Thermocouple assembly

A machine component housing having a lubricant therein and a thermocouple assembly mounted in a wall of the housing, said thermocouple assembly comprising:

• a thermocouple;
• a plurality of lead wires extending from said thermocouple;
• an insulating jacket extending along and enclosing said plurality of leads;
• and
• at least one internally sealed area within said insulating jacket to prevent fluid leakage along and within said insulating jacket.

A thermocouple assembly comprising:

• a thermocouple;
• a plurality of lead wires extending from said thermocouple;
• an insulating jacket extending along and enclosing said plurality of leads;
• and
• means for preventing fluid leakage along and within said insulating jacket.

A method of preventing leakage of a fluid along and through an insulating jacket of a thermocouple comprising the steps of:

• a) attaching a plurality of lead wires to a thermocouple;
• b) adding a heat sensitive pseudo-wire to extend along the plurality of lead wires;
• c) enclosing the lead wires and pseudo-wire inside an insulating jacket;
• d) locally heating axially spaced portions of said insulating jacket to a temperature which melts said pseudo-wire and fuses it with an interior surface of the insulating jacket.