Warning Gauges

[islander20]

Just trying to decide what to install on my L400 for warning gauges and could use a little advice. From what I gather a pyrometer is the most important gauge to install, especially since I will be towing heavy loads.

Now if I have a pyrometer will it show me if there is an overheating event occurring? Such as a coolant leak, blown hose, etc. Im trying to decide if I need to install a low coolant alarm as well as the pyrometer. And possibly a temperature sensor/alarm to warn if the engine is overheating? Im hoping I can get by with just a pyrometer.

Thanks!

[Big-Bird]

The pyrometer provides exhaust gas temperatures which are more relevant to the turbo longevity. Where you place the probe is important too. It will not tell you if you have a coolant leak as it only reads exhaust gas temp's.

Your temperature gauge in the instrument cluster will actually drop in most cases when there a massive loss of coolant because there is no fluid to transfer the heat into the probe.....its usally too late by this point and severe engine damage is almost certain. There are coolnat level monitors which are very popular in the UK. They are a level detector that sits on the overflow tank and activates an audible alarm inside the cab when temps go to high and when coolant levels drop.

The other item people like to monitor is the amount of boost being generated by the turbo. A 3rd item is amperage/voltage output of the charging system. The gauge pod that sits middle-top of the dash is a common update/repurpose of the factory unit.

I did this in mine with a trio of autometer gauges to monitor all 3 items above.

Heres some examples

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[johnghaley]

Here is a long,but in-depth explanation of what the pyrometer is and what it does.
Hope this helps.

http://www.bankspower.com/techarticles/ ... -Important

John H