when gauges act weird I think about the voltage stabilizer gizmo on the back
of the instrument cluster.
the other symptoms make me think of ground/s or poor contact at the main
instrument cluster wire connector.

----- Original Message -----
From: "David White" <sirgrumpsalot@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 12:49 PM
Subject: What's the connection between the temp and fuel gauges?

> Driving down the road, in the rain, both the coolant temp gauge and
> fuel tank gauge go to zero. Can't say they did it at the same time
> because sometimes I need to look where I am going. Coolant tanks are
> both fine and I know I have at least a half a tank of fuel. Everything
> else on the dash seems to work (cat converter, oil pressure, etc).
> Fuses look good but I looked pretty quick.  The main harness is
> plugged in behind the dash.   When I turn the key to on but don't
> start the engine the coolant temp light  blinks forever but it's
> pretty faint.  When I start the engine sometimes the coolant blinks
> for the three seconds, other times it never blinks. The rest of the
> lights on the dash are bright. What's the deal? 1984 Vanagon GL