Once again, I am faced with an electical problem on my 1986 Wolfsburg
Westfalia Vanagon.  My coolant temperature guage has started reading low
with the needle barely visible after the engine has warmed up.  There
are no other symptoms - no flashing of the coolant low light, no
disappearance of coolant, and the fan does seem to cycle on and off
normally.

This leads me to the conclusion that the problem is either the guage or
the sensor rather than a cooling system problem.  I would appreciate any
advice on the following points:

1)      Is either component so much more unreliable than the other one that
it is clearly the first thing to try?

2)      What is the sensitivity of the guage - how many volts or milliamps
for 1/2 scale deflection?  This will enable me to test the guage.

3)      Although sensors seem readily available on several on line catalogs,
guages are not.  Is the guage seperately replaceable/repairable?  Any
recommendations regarding sources?

                                Thanks,

                                Art Beutler