Digital temp gauge

[briwy]

Just fitted one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0943140284
Not had a chance to really try it out or calibrate it yet but it seems very good value.
Fitted the temp sensor on one of the rocker cover bolts at the back of the head for now so will see how it performs.
We'll be at Bakewell at the weekend if anyone wants to have a look at it.

[clutha]

Looks good, I'm going to get one too, as well as low level alarm.

[jaylee]

Looks like an excellent find...

[the laird]

What sort of cost is this system

[stefan442]

Looks good.....Wonder how accurate the temp probe is

[Driver+Passengers]

Looks good.....Wonder how accurate the temp probe is

As accurate as where it's mounted. I wouldn't have any concerns about the unit itself, it will be accurate enough for "all practical purposes".

[stefan442]

As long as there is a base temp to guide you from its all good. Any change and you know there is a problem.

[haydn callow]

In a attempt to bring a lower cost remp gauge/alarm to the forum, I bought a small batch of these about 6/9 months ago and gave them out to forum members to try....of 3 sent out 2 were returned very quickly. Well respected (on here)Simon Jones returned his as did one other...We found that they worked well enough but were of poor build quality and very fragile wire connections....rather than sell on the rest of the batch I "binned" them a few weeks ago. As they say "you pays your money"
I have not had any report back on the 3rd trial one so perhaps it is working fine....
There is a guy in the far east who sells a almost identical one which is not any better.

You may see on ebay a low coolant alarm @ about £70.....the words Engine Saver is used in the bumph ! I own the intellectual property rights to that Trade name....the alarm in question has nothing to do with me......it claims to run on 20milli amps of electrical current ... ours runs at about 40 micro amps.......
We stopped using underhose sensors 5 years ago.....they leak.....and you would have to bleed the system after fitting.

[Driver+Passengers]

What about this one?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110955420537

It's a PID controller so would be underused but it should be fairly easy to hook up buzzer as a simple threshold alarm. It has two relay outputs, J1 and J2 for which the pull-in and drop-out values can be set independently. A small 12V buzzer would need no other additional external components. It comes with a K-type thermocouple (-200degC to +800degC), so should even be suitable for mounting on the exhaust side of the block (?).

[Edit: or something like that one - there are cheaper on eBay, both single and dual display, with and without thermocouple, I guess. For example, you could get a dual height unit with no t/c for less than £10.]

[Driver+Passengers]

And I guess you could, should you wish, use one instead of the ECU to control the rad-fans and scavenger fan...?

[Driver+Passengers]

D'oh! Just realised the one originally posted is also 'just' a PID temperature controller.

Most have broad head screw terminals on the back and it would be easy enough to sleeve the probe wire in heatshrink or wrap it in tape and use a wee drop of threadlock, so I can't see there would be much to worry about mechanically.

OK, so having danced around this topic a bit, I'm convinced that this is a route worth pursuing, but at the price you guys have just paid, you may have been 'had', particularly if you have to pay duty on top...?

[briwy]

OK, so having danced around this topic a bit, I'm convinced that this is a route worth pursuing, but at the price you guys have just paid, you may have been 'had', particularly if you have to pay duty on top...?

No duty Matt and it has 10 amp rated relays built in.

[Simon Jones]

Just to follow up Haydn's comments, this was a summary of some of my findings:

I had to cut & re-strip & tin the wiring where it goes into the terminal blocks as it is quite fragile as pointed out in the instructions. Power was taken from the aux out feed from back of stereo as I have yet to run proper power cables under the dashboard. Unit itself was fitted wih sticky Velco into a spare single DIN cubby hole into which I drilled a couple of holes for the wiring.

Travelled about 90 miles & on the first journey it soon switched over the to engine temp display, but on return trip it stayed on water temp. I think in both cases it was showing about 85 degrees C.

I had a play around with the buttons but the only one that appeared to work was the 'set' button. I was hoping I could use one of the other buttons to flip between water & engine temp, but this would found not to be the case. The other issue is that is would only evert display the higher of the two inputs so it was not possible to compare the two.

After a very short period of use, the unit would display 85 degrees C as soon as the ignition was turned on & it remained there indefinately.

Overall, I thought the unit was very neat although my only reservation that it does not seem to allow the manual switching between the two which is what a 'technically minded' owner would want to do. For the more typical Bongo owner who wants to be alerted of a problem, then the new alarm is nice & easy to install & use.

[Driver+Passengers]

I'll take a look and summarise the various options on eBay in the sub-£30 price range. I will buy one to play around with but I'm not yet sure which one.

The REX-Cn00 range is the most prevalent at the lower price range but appears to be mains supply only, perhaps with some models running on 24V DC. Unless I've missed something.

The double-height units may not actually fit anywhere in the van conveniently, unless, like somebody's van I saw, had a face place in the cubby hole behind the gear shift with several units mounted there. A double height unit should solve the difficulties in displaying or comparing the two readings. I am likely to get a double height unit, as and when.

The external solid state 25A relays are only £2-£3 quid, but current source capacity is a factor, yes. All the user interfaces will have little idiosynchrases, but ease of use is also a factor, so I might take a look through a couple of manuals. Haydn - what did you make of the other unit(s) you researched before settling on trialling that one?

Perhaps you got your one stuck in setup mode, or something?

I'm also on the lookout for something like that that I can mod, eg reprogramming the controller to do me a digital pressure gauge. Perhaps one of these units has a chip with the write-protect fuse bit intact.

[mikeonb4c]

As Haydn implies, durability and reliability are paramount if these devices are to be happily employed. I am fed up with gadgets I buy (emergency led torch etc.) for occasional emergency use only to find they malfunction when needed. In contrast, my low coolant alarm, one of the pre-production batch, has behaved faultlessly in over 5 years of service. It's a good thing some people still pursue proper r&d and testing rules (not to mention exceptional customer service). Thank you Haydn.