What is your masons alarm set to.....?

John the sparky · Post by **John the sparky** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:44 pm

erm..... mine is set to 4,

pulled in for diesel the other day, stopped, filled up, restarted and alarm started beeping... so started to pull away and alarm went quiet, as cold air hit rad etc....

so I guess it is a 4-5 really

just wondering what the trend is so far,

John

Bonza · Post by **Bonza** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:50 am

That looks about right for me John. 4-5 does it.

Bonza

paul9 · Post by **paul9** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:47 am

i set mine to 4,when you switch off for a few minites the engine does warm up slightly and alarm will sound when restarted,soon goes off again once water is circulating.

waycar8 · Post by **waycar8** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 1:02 pm

I set mine to 4, but stopped in heavy traffic it started to beep so i highered it up to 4.5.

Grahame at work · Post by **Grahame at work** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 8:48 pm

I originally had mine set at 4 and found that it went off a couple of times on my first journey so I set it at 5 but it didn't go off at all on my trip south (details to follow) so it is now at 4.5 and we shall see what happens.

Reghards Grahame

daveblueozzie · Post by **daveblueozzie** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:12 pm

mine was set at 4 but on the way to silverdale friday the alarm started to beep going up the hills (a couple of times on the m6 as well) set the alarm to just a fraction under 5 for the return journey, not a beep. i suppose under very hard driving ,up steep hills (scotland ,wales),you may have to set it slightly higher .setting it at just under 5 seems to be ok for normal driving (for me anyway).my bongo has the egr blanked off and i think the engine runs at a slightly higher temp with the egr blanked.

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:52 pm

Just under 5.

tigs · Post by **tigs** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 5:47 am

Whats is and where is the masons alarm?

Bonza · Post by **Bonza** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:43 am

Some really hard hills driving hard and now its at 5.

Same hills at steady pace and 4.5 is ok but after stopping at a service station it went off when idlying.

Reckon 5 is the autumn non warning lowest setting for me living in hilly country.

The unit slots in nicely into that small cubby hole by the drivers right knee.

I think it needs to be reset say every few months and when changing the area one regularly drives in.

Be nice to know what 1 division represents in terms of actual temp. Maybe Dave Mason will tell us.

Pleased so far.

Bonza

daveblueozzie · Post by **daveblueozzie** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:39 am

tigs here is the link for the mason alarm.

http://www.townace.com/ie/ietemga2.htm

Dave Mason · Post by **Dave Mason** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:45 am

Bonza wrote:Be nice to know what 1 division represents in terms of actual temp. Maybe Dave Mason will tell us.

Sorry, I can't. The numbers around the blue adjustment are only intended as a guide not for calibration. The important missing link for any calibration is knowing how the resistance of the thermistor sensor unit varies with temperature. It's definitely not the same as Toyota ones. I can provide advice to anyone who has a spare sensor and wants to make some measurements and then produce a stick-on dial for the Mason-alarmed temp gauge instrument. But I think that this will not really add much value.

tigs · Post by **tigs** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:26 pm

daveblueozzie wrote:tigs here is the link for the mason alarm.

http://www.townace.com/ie/ietemga2.htm

That explained it, thanx Dave, tis too techno for me I'm afraid

someone mentions screw driver and i run a mile

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:45 pm

I've just fitted another 2 Mason alarms and set 1 to 4.5 and the other to 5.

I'm guessing the ones at 5 may have a slight obstruction in the radiator causing the coolant temp to be a little bit higher.

The best way to set it IMHO is to warm the engine at a steady 2500/3000 revs with the alarm set at a low figure and increase the setting as it buzzes. The fans will kick in around 3/4 towards "H" - note what number the alarm is set to and increase it by around 0.25 of an increment.
This should ensure the alarm will not sound assuming the fans are working.

Any comments on that Dave M?

Dave Mason · Post by **Dave Mason** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:15 am

dandywarhol wrote:I've just fitted another 2 Mason alarms and set 1 to 4.5 and the other to 5.
I'm guessing the ones at 5 may have a slight obstruction in the radiator causing the coolant temp to be a little bit higher.
...
Any comments on that Dave M?

I stick to what I said a few posts earlier, "The numbers around the blue adjustment are only intended as a guide not for calibration." The primary intention is to detect change in the performace of a particular vehicle's cooling system, not to make accurate comparisons between vehicles.

I test each alarm at several points across its range, and record the voltage on the sensor wire and the alarm setting. The voltage drops from about 10V to 3V. If, at any point, the voltage differs from the usual result by more than 20mV I investigate, but the alarm setting is less predictable - where it is typically, say, 5.0 some alarms may need setting to 4.6, others to 5.4. I think three things contribute to this: variation in the way the adjuster is sitting in the circuit board when I solder it in, variation in the way the circuit board fits into the box, and variation in where the decal is stuck on the outside of the box. Whilst they are fairly consistent I never set out to make this a precise measuring tool.

So ... your explanation of "set 1 to 4.5 and the other to 5" MAY be right but may just be due to variation between alarms. More conclusive would be to swap the alarms between the vehicles and compare the results with the same alarm.

If you want to make comparisons between vehicles I suggest that someone with the right resources - not me, I don't even have access to a Bongo - produces a stick-on dial for the temperature gauge. Not with degC markings, just ten or so dots or lines across the scale and a way of making sure that everyone sticks it on at the same place. Then your comparisons will be, "mine reaches 75%, yours reaches 85%"

I now have a stock of Mason alarms for Bongos. Order at http://www.townace.plus.com/ie/ietemga2.htm. I'm following advice from Royal Mail regarding the effects of the strikes and there will be delivery delays. I despatched several on Wednesday and will be checking tomorrow how many have turned up!

MountainGoat · Post by **MountainGoat** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:01 am

Mine turned up today