Temperature gauges for series 2A

I'm looking at fitting an electric fan to my series 2A. However, the

2A doesn't have a temperature gauge against which to check the fan on/off temperatures. It looks as though there's a blanking bolt in the cylinder head where on later landies a temp gauge sender is fitted ( 560794 ), so I could fit a sender to the 2A head. (There's already a sender in the head for the choke warning light, but I seem to remember this is just a thermostatic switch, so probably no good.) Does anyone know the resistance vs temp curve for the 560794 sender? Alternatively, does anyone know of a temp gauge which would work with this sender in a +ve earth vehicle, either with a voltage regulator built in or using the +ve earth regulator already in the 2A instruments? My background is in telecomms, so if I can sort out the calibration of the sender I may designing an electronic temp gauge and fan controller! Anyone interested in details as to how I get on?
Reply to
ArthurC
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On or around 11 Jun 2006 04:00:14 -0700, "ArthurC" enlightened us thusly:

it should have a temp gauge. isn't it in the other half of the instrument thing with the fuel gauge? ISTR my series II had a temperature gauge...

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Both my early IIA vehicles have an ammeter in that position.

Reply to
EMB

All the electric fans I've seen in recent years have a probe that fits inside the top radiator hose and links to an on/off solenoid. The temp. sender in these (being of modernish design) will be far more accurate than the bimetal/resistance thingy thats in the IIAs.

Reply to
Roger

Temperature gauge came with the change to negative earth in the mid sixties

- prior to that had an ammeter not a temperature gauge. Most if not all engines have a place to put a sender as described. JD

Reply to
JD

I use a mercury type gauge, no electrics required, just a capillary, so no matter whether it is positive or negative earth. It's hooked in just below the thermostat housing.

I also use an electric fan, it's a Kenlowe that has it's own sensor as well. This in my case is as well as the engine fan, as it's used to help cool the engine when running stationary, and I live in a sub tropical part of the world (Brisbane, QLD)

Karen

Reply to
Karen Gallagher

Sub tropical!! its bloody freezing, got down to +12C last night!!

Reply to
Roger

And it looks as if we're in for another cold night tonight. Makes me question my own sanity in going for a run tonight!

And I thought yesterday's rain would keep us warm for a while ...

Karen

Reply to
Karen Gallagher

You are an upside-down lot for sure...

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

Thanks for the help and confirmation that I should be able to fit a sender. In reply to this and other mails, I believe JD is right that the change to a temp gauge came with the switch from dynamo (+ve earth) to alternator -ve earth. Perhaps the electronic control in place of the electromechanical regulator and the superior output of an alternator made measuring the (dis)charge current less important than the engine boiling :-).

I've ordered a Kenlowe controller from Ebay (should be delivered soon), but would like a temp gauge if possible to set the Kenlowe unit to the right temp (as far as I can see the Kenlowe control is hot/normal/cold rather than degrees) and, of course, the "correct" temperature will be different for different engines. For example, more modern engines, in the interests of efficiency, tend to run the cooling system at higher pressure, allowing a higher operating temp without the coolant boiling.

Arthur

Reply to
ArthurC

Thanks Karen,

It sounds as though the mercury based gauge could be just the thing (if not too expensive!). Do you happen to know the manufacturer and whether there's a UK distributer? I've enjoyed the other replies to your posting btw - I'm learning a lot about the climate in Oz :-)

Reply to
ArthurC

Thanks Roger,

I haven't sawn up the senders to find out, but I expect that the choke warning sender (non critical, of course) is a bimetallic device and the temp gauge sender is a thermistor (temp dependent resistor). A thermistor is inherently quite accurate if the system is calibrated (1/2 degree C should be obtainable), but inaccuracies will come from the tolerance of the instrument voltage regulator and the accuracy of the milliammeter that acutally shows you the temp. Thus my idea that an electronic device driven by the old type sender might be useful. My wife calls me a pedant, by the way - perhaps to talk about 1/2 degree accuracy in the context of a 2 1/4 petrol is a bit OTT :-)

Regards, Arthur

Reply to
ArthurC

On or around Mon, 12 Jun 2006 08:22:57 +1200, EMB enlightened us thusly:

you might be right at that. I thought they had temp gauges on as well though.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Dry winters and wet summers in the tropics/sub tropics. Apart from the past few years which have been dry summers and drier winters.

We had some Danish visitors last August, I was wearing a coat and they were swimming in the sea. 20C is hot in Denmark and cold in this part of Oz. We can always spot the tourists at this time of year

- they're in the water!!

Reply to
Roger

On or around 12 Jun 2006 00:59:44 -0700, "ArthurC" enlightened us thusly:

Just done a kenlowe installation. They describe where to set it based on the gauge, but in practice what I did was to run the vehicle up a long hill, slowly, on a hot day, then stop at the top, jump out and turn the control 'til the fan came on.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Not sure you are going to get the result you're suggesting. Typical Kenlowes I've seen measure their temp at or near the radiator header, while temp guages (sometimes called thermometers?) tend to report cylinder head temp or at least water manifold temperature. On the ones I've seen these can differ quite remarkably. Often the kenlowe is going like a bat outa hell ie radiator boiling, while the cylinder head reports "quite nice out today".

Reply to
GbH

Useful data!

I'd assumed that as the temp sensor is just beneath the 'stat, when the 'stat is open, with a reasonably fast flow of coolant, the outflow from the top hose into the rad would be close to the same temp as the sensor (since that's where the coolant has just come from). Of course it's possible that the sensor may be detecting the temp of the actual metal of the head rather than the coolant it sticks into, but the design of the sensor doesn't look as though this should be the case.

Any ideas why you're seeing the discrepancy?

Regards, Arthur

Reply to
ArthurC

(snip)

The ammeter is impractical with the higher current flow from the alternator, and the lack of temperature warning was always a problem with early Landrovers, particularly in hot climates, so it made sense to replace the ammeter with a temperature guage. But in fact, the change came with the change to negative earth, 1967, I believe, where the alternator did not appear until the Series 3 in 1971. However, temperature gauges had always been an option, at least from Series 2 on, and all diesels I have seen had the factory option combined temperature/oil pressure mechanical gauges. As soon as I got my Series 1 and the same with my Series 2, I immediately fitted mechanical oil pressure and temperature gauges. Alternators were also an option an all Series 2a, but most of the ones you find today are a later change - the factory alternator was very rare on the 2a. JD

Reply to
JD

Lucas Make one which comes with a 3/8 BSP fitting which screws dierctly into the head. It comes with a 2m capilary and facility for a backlight. Its an industrial gauge 2" in dia. You should be able to get one from a plant company or directly from Lucas.

HTH

Paul

Reply to
PM

It's actually a Smiths that I bought in the UK back in the '70s & still going strong, like the rest of my Smiths instrumentation - thought it does suffer from needle stick on cold mornings, probably 'cos the series only gets used around every three or four weeks.

Karen

Reply to
Karen Gallagher

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