Thread: Coolant Temp and Low alarm

Ok, as I'm new to the TD5 D2a I have been reading this thread with great interest & guess what?
I'm even more confused!

So what is the general consensus?

Low Coolant Warning or Accurate Temp Gauge reading from the OBD plug thing??
Or BOTH?????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????

Jonesfam

Originally Posted by jonesfam

Ok, as I'm new to the TD5 D2a I have been reading this thread with great interest & guess what?
I'm even more confused!

So what is the general consensus?

Low Coolant Warning or Accurate Temp Gauge reading from the OBD plug thing??
Or BOTH?????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????

Jonesfam

Both

Hello all,
Also a newby with a 2003 D2a TD5!
I have read this thread and now up to 12 different vendors for temp gauge + alarm.
Has anyone done a survey or similar to find the most commonly used combo?


regards
Macian

Macian
I think, maybe, we'll see, perhaps my plan is:
To buy a Nanocom & find some way to mount it with gauges showing for normal driving &
Buy a low coolant alarum from Dave (Incisor).

Yes, that's the plan, or not?
No, that's definitely the plan I think??

Jonesfam
PS The Nanocom does other cool stuff.

Originally Posted by jonesfam

....

Low Coolant Warning or Accurate Temp Gauge reading from the OBD plug thing??
Or BOTH?????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????

Jonesfam

Yeah, both isn't a dumb idea!
IIRC you ordered a nanocom?
if so, use that via your OBD port.
generic readers won't work on the TD5.

Hi,

For what it's worth, I suggest that you monitor the temperature of the engine block, rather than the coolant. After all - it's engine overheating we want to avoid, not coolant overheating.

There are a few manufacturers around. I use an 'Engine Watchdog' - which has a temperature readout and an alarm. There are also versions that have a second sensor to monitor transmission temperature too, if that's of interest.

Westie

Originally Posted by Westie

Hi,
I
For what it's worth, I suggest that you monitor the temperature of the engine block, rather than the coolant. After all - it's engine overheating we want to avoid, not coolant overheating.

There are a few manufacturers around. I use an 'Engine Watchdog' - which has a temperature readout and an alarm. There are also versions that have a second sensor to monitor transmission temperature too, if that's of interest.

Westie

That's the TM4. British Offroad just put one in my Defender. Not sure where they connected the wire for the transmission sensor though.

Glad to hear the TM4 has been used on a Defender as its now on my wish list after being pointed out in a previous post.
Their website just says to attach the wire to any bolt on the engine.

On the engine v coolant monitoring issue, I assume they would overheat at differing temperatures.
For example, the label on a bottle of Nylon green coolant concentrate I have in the shed, said to be suitable for LRs, says it can hit 132 C at 50% dilution.
I wouldn't want my engine getting that hot. I think an alarm should start if an engine goes much over 100 C.
The instructions for the TM4 say to check the normal operating temperature and set the alarm for 5-10 degrees above that. If an engine was typically operating at about 90 degrees then the alarm would go off at 95-100 C.
Of course, the coolant could operate hotter than the engine. The job of coolant is to draw heat out of the engine, isn't it?
The aim is to protect the engine, not the coolant. So, I think the engine is the thing to monitor. Do others agree?