The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Can you weld/fix thermocouple wire?

I'm in the process of taking my gauges apart and resoring them. The temp guage did not work. The person who had the truck before me i guess didn't want to take the gauges apart so he just had the new one wrapped around the steering column. The original one is in better condition than the new one, except that there is no thermocouple on the end of it. The newer one that works is rusted beyond recognition. Would it be possible to just cut the wire say 6" before the thermocouple and tack weld it to the other one?

it's not a "wire", it's a tube with a liquid that responds to temp, there is no home repair possible

Bill

Oh, It lookes like a solid piece of wire leading from the thermocouple to the gauge. At the point that the wire or "tube" was broken it dies not seam to be hollow, unless you are talking about the thermocouple itself. Thank you for the info.

I'm unsure of what type you have but would bet it's the tube type. Thermocouples are made of two dissimilar metals. When joined together it produces an EMF (millvolts) when sujected to heat. You would need to know what type of thermocouple wire you have (there are several common ones). You would also have to get the wires right or you risk making two more thermocouples. When I make up a thermocouple I tie (wrap) the two ends together and melt the joint with mo added material.

Sounds alot too complicated for me. I guess i'll just try and clean up the one that is intact and working. Thanks for all your help.

Waoh,,,,this is not a thermocouple, this is a Bourdon tube pressure gauge. The bulb that
sits in the water jacket contains ether which is liquid at room temperature. The tube
leading from it is hollow and connected to the Bourdon tube temperature gauge. When
the ether warms up it vaporizes and the pressure increase in the system caused the
Bourdon tube to straighten out. The needle is attached to the end of the Bourdon tube and
moves across the temperature calibrated scale.
No thermocouple action here.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Thanks for the clarification Denny, my bad.

No bad involved here guy, that's what we're all here for, to learn.
Keep on asking if you have any questions. None to dumb either, heck,
wait till you read some of the questions I ask when something pops
into my head in the middle of the night.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Actually, there is a home repair method that involves using the thermal bulb from an aftermarket gauge set, immersing it in a mixture of dry ice and alcohol, and cutting/splicing the tube a few inches from the original gauge head. It's difficult, but not impossible to do.
Jerry