Real time help - Temp Problem?

[Leandro]

Made it home safely and trouble free.
On IL plains the temp was fixed at 195.8.
Now with more time and my tools I will check things throughly and clean and degrease the rad fins.

 

[TheDan]

This is one of the many reasons I use a Ultra-Guage, it only uses power when the ignition is on and has a battery for it's own memory. It turns on and starts giving me live data as soon as I turn the key on. It shuts off when I turn the igitniton off.

I love this idea and ill probably end up purchasing one in due time. I bought the bluetooth dongle 3-4 years ago for cheap as a diagnostic tool to help me straighten out my diagnostic issues and pull codes off of all my families/friends vehicles. 13 bucks for the elm427 chinese adapter, and 10dollars for torque pro. And it had the ability to pull live info from whatever i plugged it into. For 23 bucks it served me well and has paid for itself multiple times. (In california the auto parts stores will refuse to scan/reset your codes and send you to a dealer/mechanic who will charge you more than 23bucks a scan/reset if you dont know them or have a loyality to them at least)
I was a little dissappointed when i found out that the bluetooth dongle constantly drew amps. But for 23bucks i was still happy with the tool.

 

[TheDan]

99% of people do not use a live data device while driving, only for diagnostics.
The temp gauge is programmed to have a large "dead" spot with a BIG temp range before the gauge starts to move.
It usually will not move off of the normal spot until the engine is at 230*F or so, then it'll move quickly, the red starts at 250*F typically.

And I guarantee you ARB is not checking engine temps when designing a winch bumper and winch mount location.
They are designing for fit and least amount of installer modifications.

Agreed with the dead-spot. Also agree that most people dont know about it and havnt streamed live info. Im going out on a limb and presuming that these temps are experienced by alot of obd2 cruser owners and t4r owners but they wouldnt know because of the dead spot. I just learned to be comfortable and trust mr T when it came to the gage. But to check it frequently especially while under load or traffic and be prepared to react if you ever see it start creeping

 

[Spike555]

The Ultra-Gauge reads and clears codes too. I also have a cheap live data scanner in my tool box for reading the codes on my wifes van and moms car.
I like that the UG is hassle free, I have it suction cupped to the windshield, it shows the info I want and I've had it for about 10yrs now. Totally worth the money.

 

[Leandro]

I remember as a kid in Argentina there was a device called Vigia (translated would be like "watcher") probably still exists and is more sofisticated now.
This device monitored voltage, oil pressure and temp and you had warning lights in your dash, but would also shut down the engine to prevent damage in case temp or oil pressure reached a preset value.
When cars were not computarized you had to drill the engine block to install the sensors, I'm sure is less intrusive now.

 

[Leandro]

^^^^^ found a video about it.
You still need to drill the block, because thr temp sensor checks coolant and metal temp in case you run out of coolant.

 

[Spike555]

I remember as a kid in Argentina there was a device called Vigia (translated would be like "watcher") probably still exists and is more sofisticated now.
This device monitored voltage, oil pressure and temp and you had warning lights in your dash, but would also shut down the engine to prevent damage in case temp or oil pressure reached a preset value.
When cars were not computarized you had to drill the engine block to install the sensors, I'm sure is less intrusive now.

Murphy's Safety Switch, we installed them on stationary engines to prevent damage incase of a failure of some kind. Used on irrigation pumps that pumped water from the river into a irrigation pond, and then from the irrigation pond onto the crops.
Overheat, shut the engine off. Low oil pressure, shut the engine off.
Modern semi's have them too from the factory, a warning buzzer sounds and you have 30sec to pull over before the engine shuts off.

 

[TheDan]

Love the idea of those safety switches, but id be worried that of all the times they would shut me off, id be in bumper to bumper in a lane inaccessible to the breakdown lane. (Especially if i was a commercial trucker) One of the things i learned from overheating alot of my old junker crown vics when i was a teen is that when you overheat and pull over, expect to wait 20min or more before you attempt to limp it a few more miles to a service station/home. The water pump/fan is not running, the engine metal is very hot (some hot spots may be hotter than the area where your coolant temp sensor is located) and there is no air flow to cool the radiator.
Spike555 got me researching the ultragage and i noticed that is has alarms that can go off when your car is in a monitored danger-zone. Are these alarms customizable? Would i be able to custom set my temp alarm to say 235° and my votage alarm to 12.5v? Or is the feature a preset/configured parameters based system that will possibly have me pulling my hair out and turning the alarm mode off? (Conserned because a amazon reviewer critized the alarm mode for constantly going off for low fuel so he turned the alarm mode off) Not trusting his review until i can confirm that he wasnt using the feature properly.

