John, that is the Voltage Stabilizer in the dash. It's only job is to
keep the temp and fuel gauge readings consistent. A new one is about
$10.

Mark

John Flaherty wrote:
>
> First, I want to thank everyone who responded to my post with suggestions
> and support. The list is great.
>
> After driving the van for a few days ( in pretty hot whether) I think my
> problem is electrical. I think the gauge is giving me false readings. I
> noticed that it doesn't happen all the time. And when it did happen, my gas
> gauge went from being almost in the red to showing  half a tank. It stayed
> there for about ten minutes. Finally, both gauges went down to normal. This
> has happened several times, and it always seems to affect both gauges
> simultaneously.
>
> Any of the electrical wizards out there know how I can track this gremlin
> down?
>
> BTW, I'm keeping my van. It had been so long since I'd driven it that I had
> forgotten how much I love it.
>
> John Flaherty
> Portland, ME
> '84 GL
>
> > John Flaherty wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > Well the new radiator's in. And......STILL running hot. I'm stumped. To
> > > recap:
> > >
> > > 84 1.9 Liter. 1 year old water pump. Noticed it running hot as the
> whether
> > > warmed up and I stopped using the heat. Running the front and rear
> heaters
> > > would return the gauge to normal. Radiator fan didn't appear to be
> coming on
> > > when the gauge read hot. I could place my palm on the "hot" radiator and
> > > hold it there comfortably. Front heater blew lukewarm air.
> > >
> > > Step 1: Jumped radiator fan switch. Fan worked. Replaced switch. Still
> > > running hot. Still no fan when hot. Still able to palm radiator.
> > >
> > > Step 2: replaced thermostat. Still hot, no fan, palm radiator.
> > >
> > > Step 3: Replaced radiator. Still hot. Can only touch radiator for a
> second,
> > > it's quite hot now. Heard fan while bleeding, on both low and hi. While
> test
> > > driving today, gauge went almost all the way to the top white line
> before I
> > > shut it down. No fan. Hot air from front heater.
> > >
> > > I'm stumped. And out of patience. This is (was) my daily driver. Between
> > > redoing the front end and cooling system, I've spent almost $1,500 just
> in
> > > parts this year. And I still don't have a van to drive. Haven't driven
> it,
> > > really, in three months. I can't keep doing this. I'll give it one more
> > > week, but if I don't have it fixed, or at least an almost certain idea
> of
> > > what's wrong, I'm going to have to cut my losses. So if anyone out there
> has
> > > any ides, I'd love to hear them. Otherwise, my association with busses
> (and
> > > VW in general; I don't fit comfortably in the cars or the Eurovan) will
> be
> > > drawing to a close shortly.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > John Flaherty
> > > Portland, Maine