VDO Gauge problems

[Gilb666]

Right, so I finally got my VDO gauges mounted, but cant get them to work properly

First, managed to get the power backwards, so nothing worked, swapped this over, the volt gauge sprang into live and is showing correct results. the oil temp and pressure gauges both shot to 'full' on the gauges, and did not move.

Tired swapping the senders round, the only way I can get either gauge to do anything is if a plug the temp gauge into the pressure sender, then i get a reading of 70 degrees straight away when the engine is cold. before mounting anything i did test the gauges straight to the senders, and the pressure did work, so I'm fairly confident its just some bad wiring somewhere, and I'm also reasonably sure that the senders are going to the correct gauges

have looked at a couple of fitting guides (for golfs) and have noticed that my oil filter housing has space for 3 senders instead of 2 - would it matter which sender goes into each hole? - currently have temp sender back centre, pressure front right, and dashboard blinking light/buzzer pressure sender front left

Help!

[PeteGLi]

Have you swapped the original oil pressure and temperature senders in the car to the VDO senders that match your gauges?

The gauges will not work with the original oil pressure and temperature senders that were in the car.

[PeteGLi]

have looked at a couple of fitting guides (for golfs) and have noticed that my oil filter housing has space for 3 senders instead of 2 - would it matter which sender goes into each hole? - currently have temp sender back centre, pressure front right, and dashboard blinking light/buzzer pressure sender front left

Help!

The usual place for the low oil pressure sender is on the side of the cylinder head above the gearbox and it is the pressure sender in that position that you connect to your pressure gauge.

[Gilb666]

Thanks for the reply Pete

the senders are from the same model Audi as the gauges. I did wire up temp and pressure gauges under the bonnet before I started cutting up my centre console and confirmed that everything worked, so shouldn't be any problems on that front

By the low pressure sender, do you mean the one for the dash light or the one for the gauge?

The dash one has always been in the oil filter housing afaik.

The motor in my car is is from a Jetta. it is the same model year as my car, but could explain why the sender is in a different place?

[PeteGLi]

The original low pressure sender does the dash light.

Does the replacement Audi sender have two electrical terminals? One should be connected to the dash light, the other to the gauge. If there is no indication on the sender as to which terminal is which, connect the original dash light wire to one of the terminals and see if the light still works. If not, swap the connection over. The other terminal will then go to the gauge.

The temperature sender should just be one wire, so make sure that is connected to the correct terminal on the back of the gauge.

[Gilb666]

The Audi sender does have 2 terminals, however I connected the dash light went off intermittently when connected to either (only whole driving, a very brief buzz/flash about every 10 seconds or so) As I knew it worked normally, and I had a spare socket on the filter housing, I just put the other sender back in there. Incidentally, I cant put the Audi sender in the same position as the original one, as it's too big and catches on something - can't remember what!

Is it normal for both oil gauges to show max readings if the sender isn't connected right?

[PeteGLi]

...Is it normal for both oil gauges to show max readings if the sender isn't connected right?

Yes.

Did the gauges come with a loom? Are you sure you have connected the sockets on the loom to the correct gauges?

There are some threads on ClubGTi about fitting the Audi gauges. I seem to recall reading that a T-piece or spacer is required if the Audi sender is fitted on the oil filter housing.

I have only fitted gauges and senders bought individually and have had no problems running wires directly to and from.

[Gilb666]

they did come with a bit of a loom, but it was a mess so I made my own

I've got constant power running straight from the fuse box, and one wire running down to each sender. the sender wires have been metered so I know they are good

the lighting is wired in on a separate loom from the dash so that I can control the brightness - this part is working fine

I thought the T-piece is only required if you're running a MFA?

[Gilb666]

Are you sure you have connected the sockets on the loom to the correct gauges?

That fixed it!

Bit embarrassing really, I assumed that the live and ground wires would be in the same place on all 3 gauges, so I got the ground and sender wires in backwards!

Thanks for all your help Pete

[PeteGLi]