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Water temp sensor idea?

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Old 03-13-2009, 11:50 PM
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Default Water temp sensor idea?

I've been looking at where to put my temperature sender for my water temp gauge. I decided I don't want to use the port on the passenger head, as it apparently sometimes gets too hot and causes wrong readings etc. I don't really want to tap my water pump either, so I came up with this idea. My car was originally an automatic, so it still have the radiator with the trans cooler on the side. I could simply plug the bottom of it, fill it with water, and put the temp sender on the top port right next to the return hose from the steam lines. Would this work, and be accurate? I can't really decide if it would work well or not, maybe I will just give it a try and see what happens.

Indicated by arrow where I want to put it:
Old 03-14-2009, 01:03 AM
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Why not splice it into the TB hose?

Or get the adapters to install it into the rear passenger side head?

You need to keep the stock one for the engine computer.

That idea you got there would work if you could screw the fitting in further. No matter how you do it it's going to be reading conducted heat, which is not accurate at all in that type of set up.
Old 03-14-2009, 02:01 AM
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Theres plenty of ways I can do it, was just trying to figure out something different. I think you're right about the conducted heat, which is why I posted this to begin with. It was just an idea that popped into my head and I couldn't decide if it would be good or not.
Old 03-14-2009, 09:37 AM
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tap into the TB bypass hose. its retardedly simple and only takes a few minutes. i dont understand why people want to reinvent the wheel.
Old 03-14-2009, 09:42 AM
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If you want an accurate temp reading, the coolant needs to be measured in the cyl head or immediately after it leaves the heads.
Old 03-14-2009, 11:59 AM
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can you somehow tap into the cylinder head coolant cross over? what size fitting do i need to tap into the pass. side cylinder head collant passage if i were to?
Old 03-14-2009, 12:11 PM
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The temp sensors need to actually touch the fluid they are measuring. Tapping into the auto trans fitting may not work unless that line inside the radiator is filled with liquid and touching the sensor. This line is empy when not in use in a manual trans vehicle. The air in the line will not give an accurate measurement.
Old 03-14-2009, 12:27 PM
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for an aftermarket gauge or what?
Old 03-14-2009, 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Slithering_Joe
The air in the line will not give an accurate measurement.
Thats why he said he's going to fill the cooler with water. The coolant will transfer the heat to that water, but I think it's not a good idea for several reasons, one being that no fittings will allow the sender to touch that water. It would take forever to read an accurate temp.

I have autometers recommened LS1 adapters and temp sensor and the sensor does not extend into the coolant. In fact theres only a 1/8 or 3/16 hole that exposes the sensor to the coolant and as you might guess it reads low compared to the factory gauge, and hp tuners scanner.

I'm wondering this, the TB hose come from the coolant crossover and that comes out of the heads right?

I've been considering moving my sensor to a tee in the TB coolant hose.
Old 03-14-2009, 12:52 PM
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The radiator won't work, that coolant is way too COOL to give you anywhere near a good steady reading. Plus when the t-stat opens and closes you're gonna see your temp gauge move like a windshield wiper.

If you have a "too hot" issue in the head where the temp sensor is now, fix that issue.
Old 03-14-2009, 01:07 PM
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Originally Posted by LS6427
The radiator won't work, that coolant is way too COOL to give you anywhere near a good steady reading. Plus when the t-stat opens and closes you're gonna see your temp gauge move like a windshield wiper.

If you have a "too hot" issue in the head where the temp sensor is now, fix that issue.
Actually if you wire up a sensor and drop it in the tank, it lands right on top of the trans cooler, it will read accurate. It might go up and down at cold start but thats also the coolant out of the engine--it hasn't been cooled by the radiator yet, and when it's up to temp the thermostat never stops flowing 100%

Not that any of this even matters, filling the trans cooler with water and relying on conducted heat is going to be such a slow transfer, it might read right on long trips, even then I doubt it.
Old 03-17-2009, 08:22 PM
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Do not put it in the radiator, you dont need to know the temp of that.
Old 03-17-2009, 09:08 PM
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Originally Posted by 9000th01ss
Actually if you wire up a sensor and drop it in the tank, it lands right on top of the trans cooler, it will read accurate. It might go up and down at cold start but thats also the coolant out of the engine--it hasn't been cooled by the radiator yet, and when it's up to temp the thermostat never stops flowing 100%

Not that any of this even matters, filling the trans cooler with water and relying on conducted heat is going to be such a slow transfer, it might read right on long trips, even then I doubt it.
The t-stat doesn't reach a point where it stays full open. Its always opening and closing. Especially when on the highway and the air dam is doing the cooling for the radiator.

