VW mods - Indoor / outdoor temperature
I'm a sucker for gadgets, and one of my favorites is this outdoor temperature sensor.
This one is from Radio Shack, and also shows the interior temperature. If I want,
I can keep an eye on the max and min temperature, but I keep forgetting how to reset
it, so I don't really use that feature.
To get the exterior temperature, I had to run a wire outside the van. Choosing where
to put this wire is very important, since I want the real outside temperature,
so I don't want the sun shining on it or warm air from the engine making it read
artificially high. Initially I tried mounting it just behind the left front tire,
but it read too high from the nearby engine.
Inspired by Rich's Eurovan
web site, I mounted a PVC plumbing tee to the luggage rack above the driver
cab area. It's screwed to the luggage rack by two screws - one on the left and one
on the right. The sensor is "pinned" in place by a third screw that wedges the sensor
between two washers. To get access to the three screws I had to drill three holes
in the side of the tee. You can't see any of the screws in the pictures, but you
can see the three holes.
The plumbing tee shades the sensor from direct sunlight, but it still reads high
when we're not moving. But as soon as I start driving, it settles down and usually
reads within a couple degrees of the temps displayed on banks.
