature gauges are a dime a dozen (well, OK, a decent new one is $25), this gauge is a bit different than anything available off-the-shelf, and I'd like to replace as many of the features as I can. I harbor no illusions that anyone here has an exact replacement or can point me to one, but here's the list of, umm, "weirdness":
I am mentally resigning myself to having to "neck down" my 63mm opening to 2.065", add a separate warning lamp elsewhere on the dash, put a big honking voltage-dropping resistor in, and just get a VDO unit that at least looks similar. However a replacement possessing any of the above features would be a step in the right direction. The existing gauge is a VDO, part number 310.475, OEM for Neoplan and calibrated in ºF from 105º to 250º. I have combed the web but come up empty, and I now have emails in to my various Neoplan parts sources. If anyone here either has one lying around that might work, or can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it. For the curious, I also get coolant temperature on my VMS display from my DDEC, so it's not like I am driving blind right now; the analog gauge is really a backup. Also the DDEC and analog gauges read from opposite sides of the engine so having both working gives me a little more insight into what's going on back there. Thanks in advance. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| George Martinez (Foohorse)
Registered Member Username: Foohorse Post Number: 252 Registered: 1-2010 Posted From: 68.215.72.106  Rating: N/A |
I have had several "sealed" gauges repaired. the bezel ring is crimped on, try local instrument repair facilities. lauderdale speedometer & compass should be able to effect a repair that is functional and aestheticly pleasing. 300 W State Road 84 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315-2547 (954) 522-4885 | ||
| Dal Farnworth (Dallas)
Registered Member Username: Dallas Post Number: 213 Registered: 7-2004 Posted From: 75.91.196.40  Rating: N/A |
Sean, I hesitate to ask, but since VDO doesn't really exist any more, have you checked the Siemens website for the old VDO listing for the Marine version? I know that Siemens sold out their VDO holdings a year or so ago, but they do still service a bunch of the VDO stuff. | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 1218 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.47 Rating: N/A |
George -- Lauderdale Speedo is on my list to call this week about maybe getting it repaired. My concern here is that, as you noted, the bezel is "staked" on, with an enormous press. However, I suspect that most US shops do not have the proper dies for European-size gauges. We'll see -- I already have emails out to a number of VDO repair shops. Dallas -- VDO is alive and well and now part of Continental AG. Yes, I did look at marine gauges on a number of sites, but none, as far as I could tell, has the extra well for the warning lamp. Siemens does not seem to have any information any longer. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| H3-40 (Ace)
Registered Member Username: Ace Post Number: 1144 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 75.203.189.218  Rating: N/A |
Sean have you checked with our Buddy Steve? He just removed all the gauges from his Neo-plan for the glass dash replacement! Are they the same as what you have/had? Just a thought! | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 1220 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.14 Rating: N/A |
Ace, Yes, I sent Steve an email inquiring what he did with the gauges he pulled out. It would not be identical -- his coach was built in Lamar, and the US models used US-size gauges. But at least it would be 24-volt and have the Neoplan logo on it, and it might also have the warning lamp socket. I've offered to buy it if he still has it. I actually already have two of the US-spec gauges -- oil pressure and voltage. I believe they were swapped in when the coach was re-powered at Lamar back in '90. They had to fabricate a plate to reduce the cutouts to fit them, and the bezels are enough different (thicker) that the dash trim doesn't fit right. They are also an obviously different style than the German items. But I am guessing that Steve's gauge will match these two, so I'd have three of the German style and three of the US style. We'll see what he has to say when he answers my message. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| FAST FRED (Fast_fred)
Registered Member Username: Fast_fred Post Number: 1395 Registered: 10-2006 Posted From: 66.82.9.75  Rating: N/A |
The easiest way to solve the "too big a hole" problem is with a simple ring of insulated wire. WE used black about 12 ga installed under the gauge face. The pressure holds it in place , and it is invisible as the gauge bezel ring is also black. FF | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 1221 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.28 Rating: N/A |
Fred, That method won't work for me. That's because there is a trim panel that sits on top of the gauge cluster, and the wire would raise the gauge bezel far enough above the panel that the trim would no longer fit. As it stands now, the trim doesn't fit exactly right because of two other gauges already retrofit using a thin piece of aluminum. I think if I need to add another 2" gauge I will make a whole new mount for the six-gauge cluster, with 60mm holes down the left, and 52mm holes down the right. But I am not looking forward to it. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 1222 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.28 Rating: N/A |
Update: At the risk of finding myself over at " There, I fixed it" , I, umm, fixed it. After searching high and low for a direct replacement and coming up empty -- even "normal" 105°-250° temperature gauges in 24-volt are a rarity -- and calling around for repair estimates which start at $85 and go up, depending on the problem, I decided I had nothing to lose by attempting my own repair. I do still have feelers out to two fellow Spaceliner owners who removed their gauges, and if they come up with one that works I will take it, because this one is clearly on its last legs. The hardest part of the whole repair was getting the case open. When I first posted here I thought that was more or less impossible without destroying the gauge, because the crimp was so tight all the way around the housing that I could not even get a jeweler's screwdriver under it. Ultimately I was able to worry it long enough with the tip of my pocket-knife blade to open a gap big enough for the aforementioned jeweler's screwdriver, and then I was able to work up to successively larger screwdriver blades until I got the crimp open all the way around. I would say opening the case took a bit more than an hour. The second-hardest part was removing the pointer needle without destroying the pivot or bobbin. I was able to get a very fine needle nose onto the spindle to hold it in place and then pop the needle off with a miniature pry bar. And "pop" is a good description; when it yielded it flew across the bus a good four feet or so. Once I got the dial face off I found a broken trace on the PC board affixed to the bobbin holder. It was the main power trace bringing the 24 volt source over to a 220-ohm dropping resistor. The trace burned through right where it passed behind the dial mount, which is grounded, making me think there was a brief arc there at some point. No way to get a drop of solder on it with the mount in the way, and no room for a wire under there, so I had to run a wire around the outside of the bobbin holder. After replacing the dial face and pointer I tested the movement with a potentiometer and all looked well, so I buttoned it up, staked the bezel down lightly in a few places, and put it back in the dash for testing. I could only get the coolant up to 147° on high idle while parked here, but the pointer tracked pretty well to that value. I'll know for sure when I start driving, as these sorts of meters are only accurate in their "sweet spot" (around 200° for this meter). But that was good enough for me to completely stake the bezel back on all the way around. That was nearly as tedious as removing it using only a screwdriver and working my way around the housing. The dash is all back together now, and hopefully my repair job will last at least until I can get my hands on a proper replacement gauge. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (Message edited by Sean on December 13, 2010) | ||
| Bruce Henderson (Oonrahnjay)
Registered Member Username: Oonrahnjay Post Number: 649 Registered: 8-2004 Posted From: 68.33.62.50  Rating: N/A |
Good work, Sean. So much stuff is made "not serviceable" -- on purpose; it's good to hear that somebody has won. | ||
| Tony Gojenola (Akbusnut)
Registered Member Username: Akbusnut Post Number: 49 Registered: 11-2006 Posted From: 208.98.151.220 Rating: |
If all else fails? https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=28-1503&catname=engines | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 1224 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.25 Rating: N/A |
Thanks, Tony. However, all else would definitely have to fail, since that's the wrong scale for my application. That's a 120-240 gauge and I have a 105-250 sender. Also, there is no accommodation for the warning lamp. Less important is that it does not match any of the other gauges. It's also the wrong size. So other than the fact that it is 24 volts (and, on this model, that seems to be the lamp only, which I will change out for an LED anyway), it's not really any better than anything else out there. FWIW. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com |
