What temp. does your gauge show after driving for awhile? Mine usually stays around 100 degrees and slighty moves higher but not even to 125 degrees. If this is normal, I think anyone that doesn't have one and wants one would be better off getting something else with their money. The damn thing starts at 100 degrees so if that is where the mormal temps. hang around the gauge is pretty useless. Let me know, and others so they can save their money.

Hmmm that seems really cold man. I still want one just in case it ever decides to jump to 250+ ya know?

joseph

Well if 100-105 degrees is normal, 250 = killed tranny. :) I think those numbers seem a little cold too. Maybe things will change in the summer when the air hitting the tranny cooler is alot hotter. Who knows?

Was that install pretty straight forward? Gunna rack you with questions if you dont mind:)

Which gauge did you get (brand) and where did you get it?

Where did you attach the sender?

I've been wondering how to do it for a long time, may be able to order one fairly soon and wanna make sure its pretty easy. thanks man!
Joseph

That's normal for a mostly stock tranny. It shouldn't go over 120 until you have turbo/nitrous and a high stall torque converter.

Thanks for the info Dougie! :thumbsup

Joe: I have the Autometer Phantom gauges. I got most of mine from Summit Racing.
The sender for the elec. tranny temp gauge is the same one that the elec. water temp. gauge uses. I was able to use the spot in my remote filter mount to fit my sender. I think the spot was for an oil pressure sender if you use the kit for oil. Since I'm using it to filter my tranny fluid, it's great how this sender fit in it's place.



The sender is the thing in the middle. If you don't have the remote filter kit, you can tap into your pan (I didn't want to drill anymore holes than I had to) or you can get the manifold from Autometer that connects it to your fluid lines, but I think it cost like $35 or something and the remote filter kit only cost like $30 frpm Summit.

have a pic of the gauge?

Perhaps you are reading the temp after the fluid hits the coolers? I have my sender in the line before the coolers (to read max temp). I probably cruise anywhere from 160-190F. I think it hits 215F if I get on it. It does depend on how I'm driving and the ambient temp. But, its never at 100-125F unless I've just started the car. I have an Autometer Phantom gauge with sender mounted here:



Corbin

'95 ESI-T
HRC+FMIC+ETC...



Gimme fuel...Gimme fire...Gimme that which I desire

Corbin: My fluid goes from the tranny to the filter to the radiator to the B&M cooler then back into the tranny. So my sender is before the cooler. I thinhk the temps you have are what they are suppose to be thats why I am conserned. I might need to check some connections but I think the needle does slightly move. I got the right size cooler.

What did you use to mount your sender?

I just looked again today. It was probably 40F and raining outside. If I just cruise at 40 mph on level ground, the fluid will sit at 125F. As soon as I put any kind of load on the engine, it moves to 150F. It must depend alot on outside temp, because I know I cruise at 160-190F in the summer. I've certainly seen 215-220F while boosting.

I made a sensor housing out of brass NPT fittings (tee and barbs). I had to grind on the inside of the housing to smooth fluid flow.


Corbin

'95 ESI-T
HRC+FMIC+ETC...



Gimme fuel...Gimme fire...Gimme that which I desire

So do you think I'm not getting a good reading where my sender is at?
The tranny feels great and everything works great (thanx by the way for making me want the shift kit. :thumbsup ) so I'm still kinda wondering what going on.
It was a little warmer out today and I noticed the needle went a little higher, but it still didn't even get to 125 degrees.

How is your sensor grounded? The sensor lowers resistance as temperature increases. If your ground path was not great, then the gauge would read low (higher resistance).

Corbin

'95 ESI-T
HRC+FMIC+ETC...



Gimme fuel...Gimme fire...Gimme that which I desire

Well the sender is in the remote filter mount and that is bolted to my battery tray. The only wire on the sender is the one going to the gauge. Should I connect a wire from the battery tray to the sender to make a better ground? That would be pretty easy.

I have my sender welded into the tranny oil pan where it's supposed to go. My temps haven't gone over 125 either. hmmmmmmmm... :wary

I've got a wire running from my sensor tee (what the sensor is screwed into) up to the ECU ground location. So, I get a real good ground connection. Maybe my ground is TOO good and making my readings high. I suppose that autometer expects you to mount it in the pan and not run any sort of ground wire. So, maybe I've done too much. I also have a shift kit, stratus gears, and a turbo dumping heat right into the radiator...so maybe I should be a little warm.


Corbin

'95 ESI-T
HRC+FMIC+ETC...



Gimme fuel...Gimme fire...Gimme that which I desire

I tried grounding it to my old battery cable (the ground) and the needle went all the way over. I think that was to much. Since I was in a hurry I just shoved it between my brake fluid bottle mount and the car. It wasn't the best connection but it was a better ground and when I was driving I noticed the needle got up to 125 degrees. That has never happened before.

Since it seems some grounds are to strong and some to weak, how can we know what would be the right one? I mean the needle reading high or low is one thing, but how do we know if the temps on the gauge are even close to the true temps of the fluid if all of our gauges are reading differently from ground to ground? Somebody smart needs to figure this out.


Well....................Corbin???

The problem is that Autometer didn't design this gauge with accuracy in mind. They were thinking "simplicity". If they wanted accuracy, they would put two connections on the sensor and make you run both sensor wires up to the gauge. Instead, they make you hook up one wire and assume a resistance for the ground path back to the gauge. They expect you to put this in a tranny pan or something. So, they assume a resistance for the ground path traveling through the fluid, pan, bolts, tranny, and tranny ground to body. That resistance will be different on every application.

I have my sensor mounted in a tee that has no contact with the body except through my ground wire and fluid. If I didn't run a ground wire, then I would just be relying on the fluid to carry the ground. Would that have been good enough? I don't believe so; but I don't know the resistivity of ATF+3. So, I felt that I needed a body ground. I think my temps are pretty good, but I haven't verified them against a proper temp gauge.

We'll never really know until someone hooks up a proper temperature gauge to the AT fluid.

Corbin

'95 ESI-T
HRC+FMIC+ETC...



Gimme fuel...Gimme fire...Gimme that which I desire