Three questions.
 

1.) for my '85 Carrera, I want an oil temp gauge marked in degrees (F or C, I don't care), but I don't know how to go about finding one. I am assuming I need both the gauge and the sender to match, but I don't know what years I need to search for, or ask about.

2.) My clock has stopped. From my reading here, I should just replace the two capacitors, and that will probably fix the problem. Do used clocks that work come up for sale often, or should I just take a crack at replacing those caps?

3.) I have a Becker navigation DIN-sized head unit sitting in my garage not doing anything. For it to work properly, I need some sort of electronic speed signal to tap into. Where might I find such a thing on an '85 Carrera? The ABS system needs such a thing, IIRC...

in terms of number 3, you should be able to get the speed of the back of the speedo. Pull it out, and i believe its terminal 31b, its on the little plastic tab on the back. This is the speed input from the sensor. it is a 12V P-P square wave ranging from 0Hz to i think like 370Hz. You may also be able to use the output for the cruise control unit, my car does not have one so I dont know how to hook it up but it should be the same or similar signal.

Regards
Dave

Dave, that sound you hear is me smacking my head - the cruise control is the place I should have started.

Pulling from the back of the speedo is also a good idea, since the wires are close-by for stereo. Since the car already has an amp installed, changing the head unit will mostly be a matter of running wires and uninstalling the cage for the current head unit.

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll be smart and do a write up so that anyone who follows can have something to look at. Like my wife tells me, "Good luck on that 'smart' thing."

For #1, here is an easy and affordable option.

911 Gauge module overlays

Genius. That sounds a heck of a lot more simple than swapping gauges and senders.

Thanks!

+1 on the above reply to #1 & #3

As far as the clock, you really won't know until you crack it open, it may be the gears as well.

Caution, you will need to de-solder the ground point from the back cover and re-solder when your assemble. Besides that, go at it and post your results :D

Edit - I had forgotten how easy it is to get to the oil temp/pressure gauge innards, as opposed to the speedo. And I see from the website that there are more flavors of temp gauge than I had realized. You have to pry off the bezel to get to speedo innards, and it is hard to do that without mangling it. Reinstalling calls for some care also.

I think clock repair faces the "open it up" issue in terms of getting to the errant capacitors. Supposedly, authorized VDO repair shops can get their hands on replacement bezels, but hoi polloi can't. Would be nice if we could.

Oil temp gauge.....lean forward to the right of the steering wheel, turn your head left and look at the left edge of the oil gauge.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1280635338.jpg

BTW....give the clock the float test. Wear a watch, use the clock on the radio and replace the clock with something that is needed. Volt meter/head temp is what I did.

The clock and oil level gauge are the two most worthless items that VDO ever made.

Joe Bob, that actually sounds like a good idea. I use the clocks in my car, but I do wear a watch all the time. Got a URL you could share about installing voltmeter/head temp gauge?

Wesstach built mine, they do aircraft gauges. Looks close to factory. For about double the price North Hollywood will build an exact match.

A round ring goes around one of the spark plugs for head temp. Volt meter hooks to the battery or with a slightly off reading to a lead off the ignition.

Simplest voltmeter is one which plugs into the cigarette lighter. You aren't using the lighter anyway, are you?

From the same site that does the temp gauge overlays:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1326212667.jpg

As I mentioned the VDO clone is pricey. Wesstach did mine for $100-ish.

Clock
 

Did you check your fuses? Isn't the clock on the same circuit as the interior lights?