Some more dials on the dashboard please

[ATG]

I recently had a scare when I lost a load of coolant without much happening on the dashboard of my 97 Chimeara. Overheating is obviously an issue with TVRs so any early warnings on the dashboard would be welcome. Measuring water temp alone seems a bit inadequate. I have read that a temp sender can be mounted in the sump to measure oil temperature directly which seems sensible. Anyone tried it? Also would be good to know if there is a reliable way of measuring the coolant level while the car is on the move. I can''t think of an easy way of setting this up ... not that that says much as I know s*d all about cars. Anyone had a go, or heard of a good way of doing this?

[zertec]

I have an oil temp guage on my Griffith. The easiest way to mount the sensor was to drill the sump plug. Haven't thought about the coolant level though. Clive Reed Zertec Limited [e-mail] www.zertec.co.uk

[xain]

Hmm, to be honest the pressurised cooling system either is full or it isn't. It's pumped round so much that it doesn't really collect anywhere. Like you can't measure the oil level until it's sat for a while. You could possibly put a float in the expansion pot but that'll change so much throught a journey, and in any case its level doesn't tell you a great deal about the coolant in the system. You could have something to detect if the swirl pot level drops, but if it really does swirl I'm not sure how you'd reliably measure it.

[ATG]

Thanks for that ZERTEC. I've got a service due soon, so might get a sump plug ready. No point getting a facefull of oil unnecessarily. XAIN- my thoughts too. Closest I can get is either a row of thermistors down the side of the radiator to detect if it starts getting cooler than it should at the top. No doubt temp is not uniform even when working properly so might be difficult/impossible to calibrate. Alternative might be some kind of flow sensor spliced into one of the hoses, but that route seems fraught with problems (might obstruct flow or provide a nice starting point for more leaks).

[philshort]

Surely you are just measuring the extent of the problem rather than dealing with it. Stick a decent rad in there and it will not overheat again, nor will it boil over and dump coolant. Who cares whats going on if its working properly? The only reason I'd put extra dials on the dash is if they look cool. Which they do. I'd like to fit an oil temp guage to my chim to match the other dials - magnolia. Anyone know if an oil temp guage is available, and from where?

[Marshy]

I recall seeing sone stuff on the web about mounting an oil temp guage in the chimaera dash, between the existing four small guages and the er... speedo... er... rev counter. It's been so long since I've seen my car that I'm not sure which is which any more! Aiieee. Edit: If I can find the link, I'll post it. Edited by Marshy on Wednesday 8th August 00:54

[philshort]

Thanks Chris. BTW the PistonHeads.com sticker looks pretty good on your car. Are you thinking of Peter Beeches workshop notes? http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Beech/TVR/instrum.htm I'd forgotten about that info until you mentioned it! Edited by philshort on Wednesday 8th August 06:31

[graham]

You could just swap the existing guages for dual ones. SPA do some nice digital dual display quages. rather than cutting holes in the dash i.e. replace the analogue oil pressure for a new dual digital oil pressure/ temp guage. they also come with matched senders that actual work...