Gents,
I'm gonna get myself an electric Autometer Water Temp Guage. What are your opinions on mounting locations for the sensor? Now, I don't know HOW to do any of these options, I just know what they are. Yeah, Lightning & Robinette have some info, but I want more interactive feedback.
A) Filler Neck
B) Thermostat Housing
C) Since it's electric, can I just pull the signal from the stock water temp sensor?

Thanks!
~Tom

Oh, and feel free to give me pros and cons of mechanical vs. electric temperature guages. Thanks.

 

You will probably have a lot of mounting options being that the sensor is smaller. I went with a Mechanical... NEVER do that, the sensor is HUGE. Not only is it huge but it doesnt detach from the gauge, and you have to be very careful not to bend the wire or you will be s.o.l. I ended up getting a NTP "T" fitting and tapping into the throttle body coolant line. Works great and is out of sight, but I am sure it would be easier and a more accurate reading with the electric.

 

I've heard the TB line will not be as accurate (ie- 5-15 degrees cooler). So i'm discarding that option. Good info on the mech. though. Thanks.
~Tom

 

No, you can't just put the stock signal, tap the new sensor next to the stock water level sensor, there are some extra bunges filled with allen style bolts, and I suggest you get a different kind other than Autometer-not true great of a choice unless your pocket binds you. Otherwise definetly get an electric one. I suggest you get either a greddy or hks or spi are all great gauges, never trusted an autometer.

 

I know of the Autometer bashing I haven't had any accuracy problems in the past, and they are pretty inexpensive. Can you give a suggestion for another type that has a very good stock-guage appearance?
~Tom

 

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobi...temp_gauge.htm

should be usefull

 

I have just finish installing an Autometer water temp. electrical gauge and a fuel/air mixture gauge. I did it for the extra insurance and i gave it my best though into it. I removed the factory water temp. sending unit wich is just behind #2 rotor next to the plugs(is a small one). Autometer`s sending unit is exactly the same but is not calibrated to the gauge itself. It screws right in. Then relocated the factory sender on the front of the water neck(on the radiator side of the thermostat) by drilling and then tapping with a 1/8 PIPE tap. The factory meter will move to the middle of its range at about 180 degrees and stay there regardles of the Autometer almost reaching +230degrees. At that point the fans turn on and lower the temp to about 190 degrees. The factory gauge all that tells you is that your car reached operating temp. BUT will NOT climb up to warn you of very high temp. or overheating.

 

Alright, I know I'm all over the board here and I appreciate all your guys's help. Okay. Here's my plan:
Tap in the thermostat housing
Use Cyberdyne digital guage (easier to see little differences in temperature at a glance).

Displays a temperature range of 0 to 300°F in 1° increments. Accurate to +/- 1°. 2-1/16'' diameter. Requires #280-SENSS6E sender.

Only $40+ sender. Not a great stock-looking guage addition, but form follows function, right? Sound good to you?
~Tom

 

I am in a similar predicament. I have the Autometer Electrical Temp Guage, and would like to tap into the throttle body coolant line. Does anyone have a photo of this install completed? Thanks

 

Any other options on guages?

 

You could get a Greddy temp adapter. You just cut one of the radiator hose and it fits in between it and the sensor goes in the adapter like a T. Works pretty good that way. That's what I have because I didn't want to use a drill.

 

Looks like I will go with the Greddy temp. guage from Goth Racing. Good unit and good price.

 

I put the sender for my SPA dual digital gauge in the stock WT gauge sensor location on the rear side housing. It mounts into the side of the engine down and to the left of the stock oil pressure sender. This should be among the hottest parts of the system as it in the water that flows through the spark plug area in the rotor housings. It is above the plugs, so it probably isn't the hottest spot, but it seems like a good location. The threads are 1/8 NPT (or 1/8 BSP) or so -- they are all close enough that you can just thread it right in without having to re-tap the hole. The SPA sensor is small, so it fits in there just fine.

