Re: Temperature gauges

[John.Denson@domain.elided]

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Mike,

Very interesting. You echo my sentiments with regard to the
accuracy of the standard temperature gauge - but that of course
does'nt mean that you dont need a temperature warning - just
that you need an accurate indication even if only of the
pass/fail type that you are proposing. I had been thinking
about this myself but can a simple(?) albeit accurate sensor
on the outside(?) of the upper heater hose give a meaningful
indication? I'm thinking about the range of ambient temperatures,
in the different countries and the variation in performance of the
cooling system between cars i.e. scale/flies and dirt/different
pumps/different radiators etc. I wonder if some people would find that
the alarm is on all the time! The stag must have one of the the
highest variations of 'normal' running temperatures of any car
around for these reasons. OK there's not much excuse for running
around with a silted up radiator but if the warning were activated
every time its a hot day and the engine has'nt failed because the
alarm has been set to a very cautious alarm level what have you
gained?
I also wonder if in this location it will warn for the most common
failure modes - i.e. sinking coolant level, localised boiling in a
clogged up waterway or sudden boiling caused by a failed gasket.
It seems to me that most head gasket failures are caused by long
term neglect and that they are after a point inevitable.

Sorry to sound sceptical but I hope you see what I'm driving at.

1/. What is an appropriate warning level at this location?
and
2/. will it sometimes warn after the event?

Wanting to believe!!

John Denson (Sweden)

'77 Stag (in England - sob)