Maybe on a blistering hot day in stop-and-go traffic it might reach a high temp and stay open, but if that happens you'll be on your way to overheating.
Old 03-17-2009, 10:14 PM
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Originally Posted by LS6427
The t-stat doesn't reach a point where it stays full open. Its always opening and closing. Especially when on the highway and the air dam is doing the cooling for the radiator.

Maybe on a blistering hot day in stop-and-go traffic it might reach a high temp and stay open, but if that happens you'll be on your way to overheating.
so you are telling me my 160 thermostat opens and closes all day depending on what the temp outside is and whether im in traffic or not? so the fact that my motor runs 195 all the time no matter what isnt bc the fans are set to come on at that temp??
Old 03-17-2009, 10:23 PM
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Originally Posted by 01ssreda4
so you are telling me my 160 thermostat opens and closes all day depending on what the temp outside is and whether im in traffic or not? so the fact that my motor runs 195 all the time no matter what isnt bc the fans are set to come on at that temp??
T-stats might stay partially opened sometimes when an engine gets real friggin hot, but its purpose is too allow the hot coolant from the engine to stop inside the radoator and get a chance to cool BEFORE it just flows right back into the engine, which is a big water heater.

But Yes. T-stats do not stay open and they do not stay closed all the time. They are a thermostat, so they open when the heat reaches a certain temp, then the hot coolant from the engine and heads flows into the radiator and trades places with the cool coolant that was sitting in the radiator wiating to go into the engine/heads. As the cool coolant makes a complete circuit and comes back around to the t-stat again, the t-stat senses the cooler coolant flowing past it and closes. Then the hot coolant in the radiator gets its chance to cool off, whether from ram air from the lower air damn from forward movement OR from the electric fans that were on when that hot coolant was in the head telling the coolant temp sensor to turn on the fans.

Check to see if your t-stat is working. Take it out and put in a pot of boiling water, see if it opens when it should. Use a food type thermometer to watch the temp as it rises. Just hold the thermometer next to the t-stat in the pot as the water gets hot. You should see that little dick start to come out of the t-stat.

Leave the fan setting alone. Like I said, my fans hardly ever come on, ever. I don't remember tha last time I heard them. Maybe thats why they are original fans from 11 years ago.
Old 03-17-2009, 11:29 PM
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Originally Posted by LS6427
T-stats do not stay open and they do not stay closed all the time. .
Isn't that basically what I said and you told me it's wrong.
Originally Posted by 9000th01ss
when it's up to temp the thermostat never stops flowing 100%
Meaning if it did stop flowing 100% it would be closed.

Go find someone else to follow around, WTF is your problem you stalker.
Old 03-17-2009, 11:34 PM
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Originally Posted by 9000th01ss
Isn't that basically what I said and you told me it's wrong.
No, I meant by that statement...that a t-stat always opens and closes, continually. They never stay open all the time, and they never stay closed all the time.
Old 03-17-2009, 11:37 PM
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Originally Posted by 9000th01ss
Meaning if it did stop flowing 100% it would be closed.
Talk more clearly.

Go find someone else to follow around, WTF is your problem you stalker.
You're kidding, right?
Old 03-17-2009, 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by 9000th01ss
Actually if you wire up a sensor and drop it in the tank, it lands right on top of the trans cooler, it will read accurate. It might go up and down at cold start but thats also the coolant out of the engine--it hasn't been cooled by the radiator yet, and when it's up to temp the thermostat never stops flowing 100%
BTW, you're dead wrong here. When its closed...the flow DOES stop 100%. T-stats close FULLY when they go through their open/close cycles, if they are not closing all the way, whcih is possible and does happen, but then you have yourself an overheating problem. Unless you're on the highway crusing where you can keep cool enough NOT to overheat.
Old 03-18-2009, 12:47 AM
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Originally Posted by LS6427
BTW, you're dead wrong here. When its closed...the flow DOES stop 100%. T-stats close FULLY when they go through their open/close cycles, if they are not closing all the way, whcih is possible and does happen, but then you have yourself an overheating problem. Unless you're on the highway crusing where you can keep cool enough NOT to overheat.
You're about the most anally retentive dick head I've ever seen on a website.
You ******* **** sucking pile of dog ****.
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