The only problem seems to be that it kills the sensor every year or so (the gauge starts flashing when there is a fault). At least it is clear that the sensor went bad, rather than just silently giving bad readings. I think the failures are due to heat and vibration in that spot. The replacement sensors are less than $30 and it only takes half an hour or so to get in there and replace it.

Whenever you mount a temp sender, be sure that you get the end of the sensor into the flow of the liquid you want to measure the temp of. You can put a pressure sensor at the end of a hose, but temp senders need to be in the flow to get accurate readings.

The stock sender for the gauge can be removed with no ill effect -- its only purpose is to get a signal for the stock gauge. I think the ECU uses the temp signal from the thermostat housing to adjust fuel delivery and turn the fans on. So don't remove that one! The gauge will go dead when you remove the sender from the location I described, but I plan to put my aftermarket gauge in the dash to replace the stock gauge anyway.

-Max

 

I have the cyberdyne guage. I like it pretty well. I asked for the amber display and they sent red. It was also on back order for about a month. I would get it from summit rather than from cyberdyne directly.

 

I installed the probe for my gauge in the throttle body coolant line. As for accuracy in this location, the fan speeds jive with the gauge readings so it seems right to me.

What I don't like about the thermostat housing is you can't get temps until the thermostat opens. By using the stock sensor location on the block or the throttle body coolant line I can see the motor warming up.

And as for the stock gauge, I view swings in temp from 180 to about 230 with NO visible difference in the stock gauge. Ouch!

 

thermostat housing is the best possible location. this is what you need to know, temp of water entering the block

 

Not to be argumentative, but the temp of the water IN the motor is what I care about. The hoses and radiator can be 1000 degrees, but if the block is cool I am happy.

 

And on top of all that, why don't 'yall just linearize the stock gauge? Do numbers REALLY make that much of a difference? Isn't it more like, "177-180F, ok, my T-stat is closed, and all is well with world. 195-205F, well that's a bit hot, why don't I turn on my fans and cool off? 206 to 215F, that's hot, fans are on med now, watch that sucker!! 215 to 230F, whatever the hell I'm doing to make it hot, stop right now. Over 230F, something is seriously wrong, shut it off RIGHT NOW!" The linearization gives you all of this, just no numbers. Maybe I be dumb...

BTW, if you put the sender at the T-stat housing and the T-stat stuck closed, wouldn't the sender be the LAST thing to get warm? And you would have boiled the coolant around the o-rings by that point? Hmmm...

 

Exactly what I am afraid of. I also like seeing the motor warm before the thermostat opens.

I see your humor in the temp readings and my original plan was to linearize the stock gauge, but once the Tripower pods became available I changed my mind. The Tripower with my boost and water temp gauges just looks to danged nice up there

And if I want to be real paranoid I left the stock gauge and sensor intact so I now have two independent readings

 

Hey neat! BTW, at what temp number do you find the stock gauge to have reached it's middle idiot position during warm up? Just curious...

 

The stock gauge goes to the middle (actually just below on my car) before 180 degrees. It sits in the same spot even after I have exceeded 230 degrees!

 

Yeah! I was trying to figure out at what temp the stocker first reaches the middle to have the other side of the temp range that that stupid thing doesn't move. I seem to recall reading 115F as being the lowest temp the thing reads at the middle, which is a little scary as I would want to drive the car once it warmed to about 145F at least. Anyway, this is all acedemic, but it nicely proves the point as to why the temp gauge really needs to be modified/replaced!

Thanks

 

Revive my old thread, eh....well, i'll tell you what i've learned. In the TB line, the readings are very delayed. Up to a minute at idle. Now, over the winter, I'm gonna move the sender into the thermostat housing. I realize this will only tell me the temp after it has opened, but get this. I've still got the stock guage!!! So, if the bitch it stuck closed, I'll see some problems on the stock guage. Moreover, if my Cyberdyne isn't going up at all after a little bit of time, I have the feeling I'd see the problem very quickly. Best location, just gotta be smart about it.
~Tom