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On 23 May 2003 at 8:41, Russ wolfe wrote: > And it is probably "NiChrome" <sp> resistance wire. > I broke the one in my "former" spare sender by blowing on it with an air > nozzle. Nichrome is certainly the name we all think of first when we think of resistance wire, but nichrome is used when the temps get high and we don't want the wire to burn up. It's good in this situation because it forms a tough oxide coating on the outside which prevents further oxidation. This is the same process that makes stainless steel stainless. It's the oxides of chromium and nickel that do this. The gas gauge is different. We don't have high temps, and we need the outside to stay oxide free so we can make good electrical contact with it (virtually all metal oxides are insulators.) The sensor wires are soldered at their ends, but nichrome is really tough to solder, so I don't think it's nichrome. Just plain iron is a possibility. If we can sort this out, I can see if I can find wire of the correct size and alloy from somewhere. -- Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711-3054 USA ------------------------------------------------------------------- List info at http://www.vwtype3.org/list | mailto:gregm@vwtype3.org