Bongo Fury

I remember a topic on here some time ago about the range the temp gauge measures.
I have recently fitted a very accurate temp sensor which measures the temp of the cylinder head metal.
When the bongo gauge gets to it's 11 o'clock position the actual temp of the head is about 55degs C. It then stays there and the cylinder head continues to get hotter untill it reaches about 100 degs C. ( I haven't had it over this yet ) All this time the bongo gauge stays at it's 11 o'clock position and does not budge.
Interesting !!!
I will let you know what happens when the head sensor goes over 100 degs C on our next long run uphill.

So will that be another kit for sale soon Haydn might be a good thing to have

Hi Hayden

Bongo engine refurbishers/reconditioners put temperature sensors on the cylinder heads which melt a wax within the sensor at 110 degrees. The line between a HOT engine and a COOKED engine seems quite fine!

Pat

that there temp guage on mine
i`ve had it up to 110 c normally when climbing a big hill or higher altitude
bit nerving the first few times it happens

but again the bongo`s temp guage don`t move in the slightest from the 11 o clock position

nothing happens engine all seems fine runs as sweet as if it had no engine sensor you would`nt know

Hi Clogger

This is where it gets interesting. The refurbishers/reconditioners put a number of temp sensors on the cylinder head. The line they take is that if you melt the wax you have travelled through 110 degrees - and you have cooked the engine, thus invalidating the warranty conditions. They contend that 'cooking' in this fashion is down to loss of coolant and not (re)manufacturing faults.

Hayden's coolant level checker seems even more appealing. We do need to know what the critical temperature is...

Pat

ebay Item number: 140110709939

thats the one i`ve got above
made for marine engines i believe

i have it bolted onto the side of the cylinder head using one of the already threaded holes on there already

the temp of the meter seems to range from around 80-100 c or thereabouts with normal driving ,
it tends to go above that when driven up long hills (ie pool bank near otley which is a long steep hill )

or the other one it does it on is at saddleworth moor part of the m62
nothing seems amiss when it does it so i don`t worry about it
and when it levels off the temp soon drops down again

as i said before if the meter was`nt fitted you would`nt give it another thought as the bongos temp gauge does`nt budge

Rearding the temp gauge not moving. do you know if its the sender in the head that is causing the gauge not to move or the gauge itself? I suppose the only way to find out would be to measure the voltage hot and cold etc. Was just wondering if there was a way to make the gauge perform better.

Interesting stuff folks.

Has anyone with one of these sensors tried a coolant wetting agent at all? Would be interesting to see some comparisons between a standard coolant mix and one containing something like Redline's Water Wetter.

Given the Bongo's challenges on this front any little assistance has got to be worth a shot.

what is a water wetting agent ?? & what is it supposed to do ??

Hi Haydn , received the coolant kit thanks but have been too busy dealing with flooding to fit it yet! Water wetting agents are similar to antifreeze however they are supposedly more efficient at cooling the engine than a standard antifreeze mix. I'm a little sceptical otherwise we'd have all been using it ages ago, maybe it solves a problem that dosen't really exist. Lets be honest most cooling systems in vehicles are more than suitable for the task. I appreciate it that cooling is the bong's nemesis but they normally overheat due to an external cause such as a loss of coolant or blocked rad. See here for an explanation :

http://e30m3performance.com/myths/more_ ... wetter.htm

The Redline data sheet that the article ChrisEm links to can be read here, heavily technical

The basic principle is that the agent makes the coolant more able to cover the rough spots in the block where small air bubbles can form preventing proper cooling.

The theory certainly makes sense, not least given that polishing cylinder heads has marked improvements on gas flow because they're often fairly rough castings, but I'd be interested in reading a write up based on some hands on data from someone independent.

Previous thread on 'water wetter' and 'heater hotter' here:

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... ter+wetter

on the estimas,the gauge is very unresponsive,gives no sign of overheating until it is too late,a guy named Dave Mason has developed an alarm,it also makes the gauge give a true reading,he has only developed it for the estimas and townaces,but i'm sure he could do the same for a bongo

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

heres one of his posts that may be useful.

After many weeks of testing in five Estmas around the country I have built a small first batch of Estima Mason Alarms and hope to make them generally available within a week. Samples from this batch are being tested this week.

If you don't know why this is of interest look at this thread: http://www.estimaownersclub.org/communi ... #msg127193 especially the 6th and 7th posts back on October 16th.

I developed this widget five years ago for Townaces and scores of owners have had the peace of mind of knowing that the audible alarm will alert the driver as soon as the slightest thing goes wrong with their cooling system - whether it's a tiny leak in a hose or a sticking thermostat or whatever. This can save you a lot of unexpected inconvenience and even £1000+ in major repairs. What's more it "wakes up" that sleepy temperature gauge so that you can see quite small temperature variations and learn more about how your engine and cooling system is operating. What it does NOT do is provide accurate temperature readings in degrees C - but would they be much more help?

Why this "coming soon" posting? I'd welcome some feedback about how much demand there is - as well as perhaps some endorsements from testers and people who benefitted from Mason Alarms in Townaces. These units are not made in China in batches of 1,000, For one thing I can't make the investment and for another I've no idea of the demand. I make them by hand myself. I'm thinking of some sort of introductory discount offer this month and I want to build up an appropriate stock so that I can despatch orders promptly as soon as I activate the PayPal button at http://www.townace.com/ie/ietemga2.htm.

heres a little bit more on the subject,perhaps its a design fault with jap cars.

No. You would notice the thermostat causing a "flat spot" if you were driving across a valley in winter with the benefit of an ideal head temperature gauge. As you drive downhill the icy air blast cools everything down - the thermostat closes off most of the coolant flow but the temperature gauge only indicates, say, 70C - engine not even "warmed up". As you begin to drive up the other side the indicated head temperature begins to rise to, say, 95C at which point the thermostat gradually opens. That increases the cooling flow and maintains the indicated head temperature at a kind of "flat spot" until the thermostat is fully open. Then the indicated head temperature, on your "ideal" gauge, will then begin to rise again indicating the potential risk of overheating.
Staggering as it may seem, the flat spot I measured is purely a characteristic of the instrument on the dashboard. Nothing else was connected to it when I did my measurements. Note, however, that the exact temperature range at which it occurs depends on the characteristic of the sensor in the head but it looks very much as if the Estima's sensor is the same as the Townace's. So when you make the Estima 3CT work hard, the unmodified temperature gauge's internal flatspot means that, however carefully you watch it, it won't occur to you to ease off until the head temperature exceeds 115C - which is too late.

Interesting stuff - might be worth investigating with him if you can find a contact email (I couldnt work the site out, but he seems to be called Dave Mason)