Just fitted an engine watchdog. Now what is normal engine temperature.

Check back on page 4 topic "heat control vs water level control."
Interesting read including what I wrote about "normal running temp".There are also some other articles going back through the pages.
I will be getting a water level monitor installed next week. This way I hope I have covered all possibilities as much as pos.

Cheers Reg

Just bolt the sender to a suitable bolt, drive around for a week and note the temperatures it reads. Do a few decent hill climbs to get the engine working hard. Then you can set the alarm to go off a couple of degrees higher than that. The temperature will be different slightly depending on where you mount it. Just pick a spot to mount it and leave it there. You need repeatability. You'll soon work out the engines temperature range.
For reference, in my TD 80 series mine is mounted on one of the bolts on the top radiator hose outlet and it sits usually between 79 degC and 85 degC, depending on how much boost I'm pumping in. Everyone seems to have their own ideas about where is best to mount the sender, so really there is no magic number for engine temperature.

Don't go by spec.

What you have to do is set it maybe 2 deg above the highest safe engine temp you get.

Our vehicle ran at 59 deg going from Adelaide to Alice but once we got into the soft sands of the Hay river with a tail wind travelling slow in 4wd low the temp went up to 94 deg.....the vehicles temp gauge moved about 2mm from normal position.

Now we just set it 96 deg for all conditions.

Hi Cruiser

I too have just fitted an Engine Watchdog and for the last week have been running around to see what temp range it will sit at. Of course we are having unusual cold wet weather here on the west coast.

Mostly it runs 65deg in the mornings about 6:30 and 75deg in the late afternoon. This compares to my Scangauge reading the engine water temp at around 80deg mostly with a bit cooler in the morning.

I am running it in the turbo diesel V8 cruiser.

Cheers

David

Cruiser,

We run a Troopy with a 3F petrol engine. I fitted the sensor towards the back of the block on the side remote from the exhaust manifold. (There are convenient bolts there, securing the lifting hook.) Here the temperature is typically around 70 degrees, rising slowly towards 80 when working hard. The only times the alarm, set for 93 degrees, has gone off have been after working hard, then stopping the engine. While the coolant is circulating the temperature at that point hasn't risen above 80 degrees.

Positioning of the sensor will have quite an effect on the temperature reading. Don't know if it means much to talk of engine temperature when there's quite a range of temperatures at different places around the block. Many people attach to the thermostat housing where I found the reading was considerably higher than at the back of the block. I was concerned that if coolant was lost, the temperature of thermostat housing might not reflect engine temperature too well, so chose to measure block temperature. The actual temperature you see will depend very much on just where the sensor is fitted. I think it's best to simply find what's normal for you, how high when working hard, then set the alarm say 5 degrees above the highest you ever expect.

Cheers

John

Hi
I have the temperature pick up/ thermo couple for my tm2 engine watchdog
attached to the thermostat housing on my petrol 80 series.

And under normal driving conditions with air con running not towing the temperature sits around the 75/ 80/90 deg c mark.
Average 80deg c.

Soft sand beach driving air con on,
or steep low range off road tracks,warm to hot weather.
The temp can rise up to a max 104 deg c.

After a bit of trial and error i have set my alarm to sound at 106 deg c.
Any lower and to many false alarms.

And the factory gauge never moves through these temp ranges.
just stays in the middle.

Rob

can someone please explain why I would want to measure the outside block temperature ?? With oil temp and water temp I get the gradually changing effects and with EGT I get the immediate effects of the engine effort.
Furthermore through the OBDII I get intake temp and turbo out temp
and a few others.
What am I missing here ??

thanks
gmd

Thanks a lot to everyone for your help, it's really appreciated.

I have my sensor fitted to the head just above the thermostat housing, this position is quite near to the exaust manifold though.

My average running temperature measures 88 deg C however it will increase while idling at the lights to 94 deg.

These results were what prompted me to ask for your advice.

