Thread: TD5 dont trust the temp gauge

The reason the gauge isn't accurate is because it would never stay still if it was.I don't give a toss about it,people now have all this gear that can test everything but it just makes you worry,why do oil testing?,did you worry about it before?,will the engine only get 400k instead of 500 because you now know what is floating around in it.Watch the gauges as you drive but otherwise don't panick over nothing. Pat

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

A door open idiot light is good in a mates 5 door theres 6 1 to tell you that a door is open and then 5 more to identify which one it is.. FFS its even got a light to tell you the bonnet is open. IMHO thats just getting rediculous

Mine tells me in text on a screen (the Message Centre) which door is open. Ditto the sunroof and bonnet and tailgate. It tells me lots of things, even if the water is low in the windscreen washer tank.

It tells me which door was opened if someone tries to break in. Ditto the sunroof, tailgate, and bonnet.

It tells me if there is a window open and which one.

But it doesn't tell me about low oil pressure or overheating.

I had the oil pressure relief valve bow out and the engine dumped the oil. But I didn't get a warning.

It has a tiny red light in the temp gauge and it is impossible to see in daylight. I've had it boil several times with knowing until it was too late. On one occasion, the LPG converter froze owing to lack of water and the engine stopped.

Why didn't they connect that to the Message Centre?

Before I put my dash back together, I might extend that lamp out to an external alarm.

I did see a suggestion the RRNET forum of swapping it to the screen wash sensor input. Then when you got overheat, you'd get a low screenwash alarm. That'd be fine for me but not another driver.

I suppose I could wire it that way, then pull the EPROMs from the BECM and read them, then program up a set that gave an Engine Overheat message instead.

and people wonder why I like my sheds on wheels class rovers............

They do what you need them to, tell you what they need you to know and assume that you have enough brains to work out or check on everything thats not absolutely critical to getting it moving or making a slight noise that you can hear because theres absolutely no sound proofing or stereo thats worth mentioning.

Where does thye Nancom get its input from? From the ECU or from a sensor plumbed into the coolant of-fashioned style?

If its from the ECU I wouldn't worry.. the gauge gets its input from there too.

Regards
Max P

the nanocom and i'd assume the temp guage both get their readings from the sensor direct. its probably that the guage is made so that its middle section is less responsive than the first half. a bit like a variable speedo in audi cars.

Dont they plug into the OBD2 port?

As a non-mechanical type I want the gauges to reflect what is going on although I don't mind if the reading is not linear and I don't need the specific metric. I do like it to let me know that it is out of the acceptable range so I would be happy for a coloured light: green that means "you're within operating range", amber for "you're on the edge, back off a bit" and red for "something's stuffed pull over and check your manual!!"

The current setup works for me as I now know, thanks to this thread, that if it rises I should take action immediately.

The fewer lights etc then the more the one's you need stand out. And these days audible warnings are easy enough done for those who don't watch the gauges as often as we should but audible warnings should be an option you can switch off as they are annoying for people who don't need them (like my bloody Mazda's door open alarm).

I'm with you Andrew, that stupid gauge effectively cost me a head.

When it overheated the gauge stayed in the normal position then would shoot immediately off the scale, engine cuts out, cools down, gauge goes back to normal, engine restarts and the cycle starts again. This behaviour made me think it was an electrical problem so I drove over 1000km with the motor overheating.

I now have a low water sensor, a block temp sensor and the nanocom. I like to know exactly what is happening in there.