Micro TM-2 temp gauge sensor location

[apole]

Hi guys,

Just received one of the new micro TM-2 type temp gauges from Haydn. Impressive, fits very neatly in a switch blank. Did a quick and dirty wire up as a test over lunch.

Does anyone know where best to put the sensor on the V6 petrol?

One place that looks good on the V6 is at the front of the engine block. There is an alloy metall casing that connects the large radiator hoses to the block, feeds the stat and has 2 temp sensors in it. I could put the sensor behind the 10mm bolt that holds this casing to the block. Will need to wait until next week when it's in the garage as access is not possible unless ET happens to drop by with his long thin fingers !!!

Would this be a good place, on front of engine block where all the coolant flows?

I've put in under one of the rocker cover casing bolts as a temorary measure to see how it all works, not expecting accurate results like this but it's a gadget and can't just stay in it's packet.

Just to say a big thanks to Haydn, extremely fast delivery, under 24 hours which is impressive and good on him for keeping an eye and investing in new products.

If anyone is interested in what it's like, it looks like this:



Temp gauge, voltmeter, and can control a relay for a fan. All settable for alarm thresholds on temp and battery hi/low voltage.

Initial impressions are it looks well made, cabling is nice and long, sensor has 3 m wiring, has good protection around the cables and joints, display nice and bright, setting buttons work well and it fits so well in existing switch blank although you don't have to use this as case black all round and well finished so could be freestanding.

Andy

[mikeonb4c]

Wow, now that looks smart

One of the things (apart from lack of spare £) that put me off fitting a TM2 was that I wasn't happy about the options for installing it neatly in the Bongo without giving up a cubby hole etc. But a spare switch blank (if I have any left) is right up my discreet street and rekindles my interest. Must check and see if there is a spare blank position available.

What did it cost out of interest?

[apole]

Hi Mike,

Totally agree on the mounting thing, that is what put me off the TM-2, and the fact it had red display, didn't match the rest of the dash.

Anyway it doesn't have to go in a switch blank, it's that small. I am toying with the idea of moving my hazard switch and putting there but not sure on that for a number of reasons, safety being one of them.

I got it from Haydn from his online shop £50 all in.

You can get same from ebay, but you have to pay import tax, wait ages and I wonder what the aftersales would be like, oh and it works out more expensive that way too, hence I was pleased to have found it from a known source.

I'll try and take some pics later on.

Andy

[mikeonb4c]

Hi Mike,

Totally agree on the mounting thing, that is what put me off the TM-2, and the fact it had red display, didn't match the rest of the dash.

Anyway it doesn't have to go in a switch blank, it's that small. I am toying with the idea of moving my hazard switch and putting there but not sure on that for a number of reasons, safety being one of them.

I got it from Haydn from his online shop £50 all in.

You can get same from ebay, but you have to pay import tax, wait ages and I wonder what the aftersales would be like, oh and it works out more expensive that way too, hence I was pleased to have found it from a known source.

I'll try and take some pics later on.

Andy

One thing about some of these small digital displays (as I'm finding with the voltmeter I got off ebay) is whether the illuminated digits fail partially over time. My one can be flaky about displaying all the bits that make up a number (so 3 could look like 8 if its in a bad mood). I suspect its connected to living in a cold damp car, as the problem comes and goes.

[g8dhe]

My one can be flaky about displaying all the bits that make up a number (so 3 could look like 8 if its in a bad mood). I suspect its connected to living in a cold damp car, as the problem comes and goes.

What sort of display is it Mike, if its a 7 segment LED like the one in the photo above then that's not very common for modern displays to fail, and as its intermittent it sounds like poor soldering on the module itself which might be easy to fix. If its an LCD display then it is often down to the "rubber" connection strips that make the electrical connection to the display itself, again very easy to fix but can be very fiddly just depends on how the display is held in position.

[mikeonb4c]

My one can be flaky about displaying all the bits that make up a number (so 3 could look like 8 if its in a bad mood). I suspect its connected to living in a cold damp car, as the problem comes and goes.

What sort of display is it Mike, if its a 7 segment LED like the one in the photo above then that's not very common for modern displays to fail, and as its intermittent it sounds like poor soldering on the module itself which might be easy to fix. If its an LCD display then it is often down to the "rubber" connection strips that make the electrical connection to the display itself, again very easy to fix but can be very fiddly just depends on how the display is held in position.

Crikey - now you've got me! A quick search on ebay (which I'd better not do from my workdesk ) for 12v digital voltmeters should bring up devices with either green, red or blue LEDs and that have a balck bezelled plastic surround. They cost round £15 v. roughly. It was one of these that I bought. It is definitely elements of each that are going AWOL (sometimes) though. Not that bothered though really

I have to say its voltage reading (of hte LB) bears little resemblance to the same reading taken directly from the terminals of the LB, but I accept that it has been wired off a power supply switch using 10amp wiring that supplies power to a 3 x ciggy socket unit, so it probably suffers voltage drop in the wiring (mind you, must check with multimeter to see if that is actually the cuase). Its main function is simply to give me confirmation that my VSR hasn't blown and that the LB is receiving charge after engine start (I have a low amp VSR what is fuse protected at 27 amps so it isn't wrecked following a deep LB discharge and high charging current draw - downside is fuse blows and you won't know without a device for checking)

[g8dhe]

Ah found your own picture:

There LED, if you get a chance to open it up check the soldering of the displays! Is it one digit or all digits that do it ? If its all the digits then check to see if there are any chips mounted in sockets (less likely) if so make sure they are well pressed home otherwise check the soldering on them as well!

[mikeonb4c]

Ah found your own picture:

There LED, if you get a chance to open it up check the soldering of the displays! Is it one digit or all digits that do it ? If its all the digits then check to see if there are any chips mounted in sockets (less likely) if so make sure they are well pressed home otherwise check the soldering on them as well!

Thanks Geoff - if I can find the energy and if its user-friendly to opening up (not at all sure it is!) I'll do those checks. I have a feeling it is electrical connection related, somehow with cold and damp playing a part. Maybe the component is just not well suited to that kind of environment. We'll hope that Andys is not in the same bag - ought not to be as its part of a unit obviously intended to live in cars!!!!