|
Allow me to defibrillate this thread if I may...
Most temperature gauges in cars today are what could be called "dummy" gauges. They work exactly as described above, the needle does not move within the engine's normal operating range. On my Escort the needle climbs until the engines reaches about 190*, then stops dead in it's tracks, even up to 220* when the fan kicks on. This is all based on info from my Scangauge II of course, since the stock temp gauge has no markings. I'm not sure at what temp it starts moving again, but I know it does because I had an overheating problem once (leaky radiator). My Firebird on the other hand has a real temperature gauge, and I can see the normal changes in coolant temperature from, say, sitting at a red light to cruising at a steady speed. This gauge reads generally pretty close to what my Scangauge shows, although it uses a different sensor than the computer does, so there is a slight variation. In keeping with the dumbing down of cars, later model F bodies (Camaros and Firebirds) switched to a dummy gauge so people wouldn't worry that their cars are heating up when stopped.
__________________
|