Installed: Gauge Innovations digital temp & coolant level gauge

[DME]

Last year I lost my beloved '98 V70 T5 to an overheating incident. I could not find any shop local to me to fix it for anything reasonably approaching a rational cost, so I sold it. (Just to avoid the inevitable "bUt ItS eAsY" comments, I don't have a garage and I am already pushing my luck with the condo HOA with working under the hood doing minor things.)

To help avoid that from happening again, I picked up an engine temp/coolant level gauge (VETA-03) from Gauge Innovations in Australia: https://gaugeinnovations.com/en-us/...oolant-level-52mm-gauge-visual-audible-alarms They make variations of the gauges as well. It took a couple of weeks to get here from Australia; it arrived in LA quickly enough but USPS somehow managed to drag out delivery an extra week and a half.

These are 3D-printed housings and they appear and feel solid. The gauge has two small but easy-to-use buttons and a menu. You can set an audible alarm at a specified temp, max temp, etc. Manual FYI: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0596/7321/5140/files/GI_VETA_03_Summary_Ver_1_0.pdf?v=1633419960

The coolant level sensor sits on the side of the overflow tank and monitors the coolant level.

The engine temp sensor I have (for now) attached to one of the valve cover studs.

Installation was pretty easy. The hardest thing was finding a way through the firewall for the harness to the gauge; the harness has a small plug on it. I know there are ways through, but on my '93 I could not find or readily access one so I just drilled a hole. Power to the gauge is provided by another small harness c. 6") with another small plug. Wire it as you would any other 52mm gauge. The wires for this harness are REALLY small and fine, so be careful.

I may adjust the location of the engine temp sensor once I have some miles on it and get feedback from a couple 240 forums (i.e., this one and the 240 subreddit).

Some pics:

Coolant sensor installed

Engine temp sensor installed

I ran the wires across the firewall; this is the little junction box for the harness.

Installed and in action

 

[VolvoLatAm]

couldn't coolant levels be monitored from inside the vehicle using a pressure sender on a T fitting in between the radiator and bottom hose? has anybody ever done this?

 

[Pietercc]

Or a 960 tank with a coolant level sensor, and a feeder wire off of the coolant temp sensor going to the ECU? Is that temp sensor mounted to the top of the aluminum head? That would not give you an accurate temp of the coolant

 

[VolvoLatAm]

Or a 960 tank with a coolant level sensor, and a feeder wire off of the coolant temp sensor going to the ECU? Is that temp sensor mounted to the top of the aluminum head? That would not give you an accurate temp of the coolant

960 tank is interesting

 

[VolvoLatAm]

Or a 960 tank with a coolant level sensor, and a feeder wire off of the coolant temp sensor going to the ECU? Is that temp sensor mounted to the top of the aluminum head? That would not give you an accurate temp of the coolant

is there a possibility to pair one with a vdo gauge?

 

[DME]

Or a 960 tank with a coolant level sensor, and a feeder wire off of the coolant temp sensor going to the ECU? Is that temp sensor mounted to the top of the aluminum head? That would not give you an accurate temp of the coolant

Yes, it is mounted there. It is not a coolant temp sensor per se, but an engine temp sensor. (Posted about temp earlier: https://turbobricks.com/index.php?threads/temp-range-for-digital-temp-gauge.372914/).

Is it perfect? No. Do I hope it's a reasonable approximation for keeping an eye on things? Tentative yes.

 

[Pietercc]

I know @AnthonyHardy2 has them in his 240's, along with the 960 engine. Maybe he can share some images

 

[Pietercc]

Yes, it is mounted there. It is not a coolant temp sensor per se, but an engine temp sensor. (Posted about temp earlier: https://turbobricks.com/index.php?threads/temp-range-for-digital-temp-gauge.372914/).

Is it perfect? No. Do I hope it's a reasonable approximation for keeping an eye on things? Tentative yes.

