EGT guage hassle

[savagedwarf]

Hi everyone,

i just got a EGT guage installed yesterday, and i was wondering what common readings would be from the guage? mine did not move from the initial starting position ~1. i have only been for a 10 min drive. the install thrashed the shroud which covers the turbo, the guys ended up putting 3 x 40mm holes in it before nailing the position of the bung. iam worried that they have damaged the sensor. can anyone enlighted me on this subject plz.

3.0 CRD auto,2" lift, recently installed a 3" exhaust

[Rusty86]

Hey mate,

I'm not an expert in the installation process but this sounds strange. Mine will sit at about 200 deg while idling and should definitely start moving up in the first couple of minutes you drive. By approx. 1, so you mean 100 degrees celsius? Mine will quickly get up to normal 'around town' temps of between 250-400 deg depending on conditions. Is yours not moving at all? Sounds like an installation problem or faulty sensor. I wonder if they tested it after installing it? My understanding is that most of the aftermarket exhaust systems will already have a spot to plug straight into.

Others will have more info an the ins and outs of the installation and sensor position.

Cheers,
Rusty

[MudRunnerTD]

Hi everyone,

i just got a EGT guage installed yesterday, and i was wondering what common readings would be from the guage? mine did not move from the initial starting position ~1. i have only been for a 10 min drive. the install thrashed the shroud which covers the turbo, the guys ended up putting 3 x 40mm holes in it before nailing the position of the bung. iam worried that they have damaged the sensor. can anyone enlighted me on this subject plz.

3.0 CRD auto,2" lift, recently installed a 3" exhaust

As Rusty said you should get a reading fairly quickly. To be honest you should have beyond 200 by the end of the street mate, even on a fairly cold engine the temps will go up quickly. Remember that you are reading Exhaust temps (Post Combustion = Post Explosion!) so even on a fairly cold engine your post explosion temps will go up predictably.

the Installer sounds like a Butcher and i would be temped to ask him for a replacement Heat Shield as he destroyed yours! It just Aint that hard! The "Shroud" is the Heat shield to protect the engine bay from the very high temps coming from the hot side of the turbo that can Glow White!

If you drove for 5 minutes and got nothing then they got it wrong. It does not work. They Wrecked it and Wrecked your heat shield. Take it back.

[savagedwarf]

thanks guys, you have confirmed my thoughts.
let you know how i get on

cheers

[BearGUST]

What brand gauge is it? I fitted an Auto Meter gauge a couple of months ago and all was working fine, I then had to disconnect it to change pillar pod and it stopped reading.
I took it for a drive, still not working, then quickly cycled the ignition about 6 times (which made the needle move up and down a bit) and it all started working again.
It may not help, but worth a shot!

[the evil twin]

Well, sounds like you sure ended up with Dodgy Brothers install.

EGT gauges and thermocouples are a very robust method of measuring temp and pretty hard to stuff up.

Not knowing the type of gauge is difficult but one of the most common cause of no reading is the wrong polarity from the Thermocouple. If the gauge is a VDO type with terminals try swapping the thermocouple leads + and - (not the 12 Volt power).

If it is American Standard (which is by far the most common)... the RED lead is the -Ve and the + Ve lead will be either Yellow or White depending on they type of Thermocouple (K or J). You won't hurt anything and 90 % or more of "no temp indication" issues when installed by non Instrument type dudes are wrong polarity on the TC because everyone thinks the red is the positive.

If it is one of the Euro Standards... the colours could possibly be
Blue and White or Blue and Brown with Blue as - Ve or
Green and White with White -Ve or
Red and Green with Green - Ve

AFAIK only the Japs make Red and White with Red + Ve just to piss everyone around

[savagedwarf]

hey guys,
the brand of guage is "speco" thinks thats american?? my guage moves when i turn on the ignition but doesnt move there after. it was installed by an auto electrician...go figure. unfortunately hes away till tuesday which renders me home bound for the weekend...ahhhhhhhhh.

i am getting prices on a new heat shield, but will probably do it myself!! took it there as iam not confident on electrics!!

small town....poor customer service!! oh well, .......advice from you guys is gold!!!


cheers

[Lewy]

Mate that just sucks!!!! Where abouts are you??

