Coolant pressure gauge make sense?

Joined
Jun 8, 2003
Messages
31
Location
houston
JLR V8s and V6s have the plastic crossover pipe(s) which on occasion can fail spontaneously. Engines are all aluminum - HOT=No Bueno. By the time the coolant light goes on most owners will have no clue. Then it's too late.

So, does a coolant pressure warning gauge/alarm/ignition shutdown device make ANY sense? If so, what would it look like?
 
Ignition shutdown makes no sense. What if it trips in the middle of an intersection or while crossing a railroad? the driver has to decide wether and when to stop the engine. Saving the engine to lose the car is a poor trade.
 
Most cars already have a warning about this separate from a coolant pressure indication. If the serpentine belt breaks the alternator light or low voltage light should come on also indicating to most folks that the water pump may have stop turning. I realize that in cars where the water pump might be driven by the timing belt or chain, that there would be no other indication or connection if the serpentine belt fails. Some cars no longer have low voltage, alternator or battery lights and if such a situation occurs the check engine light comes on a check gages light.
 
There was a coolant level sensor on the reservoir on the 528e. They failed frequently and the trick to put the light out in the overhead display was to jump the leads with a bit of wire. It was the cheapest sensor of the several it had. 15$ While they worked they told you when a 1/2 liter of coolant wast lost. Keeping that light out, kept me from ever having an overheat/ headgasket event in any of the several E 28s I had. The low oil level sensors were more complex and expensive, 50$ or so, but only ever had one fail consistently with the Grape, my son's 2X totalled college beater. All the other cars threw a LOL when down a qt. regular as clockwork. It was stuff like this that kept me in E 28s for 20 yrs.
 
There was a coolant level sensor on the reservoir on the 528e. They failed frequently and the trick to put the light out in the overhead display was to jump the leads with a bit of wire. It was the cheapest sensor of the several it had. 15$ While they worked they told you when a 1/2 liter of coolant wast lost. Keeping that light out, kept me from ever having an overheat/ headgasket event in any of the several E 28s I had. The low oil level sensors were more complex and expensive, 50$ or so, but only ever had one fail consistently with the Grape, my son's 2X totalled college beater. All the other cars threw a LOL when down a qt. regular as clockwork. It was stuff like this that kept me in E 28s for 20 yrs.
Later generation Chevy Vegas had the same thing.....LOL.
 
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