fitting a water temp gauge

[Gaz gtiR]

After reading Spikey's thread about water temp in problem solving & seeing what some of you have said about the standard temp gauge on the clocks. ive decided to fit an aftermarket water temp gauge.

now is there an easyer way or a different point that i can plumb this in with out having to go threw the pain in the arse job of bleeding the system up again that i would have to do if i plumbed it in to the top radiator hose?? :roll:

chees
Gaz

 

[PobodY]

Eh?

Why do you have so much trouble bleeding the system; I just fill and squeeze the hoses a couple of times, let it gurgle, then top it up. Job done.

I think you're asking if you can put your thermocouple somewhere else. You can put it wherever you like, but remember that it's only taking the temperature at that point, so if you put it after the radiator it will always read cold; it really needs to be on the engine somewhere if you actually want to use it to see what the temperature on the engine is. - If you want, you can go nuts and have one at the front, and one at the back; that way you can watch for localised boiling, but you'd have to cut some new threads for them.

If you leave it where it is you should get the same reading the ECU is getting.

 

[Gaz gtiR]

its not that i have a problem bleeding the system its just that i no how temprimental it can be & that people have had problems!!

so am i just better off putting it in the top hose so its closer to radiator to get a truer reading?

 

[watoga]

Hi Gaz,

It depends on how you want to record the temperature. The top hose is probably best as it's easy to access, has a straight piece of hose for easy attachment of a sensor, and gives a reading of how cool (or hot!) the coolant is just before entering the engine. I'm slightly anal and have a temperature sensor before and after the radiator to check engine exit temperatures too. But this is for a race car and not a road-going GTiR.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[Gaz gtiR]

just want it to read as the standard gauge on the clocks would. i read somewhere that some1 overheated once but the standard gauge on the clocks stayed at halfway so they didnt get a warning. so want the aftermarket gauge to read like the standard so i wont be running that risk!

 

[watoga]

Yes, the standard water temperature gauge is "pants" to say the least. Switching to an aftermarket gauge is definitely the right thing to do.

Dave

 

[PobodY]

...but if you want to know the engine temperature it needs to be on the engine somewhere.

Also, don't forget that if you've changed the themostat the temperatures will be different; if you've changed the radiator cap (for a higher pressure one) the temperature will be different.

 

[danr]

im sure the temp sender is fine, but the dash clock is a little retarded. try a different gauge, should use same sender (oil temp sender is same part).

 

[watoga]

im sure the temp sender is fine, but the dash clock is a little retarded. try a different gauge, should use same sender (oil temp sender is same part).

Many of the aftermarket gauges use a rising-rate scale for temperature as a function of resistance. I'm not sure how the standard GTiR sensor's resistance varies as a function of temperature, but it could be a simple swap if you get a compatible gauge. As an example, some aftermarket (electrical) temperature sensors use this conversion:

Temperature - Resistance (Ohms)
40.0 - 925
43.5 - 826
47.1 - 729
50.6 - 636
54.2 - 551
57.7 - 475
61.3 - 410
64.8 - 357
68.4 - 315
71.9 - 281
75.5 - 253
79.0 - 230
82.6 - 205
86.1 - 181
89.7 - 162
93.2 - 145
96.8 - 131
100.3 - 119
103.9 - 106
107.4 - 95
111.0 - 86
114.5 - 78
118.1 - 71
121.6 - 65
125.2 - 59
128.7 - 54
132.3 - 49
135.8 - 45
139.4 - 42
142.9 - 38
146.5 - 35
150.0 - 32

If someone can verify that the GTiR's standard temperature sender outputs a similar resistance as a function of temperature, then you could simply use a new gauge while keeping the original sensor.

Good luck,
Dave