I think I will stick to the old method of 'can I touch the end of the dipstick without burning my fingers' after a run.
Finally got round to trying this. would read 50C when wired directly to the dipstick with power and earth directly to battery. anyone know if its possible to buy some kind of resistor that would put the gauge close to 100C?
Why why why Don’t you think there is enough to worry about, rust, what’s that noise, is there enough beer in the fridge why add to the list, throw the gauges over @snotty s fence, turn the radio up and drive the bloody thing
The JK VDO dipstick setup I have is within 2 degrees of a type K thermometer bead I stuffed down the hole immediately after pulling the dipstick sender If it reads 50 degrees low you have either a mismatch of sender and gauge : possible because VDO make at least two different gauges for different senders which have different resistance for the same temperature. Or your wiring is bad or the 12 volts you tested with is less than you think.
I have a sump plug sensor and it works great on my T1 1600. But I'm on standard ride height so I can see the issue on campsites if lowered. The only annoying factor is that the dash dial doesn't come with a bulb connector so you can't see 'owt when driving at night! Sure that's an easy fix though (to add to the list!).
Thanks for the update my gauge has a bulb in it so I think it is correct. I will check battery and double check wiring again! if not luck then best ask JK for a new one.
At 8 degrees C it was 1.95K ohms. This is a list of senders and gauges. http://www.hamble.online/vowo14/TemperatureResistanceChart(1).pdf
Absolute accuracy is not needed. After a while you get an idea of "pootling" , "hot" , " too hot" and "STOP and let it idle!" indications.
