Got my Autometer Temp gauge installed...
Bought the Greddy Water Temp adapter for the sensor.
For some reason my gauge will not go over 110 degrees...

I tried using another brand new Autometer gauge but same thing...
I tried using a brand new Autometer sensor but same thing...

What else can be the problem? Wiring seems to be hook up right...

 

I'm not an expert on this but where you installed the sensor it will only read the water temp if the thermostat has kicked in. Maybe Xviper can chime in here and give his opinion.

 

Here's the post that xviper did on his gauge sender:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...l=gauge++sender

 

Thanks...
Yea I tried finding an adapter like his but couldn't find one anywhere...
I was told that the Greddy adapter I bought was meant to be for the water temp gauge.

 

When you install any kind of "inline" adaptor into a rubber hose, there is NO ground. The sensor must have a ground in order to function properly. You need to attach some kind of wire to the metal part of the sensor adaptor (NOT near the hot wire attachment point) and connect it to some solid metal engine part.

Also, having the sensor in the rad hose like this will only give you an accurate temp reading after the thermostat opens. You won't see a gradual real time indication of how the coolant in the engine water jacket is heating up. I guess on the most part, this temp range is not really important. I use it in winter so I know when I have heat in the heater core to warm up the cabin. It also tells me exactly when I can VTEC since "3 bars" is only a vague indication.

 

Thanks for the response xviper...
So I will have to just run a ground from the sensor right? Can I mount it above the sender cable?


Also... what do you mean by "having the sensor in the rad hose like this will only give you an accurate temp reading after the thermostat opens"

When does the thermostat open?

Thanks again my man

 

BE CAREFUL! That sender wire is actually the HOT wire (+). You don't want to short that wire out. You must attach another wire to something that the body of the sender touches - like what it's threaded into. From the looks of the photo, that blue base is being held by the band clamp. If this is the case, you can put the ground wire to that clamp and run it to some small bolt on the engine. You can confirm a solid path from the sensor body to the sensor adaptor to the clamp with a continuity meter or you can just do a quick connection and see if the gauge works properly. If it does, you have the proper contacts and then you can go back and tidy it up and make it more permanent. You see, temp gauge senders were meant to be installed in the engine where it naturally grounds itself as soon as you screw them in. You have metal to metal contact. With a coolant hose mounting, you only get a minimal electrical transference through the rubber and water to the nearest metal part. The reading you see in your gauge varies depending upon the amount of electrical current that goes in and out of the sender. With the limited current coming out, that's why your gauge gets "stuck" at a fairly low temp even though the water it's sensing is much hotter.

As to your second question. When your car is in the "warm up" stage, the thermostat is closed. Little to no coolant flows through that hose where you have the sender mounted and thus, you would not get a measurement of what the coolant temp really is that's in the engine until the flow starts. And it's the engine coolant temp that you really want to see. Ultimately, once the engine has heated up to operating temps, the thermostat will cycle open and closed depending upon how well the radiator cools things down. Having the sensor in that upper rad hose will work but you won't have an accurate (or real time) idea what's really going on in the engine water jacket.
Most thermostats are set to open around 195*F. I'm not sure what the exact opening temp is on the S2000 stock stat off the top of my head but it'll be close to this. The stat is locate down low in the cooling system. It will stay closed till the water just inside the engine gets to 195*. Until that happens, little to no water flows through those BIG hoses.

 

OK, I just saw the pictures in your other thread. Your clamps do NOT touch anything metal on the sending unit. You have to somehow get a wire to touch either the base of the sending unit or the adaptor that it's screwed into.
I would also suggest you wrap that top HOT wire with electrical tape to avoid accidentally shorting it out.

 

Where do you think it will be easier for me to ground it? I do not work on cars much so don't know where would be best. I believe my Greddy Adapter is made of Aluminum, can you ground off aluminum?

From the pics below... where is it best to ground?


OR

 

Yes, you can ground aluminum. First, try to just tape the bare end of a wire to that blue part. If the gauge works, then go back and find a better place to secure it. Maybe partial slide it under the clamp between the blue part and the rubber hose. Not too far, or it might leak. You just want to make a good contact with the metal adaptor.

I also see (I think) that you have wrapped teflon tape around the thread at the bottom of the sensor before you screwed it in. If you can bare some of the thread, you can also twist the wire around that and give it a try. Secure it with electrical tape.