[the evil twin]

hey guys,
the brand of guage is "speco" thinks thats american?? my guage moves when i turn on the ignition but doesnt move there after. it was installed by an auto electrician...go figure. unfortunately hes away till tuesday which renders me home bound for the weekend...ahhhhhhhhh.

i am getting prices on a new heat shield, but will probably do it myself!! took it there as iam not confident on electrics!!

small town....poor customer service!! oh well, .......advice from you guys is gold!!!


cheers

Hiya mate... Speco is Aussie but like everything some of there stuff is badge engineered but good quality so yes, probably yank. I haven't had all that much to do with them.

Being a Speco, it should be a terminated gauge not a plug style soooo.... Have a look at the back of the gauge.
There will be two terminals for the Thermocouple wiring marked + and -
The red wire goes to the -
The white wire goes to the +
Make sure the sparkie has run the thermocouple cable (braided sheath) all the way to the gauge OR has used Thermocouple signal wire (Red pvc sheath with red and white conductors)

If the wires are connected wrong way around that will be the problem and that is exactly the symptom you are describing as best I can figure it.

Let us know what you find

[boots]

Mate the heat shields on the earlier 3litre were fiddly and frustrating to remove / refit to say the least . had to remove turbo vnt actuator and bracket so shield could come out. can remember loosing skin around knuckles and swearing to myself , a bit ...maybe a fair bit .

[savagedwarf]

quick update, took the car back to the auto electrician. they have had the car all day 8am to 530pm and have only just called me. pyro was wired up wrong, and is now working, they have welded the heat shield up ( will be interested to see that!) and are saying that the boost guage is flickering??? they have ordered in some filters?? to rectify the problem....is this a common problem with boost guages?
i work on vessels up to 100ft in size and i am well aware that nothing is straight forward, but heck, is it that hard to wire up 2 guages?? starting to wish i took the time to do it myself..

pick the car up tommorrow, and will be going for a shot at some rabbits after work, and to give the girl a good run.
wish me luck....cost of this should also be an interesting point as the car has been in for two whole days!!!!

[the evil twin]

Pyro... told ya the wires would wrong so good result there.

Boost... bit of a worry there. Your engine boost from a variable geometry Turbo doesn't "flicker" so trying to fix the symptom by a low pass filter sounds suss. If it was an automotive gauge then it should come with the appropriate orifice in the sense line anyway. If they damp the pressure response too much then it might hide any spikes or other problems...
BUT...
depends what they mean by "flicker".
Only suggestion I have is wait and see how responsive it is when you drive it

[savagedwarf]

yeah good call on the pyro, i did have a look before i sent the car back but the symbols were an x and an I and two i couldnt make out unless i dissconnected everything. thought id leave them to rectify.

on the boost i did ask the question if it would still read correctly, he assured me it would, but i am pretty skepticle. i will update in the next couple a days and let ya know exactly what has been done.

appreciate the feedback,

cheers

[the evil twin]

yeah good call on the pyro, i did have a look before i sent the car back but the symbols were an x and an I and two i couldnt make out unless i dissconnected everything. thought id leave them to rectify.

on the boost i did ask the question if it would still read correctly, he assured me it would, but i am pretty skepticle. i will update in the next couple a days and let ya know exactly what has been done.

appreciate the feedback,

cheers

Cool bananas, mate

[Rip'n'Shred]

are saying that the boost guage is flickering??? they have ordered in some filters?? to rectify the problem....is this a common problem with boost guages?


I have heard of this before, not sure why but, can't remember.

[savagedwarf]

hi all,
have taken the car for a drive and the boost gauge has got a real annoying rattling noise when the turbo winds up. it dissapears when you take your foot off the accelerator. the guy has put an inline filter (like the ones you see on small boats fuel lines), and he has ordered a larger one which he hopes will fix the rattle.??
has anyone had this problem? and if so how do you fix it??


the pyro is working a treat now!! and the heat shield has been welded up which i am happy with.....still dont have the bill thou.....hmmmm????

i didnt mention it before but i also ripped out the standard sterio, and replaced it with a media player(no cd player or tape deck). got all my cds on file in one USB SD, which plugs straight into my sterio....no more scratched, jumping messy cd's!! this i recommend for all!!!

cheers

[Yendor]

My Autometer boost gauge also had that annoying rattle, I just put some cotton wool in the boost line fitting at the back of the gauge.

It acts like a filter by dampening pressure fluctuations.