Jean-Yves, The wire is a temperature sensing tube. It senses the temperature of the air flow over it and a fluid in the tube expands and contracts against a bellows within the valve, and thus regulates the temperature by increasing or decreasing the flow of hot coolant through the valve. I believe it is called a Bourdon tube. I can only assume the replacement has somehow done away with the need for the tube. If I had a choice however, I would rebuild the original valve and reuse it. Perhaps the designer of the replacement thought the tube to be unnecessary, but I prefer to defer to the original design myself. In the owners manual for the '61 Chrysler, the temperature control lever is compared to a thermostat used in a home. That is, once set, it will regulate a constant temperature. The way I see the valve without the wire is that it is used as a manual flow control valve without any automatic regulation. Bob J _____ From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of jean-yves chouinard Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 4:01 PM To: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [Chrysler300] Heater valve question Hi All! What is the purpose of the long copper wire with the coiled end that goes from the heater valve (Ranko type H16) to the heater blower box on 60-64 non-air cars? Will the valve work without the copper wire? I have a brand new valve but it doesn't have said copper wire and would like to know if it will work. No #'s or inscription on the valve... Jean-Yves in New Brunswick (K Conv. G coupe 60 Polara Conv.) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To send a message to this group, send an email to: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx For list server instructions, go to http://www.chrysler300club.com/yahoolist/inst.htm For archives go to http://www.forwardlook.net/300-archive/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:Chrysler300-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:Chrysler300-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Chrysler300-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/