93-97 Coolant Temperature Gauge Modification (2 Viewers)

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I've got the 93 gauge back now from the combined efforts of Canada and US postal services and need to get it sent back to Raven. I would say if you are not patient you could just try the 95-97 mod. The gauge looks almost identical and we know the stock resister is the same rating as 95-97 and the diode looks the same.

that said, I would like to be sure so I am very appreciative that RT is willing to test it for me :D
 
Can't the two resistors be bought at RadioShack?
 
Darwood good deal, it is comforting to have solid anwser of what your temperatures are. on a trip to florida in september I swapped in one of the early beta gauge mods just to have soemthing for that trip. that mod wass 100% functional just to sensetive, it had big movements for small changes in temperature.

let everybody know how it goes, I think some may not want to be the first to try it.



jklubens said:
Can't the two resistors be bought at RadioShack?
Click to expand...


Sorry no they are not available at RS Unless your radio shack is better stocked than mine they don’t have any 3watt resistors, much less in 110 and 50 ohms, 110 ohms is an unusual value, Especially in 1% accuracy. Most common resistors are 5% or 10% accuracy

3 watt resistors are not common, usually you have small 1/4 and 1/2 watt resistors for electronics that will not handle this load, they will overheat rendering the gauge inoperable, possibly damage your cruiser. The other common resistors are 5 and up watt "power resistors" witch have a heat sink to help dissipate heat that make them more difficult to install in the space available.

The linked resistors are inexpensive even with shipping, and are the best match for this application I have found, using the linked resistors is your safest bet. Other resistors may have different results.

Also in general radio shack components are generic cheap stuff sold at inflated prices. The resistors linked above have a good bit of info and testing and ratings behind them. The torture tests at the bottom are interesting.


http://www.vishay.com/docs/30204/rsns.pdf
 
jcolegrove said:
have parts in hand- just trying to find an extra 3 hours...
is that a good guess as to time for a moderate to good mechanic and solderer?
Click to expand...


The 3 hour estimate is well padded. but take your time not a race. tinkering in the garrage having a few sep #6's is good for you. :beer:

-B- and Darwood thanks. I will be contacting you guys, I already have a "before" .gif. I have the after mod stills but they are awaiting conversion into the "after" animated gif.

Hey Semlin let me know when you want to ship it, I'll be ready. I suspect that the mod will be the same but there is only one way to confirm.

:cheers:
 
Quick tip from mouser if you order only these parts from them:

The USPS Priority Mail is not only CHEAPER than UPS Ground for this size order, it's 2-3 day delivery. I mention it only becuase UPS Ground is the default option for shipping...

:beer:
 
RT,
Thanks for the info.
I'd be willing to champion for the 3FE crowd after the tranny rebuild.

In the original post I understand how you did everything except for the 'sender' part. What is this needed for? Did you measure resistence on the sender in order to guage the appropriate resistor to buy?
 
RavenTai said:
so comming up on 3 weeks now, no body has tried this yet?
Click to expand...

I'm waiting on the parts to be delivered. When I called, they told me that all of a sudden they ran out of exactly the 2 resistors I was looking for. Hmmmmm.....I wonder why..........

I got an Email confirmation yesterday that the resistors were re stocked and shipped out. Hopefully I will get them before the weekend.
 
RavenTai said:
so comming up on 3 weeks now, no body has tried this yet?
Click to expand...

I was going to hold out for the dummy light version, but I went ahead and ordered up two pair yesterday. I can't wait to see it move up and down :bounce:
 
jklubens said:
RT,
Thanks for the info.
I'd be willing to champion for the 3FE crowd after the tranny rebuild.

In the original post I understand how you did everything except for the 'sender' part. What is this needed for? Did you measure resistance on the sender in order to gauge the appropriate resistor to buy?
Click to expand...

Pretty much, The resistance curve of the sender is used in the majority of calculation of the circuit . a lot of this mod was done on paper first following formulas, then tweaked with testing on the real thing.

If you have a spare gauge and sender you can send it my way and I will figure it up or if you are willing I can give you the run down on how to go about it you will need to gather a few things and have some spare time.





Gauge said:
I'm waiting on the parts to be delivered. When I called, they told me that all of a sudden they ran out of exactly the 2 resistors I was looking for. Hmmmmm.....I wonder why..........

I got an Email confirmation yesterday that the resistors were re stocked and shipped out. Hopefully I will get them before the weekend.
Click to expand...

Oops made a run on resistors, so there are quite a few parts out there waiting to go in :cheers:



Rookie2 said:
I was going to hold out for the dummy light version, but I went ahead and ordered up two pair yesterday. I can't wait to see it move up and down :bounce:
Click to expand...


