customer testimonial first !!

New message from: pete.jeffe (39Yellow Star)

Thank you for your help.  It's in the car and running

in the photos, you are seeing ..

 1. A "car-off" situation. Just above the big white gauge on the right are 2 really tiny green blobs about 3mm across.  One of these is this warning system. 

2. It is now "on" and as you can see, it certainly gets your attention.  

3. A side view showing the panel gauge (reddy LEDs).. and the green LED being a directional beam.  (Normally this light would not be on at 28 degrees, but I have forced it to do so for the photo).  

4.  The panel gauge closer up. 

5 and 6. The panel gauge can be unobtrusive, hidden away at the far lower right. (if all the other guff wasn't there!).  And in any case, if you don’t want an LED display, simply hide the control box/panel in the dash… it still sets off the LED on a long remote lead… you just don’t see the temp display… the bright green LED over-temp warning is separate and tiny (3mm)… no need for you to see the main gauge as such.  Another idea would be to add in a buzzer to the output. Easy enough and I give you the wiring diagram. 

You could also change the LED to one of my half-inch old-school dash lights, but then you do lose the "in your face" warning that is really needed... the old "temperature dash lights" from days of yore are not very bright

PS The curly-cord is an old cruise-control system I had on, now wireless.. nothing to do with this and now gone anyway)

7.  This shows the unit before I made the stainless panel you see in 3.


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WHAT WE HAVE LISTED HERE IS AN … EMERGENCY… FULLY ADJUSTABLE... FULLY SEPARATE FROM EXISTING… TEMPERATURE GAUGE AND BRIGHT LIGHT FOR HOT WATER SITUATIONS… IN OLD VINTAGE BANGERS WITH LIMITED TEMP SAFETY FEATURES.

 It tells you the temperature of the water leaving the engine travelling to the top of the radiator... BUT its real purpose is to monitor this temperature and switch on a very bright tiny LED if it should go above 92 (for example) degrees.     I am a vintage-car driver (and a vintage driver too…) myself and this is born of my own experience and necessity.

 This comes pre-wired and is a doddle to put in.  I extend the sensor for you. I extend the light for you. This can be put in electrically and thermally in a real ten mins… the “nice-looking panel" will take longer… see photos of what I did.  Honestly,  even if you’re an electrical dunderhead (sorry), you will be able to do this…

 THE PROLOGUE

 There are three general types of water-overheat situations.  No temp gauge or temp light will help you with 1. or  2. .

 1. STILL WATER. This first one just requires you to be aware of it , as it is already warned via the genny light. (assuming genny and water pump on same belt).  SITUATION. The fan belt breaks, the genny light comes on and the water pump stops.  The genny light coming on and telling you about the genny is irrelevant… the real message is “STOP IMMEDIATELY, THE WATER PUMP IS NOT PUMPING!!”.

As in the next situation, the water not circulating is a drastic issue, the engine will super-heat in thirty seconds and misfiring and detonation will start… and you’ll destroy the engine quick-time if you don’t turn it off.

 2. NO WATER. This one usually happens as a result of a very badly-split hose and you must be vigilant.  The water drops out really fast thru the split and again a super-heat happens. With this one, your first warning is misfiring.  You literally have seconds to realise what is going on and turn it off… This often comes about as people use those rubbish modern convoluted bypass hoses with no re-inforcement. DO NOT USE THEM !!!

 All temperature gauges will not really help you in either situation above.  The reason being that the water is 1. not moving .  Even if your temp sensor is in the block, it will be too slow.  For 1.   The outer block will not change temp quickly enough. The water is still .. and conducts heat poorly (swimming pool with heat blanket on is roasting at the top, cold at bottom).The same goes for 2 and even more so, as the cooling medium has completely gone.  The sensor is isolated on the outer block.

However, let’s put these aside and see what we CAN do.

 3.  HOT WATER.  This is one we can do something about.  This is the one gauges and lights (and this) work on warning about.   This one happens due to a slow-split leak… or low water… or a slow failure of the system as a whole on a hot day etc. 

 THE SOLUTION to 3

 Your old car may have (a) no temperature warning at all (b) a light (c) a gauge

If you have (b) or (c), they are often not much better than (a).  The reason is that the light is usually a pissy non directional dash-jewel… by the time you see it, it’s usually way over-hot.  The light is controlled via a useless sensor-switch anyway.  Usually set to come on WAY too high... and with no choice to change.   So lights are not very good, mind you... they are still better than gauges for WARNING HIGH.   Gauges are probably worse... and indeed this happened to me*. You simply don’t watch gauges all the time… it’s often lights that eventually get your attention. 

