Not even a coolant temp gauge

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
So they brought back the ole Blue cold lights huh? I havent seen one of those since my buddies dad`s old 67 Ford station wagon.

Yeah I believe '68 was the last year for the cold lights on the Ford products... My early '69 Fairlane has provisions and all that's needed is the dual temp switch and a bulb... The later '69s used a different harness with one less wire in it(actually has a different connector, they can't be interchanged without some modification)...

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: 45ACP
So.. the gauge does move.. except lately.. when it gets to 1/3 the way up and stays there. Calibrated for center, so that indicates genuine too cool condition, yes?

Most likely yes. If it is indeed only reaching 60 degrees C at normal temp, then that sounds too low and a faulty t-stat may be to blame. Another possibility is that the gauge itself or the coolant temp sensor is broken. If the temp sensor is fine but the gauge is misbehaving, you should be able to verify this by hooking the car up to a computer and reading the coolant temp directly from there. If the reading says 80-90C but your gauge shows 60C, you know the gauge is messed up.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: TFB1
Originally Posted By: lexus114
So they brought back the ole Blue cold lights huh? I havent seen one of those since my buddies dad`s old 67 Ford station wagon.

Yeah I believe '68 was the last year for the cold lights on the Ford products... My early '69 Fairlane has provisions and all that's needed is the dual temp switch and a bulb... The later '69s used a different harness with one less wire in it(actually has a different connector, they can't be interchanged without some modification)...



I always thought it was pretty cool (the cold light) and honestly, if today`s gauges are what people on here are saying. Then I`d rather have the cold engine Blue light any way. Along with a Red hot light of course. BTW that family truckster had a 390 2bbl in it,and it ran like a raped ape!

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
So they brought back the ole Blue cold lights huh? I havent seen one of those since my buddies dad`s old 67 Ford station wagon.


#nowtrending kids

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: 45ACP
Originally Posted By: lexus114
So they brought back the ole Blue cold lights huh? I havent seen one of those since my buddies dad`s old 67 Ford station wagon.


#nowtrending kids

Ehhhhh...Huh?

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

On top of that, especially in the US, majority of cars sold are equipped with auto trans. If one was worried about over-revving a cold engine, it would probably be easy enough for a manufacturer to modify the trans programming so that when engine was cold, it would shift into next gear sooner to avoid such high harmful RPMs.

At least that's what I use my coolant gauge for in my manual car. I try to take it easy and not rev much past 3K rpm until the engine's warmed up... But in all honestly, I don't exactly know what rpm level would be considered harmful when the engine is cold. Supposedly, some newer BMWs show the current safe RPM range right on the tacho. The range increases as the engine warms up. That is a defacto coolant temp gauge in these cars. Alas, if the car overheats, you still have to wait for a dummy light to let you know. And by that time, you'll be thrown into limp mode anyway...


Actually, Mazda does something akin to these two things you mentioned in my Mazda RX-8.

When the engine is cold, the rpms are limited to around 5k until the coolant temp hits a certain point, and then you can rev it up to about 6800 rpms, and then after you get to the fully warmed up normal temp spot, you can then fully explore the 9k rpm limit to your hearts content.

If you try to go past these rev points before that coolant temp is hit, you run into both a rev limiter, and a fuel cutoff.

I'm sure that if you owned an automatic, it would probably just shift you up a gear, but has a lower rpm limit when fully warmed up (manual revs to 9k, auto revs to 7500).

To go along with this, on the tach, you have a series of red bars that are in line with these lower rpm limits. Here's what it looks like:

Automatic

Manual

Makes it easy to know what your rpm limit is at any given point in time.

BC.

 

[dailydriver]

I was looking through the current WRX/STI brochure yesterday and was SHOCKED to see so few gauges on these otherwise impressive high performance models.

As far as I'm concerned these things should come standard with very accurate; oil temp and pressure, boost, volt meter, and maybe even exhaust temp gauges!!

The boost gauge is considered an "accessory" option.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
And Arco - how did you know I just ordered a scan gauge for my iPhone?


So you're using the PLX Kiwi OBD plug in WiFi device??

Which app(s) did you get to use it with; Dash Command, Rev, Fuzzy Car, or all three, like I did?