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[Dave G]

Hi, just when all was going so well!

Firstly I noticed two steady drips each side of the engine towards the rear.
After a hefty panic attack I caught some of the liquid and it was cold and clear (i.e. not coolant). Am I right in thinking this is just aircon condensate? It did seem to slow when I turned the aircon off?

Secondly, my temp gauge refuses to move off the bottom.
Heater works fine, all pipes burped and hot, so thermostat is OK.
I’ve either knocked something off when reassembling or I DID get those two identical connectors the wrong way round.

I’ll have to wait until it’s cooled down before checking.

What’s that little t-shaped connection in the centre of the bridge?
Is that a sensor as well?

[Doctor Gollum]

You haven't reattached the female spade terminal onto that brass button. Gauge temp sensor is totally separate and different to the Bosch style ECU sensor 

Easy enough fix once you get access

And yes, AC condensate.

[Dave G]

Cheers mate. I must have pulled it off at some point.
The last photo I took showed it attached, but a lot of wiggling went on since then.

[Doctor Gollum]

It's easily done.

Be mindful that that wire is only a couple of inches long and connects to the main loom with an enclosed spade terminal. So the connection that isn't made may not be at the sensor itself 

[Dave G]

Understood…

[Dave G]

Plenum off again (getting good at that) and I can see the spade and the upstream connector seem to be OK.

But it’s still too hot to undo the fuel line for a closer look. Maybe tomorrow…

[Dave G]

I read a post on the old site that said if I ground the sender wire, the gauge should go to max.

If that’s still good advice I will ask herself to look at the gauge while I do the grounding.

[countrywoman]

Yes if you ground it gauge will read max.

[Dave G]

 

[Dave G]

So, all sorted. When I took the coolant bridge off, the 4 washers were a bit ropey and since I couldn’t find any at the time I reused the existing ones.

I wrapped a spiral of ptfe tape around them, a thin film of RTV then a thin fibre washer under the bolt so as not to chew up the tape.

I’m sure you can all see what’s coming. The fix had created perfect electrical insulation between the bridge and the heads, so robbing the sensor of its ground connection. I did notice that the washers had a metallic insert but foolishly paid no attention to it.

I’ve put a short wire from under the sensor to a nearby bolt to reinstate the ground connection.

[TheBoy]

Keep an eye on coolant level is you reused the dowty washers, as they have a tendency to weep a bit.

If they do, at least you know its and easy(ish) fix to replace them.  Even easier now you're a V6 engine god

[Dave G]

Will do. Wheels back on now. Seems like months, and that’s because it is! 5th March this all started.

Might risk a gentle run down the drive and back tomorrow.

Thanks for your kind words, but I think V6 god might be going a bit far!!