The stupidification of gauges - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Diesel_Dave · 11-23-2011, 11:02 AM

RANT WARNING!

Okay, so what's the deal with gauges on cars these days?

I recently found out that the oil pressure "gauge" on my truck really isn't an oil pressure gauge after all. As it turns out it has a low oil pressure switch but not an oil pressure sensor. So, if there's low oil pressure it will trip the gauge low, but otherwise it just displays an estimated oil pressure (I'm guessing it's estimated from engine speed and coolant temp).

At this point I'm not going to debate whether there should actually be a sensor vs. a switch. But what's the point of even having the gauge?! Why not just have a low oil pressure light? That would be simpler anyway. Adding the gauge adds nothing and just gives the driver potentially bad information.

The other thing that bugs me is the way gauges a) don't have units and/or b) have very few or no numbers. How does not adding numbers and/or units save any money? Are they afraid they'll confuse people? The easily confused aren't looking at their gauges anyway. Most of those stupid gauges just have a red area so people know if things are bad. I'm okay with colors, but why not add numbers and/or units?

Daox · 11-23-2011, 11:28 AM

Its all about image. It looks fancier so they do it. 95% of the owners will never know the difference, so its a win for them.

PaleMelanesian · 11-23-2011, 11:56 AM

How about temperature gauges? Mine doesn't move until 140F and then reads "normal" anywhere between 160-220F. That's the highest I've seen it, and the gauge still didn't budge. It's a good thing I have the Scangauge to tell me the real story.

Diesel_Dave · 11-23-2011, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

How about temperature gauges? Mine doesn't move until 140F and then reads "normal" anywhere between 160-220F. That's the highest I've seen it, and the gauge still didn't budge. It's a good thing I have the Scangauge to tell me the real story.

Yeah, mine doesn't read anything until 140 F either, then only two marks after that, 200 F and I don't remember what the high mark is. Maybe 240 F

Piwoslaw · 11-23-2011, 12:25 PM

The oil gauge is only to 'look' more functional, making the owner think his truck is more hi-tech, or that he has more control over it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

How about temperature gauges? Mine doesn't move until 140F and then reads "normal" anywhere between 160-220F. That's the highest I've seen it, and the gauge still didn't budge. It's a good thing I have the Scangauge to tell me the real story.

Same here: my temp gauge starts at 70°C and shows the correct temp (compared to the SGII) up to 90°C, above which it won't budge. Only the SG told me that my fan is broken by displaying a max of 114°C in a traffic jam

Daox · 11-23-2011, 12:30 PM

Yeah, I thought the same thing about temp gauges. I wonder what it takes to move them above norm. However, they are sometimes handy to tell if your thermostat is stuck open.

I did notice that the Yaris lacks a coolant temp gauge. It now just has an LED that is blue when cold, green or yellow (I forget) when warm, and red (or something) when its overheating. For the average driver who probably never even pays attention to their temp gauge, this is all they really need.

PaleMelanesian · 11-23-2011, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

I did notice that the Yaris lacks a coolant temp gauge. It now just has an LED that is blue when cold, green or yellow (I forget) when warm, and red (or something) when its overheating. For the average driver who probably never even pays attention to their temp gauge, this is all they really need.

That's basically what our gauges give us, but the LEDs are a simpler and more compact layout. If it's going to be a dumb gauge, might as well change it to digital instead.

RH77 · 11-24-2011, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

That's basically what our gauges give us, but the LEDs are a simpler and more compact layout. If it's going to be a dumb gauge, might as well change it to digital instead.

I totally agree --how far off of "Cold" is it when it disappears? I do miss the sweep of an analog needle...

On the flip-side, I've noticed that many Chrysler-brand vehicles are now offering a digital MID with parameters such as transmission temp, engine hours, and many other readings (not just on RAMs, but also the Grand Caravan and Charger, to name a couple).

RH77

Peter7307 · 11-24-2011, 02:43 AM

Quite few cars now have no temp gauge only a warning light somewhere.

One point which is often overlooked though is an inaccurate gauge is possibly worse then no gauge at all.

Personally I have always regarded gauges as "an estimate" of what ever they are reporting at best given they are built down to a cost.

Interestingly I have found there is , on my car at least , a "service reporting" function which display things like volts , amps , oil press and a few other things on the trip computer.
Accessing this info is via a sequence of button pushing on the normal trip function panel on the display.

Peter.

jakobnev · 11-24-2011, 07:55 AM

A while back i started thinking that my temp gauge was staying at the bottom a bit too long and then jumping up to the middle a bit too fast. Knowing that the sensor is at the top of the engine i decided to check the coolant level, and lo and behold it was low. I also noticed that the gasket on the cap had turned itself into crap.

So an actual gauge, even without numbers, isn't useless, if you pay attention.