I would be very weary of that, it could heat soak at idle from exhaust or show cool because of the radiator fan. at least mount it under the Intake manifold

is there a possibility to pair one with a vdo gauge?

More than likely, you just need one to match the rating of the sensor. I have mine going to a digital trip computer, which I love.

UTCOMP-PRO All-in-one Gauge

Onboard computer for vehicles with OLED display. Connect external sensors such as temperature and pressure senders, set alerts and record data with data-

www.reveltronics.com

 

[DME]

I would be very weary of that, it could heat soak at idle from exhaust or show cool because of the radiator fan. at least mount it under the Intake manifold

More than likely, you just need one to match the rating of the sensor. I have mine going to a digital trip computer, which I love.

UTCOMP-PRO All-in-one Gauge

Onboard computer for vehicles with OLED display. Connect external sensors such as temperature and pressure senders, set alerts and record data with data-

www.reveltronics.com

Thanks for the suggestion. I figured I'd be able to crowdsource other, more suitable locations.

 

[Khrrck]

Generally people use an oil temperature sensor as their secondary temperature monitoring point. A sensor stuck to the outside of the block will not show the temperature of the moving parts inside very well.

 

[240 240]

an efficient way of gauging head temps is using a spark plug temp gauge.

Since you are out of room for gauges you could use a trail tech at the switch console. Put it on cylinder 4 since that tends to run the hottest.

Trail Tech TTO Temperature Meter Spark Plug Sensor - Surface Mount - RevZilla

A spark plug sensor enables the Trail Tech TTO Temperature Meter to display engine temperature on an air-cooled bike. The sensor takes the place of th…

www.revzilla.com

 

[2 old for this]

I had thoughts on using a windshield washer tank sensor for a coolant level.

 

[PCH]

couldn't coolant levels be monitored from inside the vehicle using a pressure sender on a T fitting in between the radiator and bottom hose? has anybody ever done this?

Yes I had a 2psi switch wired to an extra light on the dash

 

[Toybox]

Yes, it is mounted there. It is not a coolant temp sensor per se, but an engine temp sensor.

Nice work. The low coolant warning is a fabulous first line of defense, if anything springs a leak.

As far as temp, you certainly could measure it at the top of the cylinder head. But if the point is to gain early warning, water temp rise is a much sooner indicator, right up to the point of steam. The cylinder temp will eventually follow. The only time a cylinder temp might be more important is if there's no water at all... but you've already got that issue covered.

The mfr shows a picture that appears to be a physical connection to a thermostat housing. Any place you might be able to sense water temp without the problem of engine block or cylinder head heatsink is going to give you more usable info.

 

[dl242gt]

Air cooled engines with electronic injection use a cylinder head temp for engine temp reference. So that sensor makes the gauge universal for air cooled and liquid cooled.

 

[AnthonyHardy2]

Or a 960 tank with a coolant level sensor, and a feeder wire off of the coolant temp sensor going to the ECU? Is that temp sensor mounted to the top of the aluminum head? That would not give you an accurate temp of the coolant

Installing a 960 coolant tank with the coolant level sensor is pretty easy. You just need to drill out the 2 spot welds on the coolant bottle bracket on a 940 or 960 and then bolt or weld it in place on your 240. I wired the sensor to the bulb failure light in my cluster and used the low coolant warning symbol from a 960 cluster but you can wire it to pretty much any unused warning light position.

 

[240 240]

Nice work. The low coolant warning is a fabulous first line of defense, if anything springs a leak.

As far as temp, you certainly could measure it at the top of the cylinder head. But if the point is to gain early warning, water temp rise is a much sooner indicator, right up to the point of steam. The cylinder temp will eventually follow. The only time a cylinder temp might be more important is if there's no water at all... but you've already got that issue covered.

The mfr shows a picture that appears to be a physical connection to a thermostat housing. Any place you might be able to sense water temp without the problem of engine block or cylinder head heatsink is going to give you more usable info.

time to get someone to weld sensor bungs into tstat housings for $14.99 shipped