 

[Spike555]

I'm a truck driver, when the alarm goes off all you have to do is put the transmission in neutral, turn off the ignition and then restart the engine. That resets the alarm and you get another 30secs. You can do that all day long or until the engine blows up.
With the irrigation pumps we used old engines out of cars or pick ups, set the throttle on the carb to the pump speed we needed and locked it there, then we just let them run out of fuel, we did not time them to run. If the irrigation pond wasn't full enough we just put more fuel in the tank and started over. Some of those Murphy switches had timers, like the sleep timer on your tv.

Yes, the UG you can set the alarms to what YOU want, so if you want it to go off at 200*F engine temp it will, then you press a button to silence the alarm.
You can also set exhaust temp alarms, etc. Some alarms only work with certains systems, I have all of my alarms turned off.
Mine is old enough that it will not read trans temp or oil psi. I have the 2nd generation of it. It is so old some of the pixels have dropped out when it gets hot from sitting in the sun all day, like when I'm at work.

 

[Spike555]

 

[MongooseGA]

Bumping this thread as it'll be pertinent again this time of year. And also because I needed it

I peaked at 211 (on scanguage) today running 75mph on slightly hilly Atlanta highways using front and rear AC, ambient temps 93-98. Crept back down to normal temps when I made it home to local roads and lower speed. Interestingly, my elevated temps were only at higher speed- I'd have thought the extra air would help but not so. This is the first time I've seen it over 200, typically runs between 186-198.

Anyway, after reading through here I stopped by the T-house and grabbed a new thermostat and gasket. Truck is in the garage cooling down in the AC and hopefully it gets cool enough to swap this in this evening. Radiator and WP are within 7 months old, rad is pristinely clean front and back. Besides the t-stat, all that's left would be temp sensor and fan clutch to check, right?

 

[abuck99]

Running through a small checklist: Check and see if the jiggle valve in the T-stat is positioned near the 12 o'clock position- ( correct orientation). Once cool- remove radiator cap and see if the coolant is all the way to the top of the filler neck-where it overflows into the fitting leading to the reservoir. When radiator was replaced, was the radiator cap also replaced?

 

[MongooseGA]

Running through a small checklist: Check and see if the jiggle valve in the T-stat is positioned near the 12 o'clock position- ( correct orientation). Once cool- remove radiator cap and see if the coolant is all the way to the top of the filler neck-where it overflows into the fitting leading to the reservoir. When radiator was replaced, was the radiator cap also replaced?

Yes, cap is new with the radiator. I will check the level before I do the tstat swap but it was just burped and filled a few weeks ago. She'd been very low, about 3qts. Expansion tank is full when hot, so I know it's not empty by any means. Haven't noticed any leaky coolant smell either. Radiator hose on top is firm and warm, didn't fenagle my arm down a hot engine to check the lower. Today is the first I've seen the temps spike and it's been in the 90s here for two weeks (who am I telling, you're local aren't you?

I'll do the tstat tonight as it's the cheapest and simplest of the group. If that doesn't work, I'd think fan clutch next, but again, it tested fine a few weeks back before I realized it was low on coolant anyway. We're heading to Florida next week and she's our ride so no time to dally any dillies.

 

[Leandro]

I'm the OP and my solution to this was to disconnect the OBDII and only check the temp gauge.

 

[abuck99]

Fan clutch will impact low speed cooling. Highway speeds don't come into play with that regard. Sorry if I misread what you said, are you saying coolant was 3 qts low after radiator was installed and initially burped?

 

[MongooseGA]

Radiator was replaced back in November when I bought the truck (TB/WP same time). I never did burp and fill the system again after I replaced the heater tees more recently, until I did and found how low it was a few weeks back.

 

[abuck99]

When you purchased T-stat did they also sell you a new rubber gasket?

 

[MongooseGA]

Separately but yes, I got one.

 

[flintknapper]

When you purchased T-stat did they also sell you a new rubber gasket?

 

[MongooseGA]

Swapped and burped. Granted, ambient temps are about 11* lower than this afternoon but all was fine on a highway test drive. Tomorrow will be the real test in the real heat. I had about an inch between the top of the fluid level and the top of the radiator fill hole.

My brain's torn on theory about the expansion tank... When the fluid is hot and expands, it would divert to the tank making it 'full' while hot, and not work the other way around like a vacuum drawing it out of the tank, correct?