From your information I feel my cruiser may be running too hot. My thoughts are:
I could try repositioning the sensor further from the exhaust manifold although the thermostat position which is widely reccommended is also near the manifold.
Or I may try adding oil to my viscous fan because of the fact that the temperature rises while idling.

Any thougts on my temperatures???

My Croozer 2005TD has the sensor bolted to the head near the front.

It reads 78-82 deg on normal running when towing and about 75 when solo.

The EGT gauge reads 300 solo at 100kph in O/D
and 325 towing in 4th at 90kph

Been consistent since 2008 on these readings.

HAs only ever needed coolant once and never needed oil between services.
ODO reads 139778k

my sensor was installed for me and mounted to the front of the block.

It seems to sit at about 80oC at the moment.

I did a run to melbourne ( 2 hours away ) towing a large tandem trailer and it sat on about 77oC for the whole trip. Freaking cold and wet it was too :-(

I have set the alarm for 92oC and will monitor what happens. It is from my understanding a matter of trial and error and individual engine range.

The important thing is to get a warning if there is a sudden change in engine temperature and to then find out what the problem is before any major damage is done.

The alarm is quite alarming and I would not want it going off without good reason ! :-)

In my opinion the watchdog should be fitted to the cylinder head at the back.
Cylinder heads get hotter than the block and it is usually the cylinder head that is damaged by overheating and it is usually at the back of the head rather than the front. Most modern cylinder heads are aluminium alloy and blocks are usually cast iron. Aluminium is better for heat transfer and more susceptible to overheating damage. Better to stay away from the exhaust manifold to get an accurate measure of the head temperature.

Might be the way I'm reading the posts .... but ....

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion over the use of sensors and the types to use .... and what's being measured.

Several posters have tried to show the difference between types and uses ... So heres my two bobs worth ... LOL


Coolant Temps and Engine Temps should be dealt with separately.

To measure coolant temp effectively ... the sensor needs to be in contact with the liquid.

A rising coolant temp shows that the engine is working harder / overheating.

A rising coolant temp is a REACTION to the fact that the engine is getting hotter .... as the coolant is carrying away heat ... already generated by the engine.

So a sensor on the engine will give an indication of rising temps sooner than a coolant sensor.

Engine Saver:

In its basic form ... It is to provide a warning of LOSS OF COOLANT ....

In other words - if the sensor is wet - all is OK ... If the sensor is dry - a warning is provided. I think there is a temp sensor as an option these days but that wasn't the PRIMARY function of the unit.

Very handy little item if there are overnight cooling system leaks ... and for an attentive driver, it could provide early warning of coolant loss allowing engine shut-down ... BEFORE temps get too high.

Engine Watchdog:

Its a bolt on temp sensor ... Its not designed to measure liquid temps but the container the liquid is in.

For most people, that container will be the cylinder head ... and that is what the temp is, thats being displayed ... the cylinder head.

I'm swapping my two sensors around all the time on stuff under the bonnet ... normally have one sensor on the gearbox and the other on a cooling system component.

With time you get an understanding of whats happening under the bonnet with comparison temps against the other gauges.

Its not as good as a quality coolant temp gauge .... but it is very good for noticing changes in temp conditions of an object ... and in the end ... thats what its all about.

If the sensor is mounted at the thermostat housing or similiar it will display similiar temps to a coolant temp gauge.

Dashboard Gauges:

Slow to react and normally with a sensor "dipping" into the coolant.

No coolant ... and dash temp gauge displayed temps WILL drop, or remain static - until sufficient heat is generated by surrounding components for the sensor to register.

Factory gauges have always been "just indicators" .... thats why most of us have been fitting aftermarket gauges for a gazillion years .... that and to help out Mr Smith & Mr VDO with their retirement packages ....

Even with the constant updates to vehicle computers from sensors ... the gauges are still set to display slowly ..... coz if they didnt ... many drivers would panic about all the fluctuations displayed.