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Hello all,

I have just purchased a digital temp gauge.



Just wandering if anyone has fitted a similar type gauge and where would be the best place to mount the probe (sensible suggestions only). The probe is not threaded so would be sealed in. Probe diameter is 6mm. Not sure if it would be better fixed to the rad or engine coolant in/out.

Thanks for any help.

Andy

if it was me i would want it to be reading the hotest part of the coolant, so either in the very top right hand corner of the rad, or find some way of attaching it in-situ to the coolant line?

why do you want to know, is there a problem with it at the moment?

by banner001 » Fri Jul 27, 2012 6:25 pm

if it was me i would want it to be reading the hotest part of the coolant, so either in the very top right hand corner of the rad, or find some way of attaching it in-situ to the coolant line?

why do you want to know, is there a problem with it at the moment?

Thanks for the reply, no i don't have any problems with running hot or related issues. My temp gauge only works intermittently, checked all connections and cleaned up contacts still the same, so thought i would upgrade it.

Cheers.

You say 'seal it in'. Are you talking about inserting it so that it is immersed in the coolant? Because if you are - and that would mean penetrating into the cooling circuit - be aware that it is highly pressurised and unless your seal is very strong it will burst.

The second problem is that you need to make some sense of whatever reading you get from it. Do you know what the readings on the existing gauge convert to in temperature? I certainly don't. So how will you know that a reading on your new gauge is either ok or dangerously high? No good having a reading from an instrument unless you can make use of that reading.

You say you have checked the wires - it's impossible to reliably check for an intermittent internal fracture in an insulated wire. Have you tried running fresh wires from the temp sensor to the gauge to see if that cures the problem (you don't need to cut the old ones out, double them up with the new ones while you do the test and make a prermanent repair if it fixes it)? It could be as simple as this and a lot less buggering about than what you're doing.

You can even buy second hand instrument clusters and swap out the gauge if all else fails. Loads on Ebay starting at £25.

I really wouldn't be going down the route you're going, far better ways to fix this problem, see if you can do any of the above. It's not an upgrade, it's a downgrade and frankly a bit of a bodge.