 So what we want is an EASILY ADJUSTABLE…. VERY BRIGHT temp light that you can set at any level QUICKLY for your car… incorporating an (OPTIONAL VIEWING)  GAUGE SHOWING THE CURRENT TEMP AS WELL… completely separate from anything already installed… cheap… and easy to install… no threads etc.  a TALL–ORDER !!

 By example here,  I use my A30 car .  This is hardly a normal example, but a stock car is still the same.  Mine has its thermostat set at 74, a high speed 14 inch 750-litres-of air-a-second thermatic fan which is set at 80 to 84… my system therefore sits all year round at 74 min to 84 max.    I have an old-school gauge that tells me water temp in the engine.    I may have no manual fan, but the danger is just as real for me... even though it sounds great.

 I was driving about and a wire came adrift from the temp switch of the fan… so now it simply never came on… it slowly went upwards (slowly as the radiator is a 4 core high efficiency), but I never saw the old-school gauge showing 100.  What actually got my attention was the non-sound of the thermatic after 12 min on this hot 40 degree day... I suddenly looked at the gauge… jesus… 100!!!

 You get the picture… I’m sure you can see the same thing happening to you.. it creeping upwards.     So-o-o  now, I have added this entirely autonomous sensor and light and gauge kit which is set at 90 to 92 (comes on 92, goes back off when temp drops below 90, ie a hysteresis of 2 degrees)... If I'd had this operating on the afore-mentioned day, the above would never have happened.  The bright light would have shone in my eyes at 92 and the situation would have been noted at this much earlier stage. 

 And if you have no temp warnings at all eg Austin a30… then this will really solve all your problems for over heating warnings for HOT WATER.

I give you a sheet telling you the easy setting etc of your chosen temp, but it is preset as above.  Each one is made up and tested for real... (i tell you this test).  Test summary... Hot water 100. put sensor in. gauge rapidly goes up. at 92 it turns light on, i take out, as it cools past 90 , the light tuns off.   The sheet then waffles on in my inimitable style, with diagrams and other stuff you can ignore... or make into a paper airplane.

 The light is a highly versatile miniature super bright LED in a lead.  Bright green, it can be set easily anywhere.  The gauge shows the current temp and is very easily installed with no sodding around with threads.  As with anything I sell, it works !!  I use it !!  I test it!!!  THERE IS NO NEED TO PUT THE SENSOR IN A WATER FLOW. JUST TIE IT THE UPPER RADIATOR HOSE USING HIGH QUALITY TIES (NO $2 SHOP RUBBISH.. UV PROOF ONES USUALLY HIGH QUAL)

 THE “DOWNSIDE” for purist pedants. 

 Whilst this addresses a very real possibly lethal failing of your aged tin-mate in a modern way, it is not old-school. You can have the orange-readout gauge either showing… or hidden away in the dash.    Obviously, the green LED must be invisibly tucked in some tiny corner with a 3mm blob of silicon, so it shines in your face.   If you can’t bear to have a 3mm water-clear LED in a tiny corner position, or you follow those didactic “rules” that tell you what to do (??), then I can’t help you.  Enjoy spending money on that cooked engine !  I’m into vintage… but not into cooked engines…

The gauge itself can be simply chucked up inside the dash and never seen, or it can be used properly and give you valuable visual information. 

 Please note the LED is dead-simple to install with a small blob of silicone. It is very bright in a directional way and WILL get your attention!!

   

THE EPILOGUE

 There is a way to solve 2 (NO WATER) by the way... you need a wet-to-dry sensor/alarm.  The problem I had with these is that the water provides a path to earth for the sensor and messes it all up.  It was a project I was keen on, but has too many side-problems.  In the end I decided vigilance with hoses and clips would solve 95% of the conditions this NO WATER situation arises from.

 To look for items in my shop, the easiest way is to save any one of MY 1400 items in your watchlist... Then,  whenever you want to peruse my 1400 items... simply click on the hyperlink called “visit store” at the top right of this item.  That will take you to a page with my 35 store categories... which will allow you to narrow down what you’re after.

Plodding through the Ebay mire of the general search box... or the “see other items” hyperlink  is simply the way to insanity.

If you’re using Ebay’s useless mobile app, I’m sorry... I have no idea how you will find them… this app is a real shocker/compromise in quality and half the stuff is missing. Go to your PC is my advice.

SHOP-category examples “ALTERNATORS” or  "BRAKE"   or   “badges” or "TRAFFICATOR parts"   or "LIGHTS"   or   "AXLES"   or   "COOLING"  or “SWITCHES” etc etc