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Posted by wayneh [68.55.55.71] on Sunday, August 26, 2012 at 10:07:19 :
In Reply to: W100 Temp Gauge problem. posted by The Dodge Boys [64.121.152.7] on Sunday, August 26, 2012 at 08:48:50 :
That is an interesting question, I hope others will jump in with what they have learned.
The gauge in my '56 really meant nothing to me, so I installed a $20.00 dollar gauge from Advance auto parts. It seems like the water temperature runs about 100 degrees higher than outside air temperature. I've never seen it over 200, even on the hottest days. I drove it back and forth to work Friday (17 miles each way) and in the morning it never got much over 165 (the air was about 65) and in the afternoon it ran about 180 or so, and the outside temp was about 82 degrees.
So back to the OEM gauge... I took the sensor and put in a some boiling water and hooked it up to the gauge. I did notice the gauge reads higher by maybe 1/4" when the voltage is 13.8 volts. (engine running)
What I ended up doing was calibrating the gauge. With 13.8 volts, I wanted it to be towards the "T" in heat on the gauge when it was close to 212 degrees. I had to add about 30 ohms resistance in line with the sending unit to get it there. Before I did that, 200 degrees was in the "T" part of heat, so I wanted it more towards the "E" or "A" when it was about 180 degrees.
So the bad part is, due to my anal nature, I put the advance auto parts gauge back in because I wanted to know a number for the temperature. I'll probably put the OEM one in this spring.
Also, just for the fun of it, I put some redline coolant wetter. Supposed to lower the water temp by ten degrees. Who know.
Wayne