That is still planned on but no idea when I will be able to get to it, still have work to do on reporting the 95-97, haven’t really started on the 93/94 or 91/93 yet and time is very short. Working 2 jobs right now. best to do this one for now. and add on to it later.

I may get a lot of free time here shortly though :doh:
 
semlin said:
I've got the 93 gauge back now from the combined efforts of Canada and US postal services and need to get it sent back to Raven. I would say if you are not patient you could just try the 95-97 mod. The gauge looks almost identical and we know the stock resister is the same rating as 95-97 and the diode looks the same.

that said, I would like to be sure so I am very appreciative that RT is willing to test it for me :D
Click to expand...

:popcorn: :beer:
 
RavenTai said:
Pretty much, The resistance curve of the sender is used in the majority of calculation of the circuit . a lot of this mod was done on paper first following formulas, then tweaked with testing on the real thing.

If you have a spare gauge and sender you can send it my way and I will figure it up or if you are willing I can give you the run down on how to go about it you will need to gather a few things and have some spare time.
Click to expand...





RT, Thanks for the offer. I'll opt for the low down on the directions. I have not spare parts to send to you.

Thanks again.
 
Can your vehicle be down for a wile? You will need both parts out of the vehicle for the duration of figuring it out, if you bought the sender from Dan then you could probably drive you cruiser without the gauge, the 92/92 sender is different from the 93-97 sender.

First thing you will want to do is get a reasonably accurate thermometer, digital would be best, you need a heated oil bath, and a way to support the sender in this bath, I used cooking pot, a cheap hot plate and milled an aluminum chunk for the sender to sit in. you will also need a digital multimeter, Fluke or similar good grade. you will also need a good adjustable DC power supply, I tried for a wile to use a battery and battery charger but was a pain, voltage was a moving target, fianlly made a propper poser supply from radio shack parts for about $40.

When you are ready hit me up in the other thread.
 
It works!

I have driven about three days on my "new" gauge. WOW it actually moves! !

So far, just to/from work - no long trips or high load driving; but I am impressed.

What a novel concept - a temp gauge that gives a realistic indication of temperature:)

Thank you RavenTai, a highly effective, low buck mod! :cheers: :beer:
 
boydmick said:
I have driven about three days on my "new" gauge. WOW it actually moves! !

So far, just to/from work - no long trips or high load driving; but I am impressed.

What a novel concept - a temp gauge that gives a realistic indication of temperature:)

Thank you RavenTai, a highly effective, low buck mod! :cheers: :beer:
Click to expand...

cool :cheers:

Did you run into anyhting that needs to be added to the instructions? tips / tricks?
 
The only thing I can add is when reinstalling the gauge cluster, be sure to use the shorter screws for the top two locations.

I didn't keep track of which screw came from which spot and started to put a longer screw in the top. It bottomed out on the dash pad and pushed it upward just a bit. As soon as I noticed, I replaced the screw with a shorter one. No contact then.

Other than that the directions were very complete and the pictures appropriate.

Thanks again,

Boyd
 
Thanks Boyd added to the instructions :cheers:
 
Well, I joined the club today. Your directions were excellent RT.

I could get the desoldering braid thing to work very well. It just wasn't heating up enough through the braid and absorbing the old solder. I didn't have a drill bit the size of the Zener Diode leads so I used a bobby pin to stick in the holes and widen them up a touch. Everything seemed to go very well, an it looks like my gauge is operational.

Thank again for all you've done on this mod!

Here's a couple of pics :bounce:
100_0607_3.jpg
100_0609_3.jpg
 
Nice work R2, looks good :cheers:

I like the clamp up method. Looks more secure and supports more of the board, just don’t clamp to tight. I used the disordering bulb, I was not much for it but it worked, I thought the braid might work better but aparently not. Maybe your soldering iron was not large enough to heat that much mass?


Thanks :beer:
 
RavenTai said:
I like the clamp up method. Looks more secure and supports more of the board, just don’t clamp to tight.
Click to expand...

Definitely. I clamped it enough to get a good bit, but that's it.

RavenTai said:
Maybe your soldering iron was not large enough to heat that much mass?
Click to expand...

Probably not.. maybe pour technique too :D. I got a 40 watt soldering iron... $8 Radio Shack special. It was heating up the braid enough to burn my fingers a couple of inches down the braid, but for what ever reason, was not melting the solder and drawing it through the braid. There really didn't seem to be a whole lot of extra solder on that factory connection anyways. So I heated up the solder enough to pull the old leads through, then reused what was there and added a bit for good measure. I'm no solder expert, but it seemed to be a good connection once it was all said and done.

I'm going to go watch it move up and down some more :D.

:beer:
Rookie
 
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