Temp gauge options. air temp reads engine water temp

F

fdew

:
CX-5
I am looking at my options to get a water temp gauge. One option might be to disconnect the ambient air temp sensor and connect a water temp sensor instead to get a readout on the inst cluster. Has any one done this? Can the cluster display temperature over 199 deg? It seems unlikely to work.

Next choice is OBD2 gauge I am leaning towards this.

Another option is the Garman ECO route.

Thoughts?
 
fdew said:
I am looking at my options to get a water temp gauge. One option might be to disconnect the ambient air temp sensor and connect a water temp sensor instead to get a readout on the inst cluster. Has any one done this? Can the cluster display temperature over 199 deg? It seems unlikely to work.
Click to expand...

I very much doubt you can do that. The ECM would need both the ambient temp input and the water temp for engine control (adjusting fuel/air mixture, timing, etc). Swap those (or disconnect and swap just one) and you'd be in a world of hurt.

I can recommend the Ultra-Gauge (Ultra-Gauge.com). Cheap and extremely configurable. Doesn't have fancy analog display (all numerical readouts) but REALLY useful. And did I say cheap?
 
This ultra gauge seems really nice! So you happen to have any pics if it in the CX-5?

I hate not having a temp gauge and if this solves that and doesn't require modification I may have a new wish list item.
 
Grab a OBD II BT/Wifi dongle and download DashCommand or Torque. You will get ambient and intake temp, water temp, and a whole bunch of other gauges. All for under $20.
 
SayNoToPistons said:
Grab a OBD II BT/Wifi dongle and download DashCommand or Torque. You will get ambient and intake temp, water temp, and a whole bunch of other gauges. All for under $20.
Click to expand...

This sounds interesting, but I assume, since it uses WiFi on an iPhone, that I won't be able to get a data connection while it's connected. I'm not sure if that's the case or not, but that would be a major drawback for me.
 
Since I use an android phone, I cannot comment on that. I bought a Bluetooth OBDII dongle and my phone can pair with multiple devices. That means it will pair with the OBDII dongle via BT and also the car's infotainment for audio/phone purposes with no interruptions. I mentioned WiFi dongles just as an option for some.
 
SayNoToPistons said:
Since I use an android phone, I cannot comment on that. I bought a Bluetooth OBDII dongle and my phone can pair with multiple devices. That means it will pair with the OBDII dongle via BT and also the car's infotainment for audio/phone purposes with no interruptions. I mentioned WiFi dongles just as an option for some.
Click to expand...

I have a jailbreak iPhone and am willing to bet one of the BT stacks should work with a BT dongle. Any brand recommendation? After reading some of the Amazon reviews, some of the devices are much better made than others.
 
This is probably the most common dongle on Amazon. The reviews are hit and miss because of varying vendors that sell it. Some vendors seem to sell "rip offs" that don't work. I bought one recently from the vendor iSaddle and it works flawlessly. Just throw away the included CD, because it is known to contain malware.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)


There are some complaints about the battery being drained if the device remains plugged in. I have no problems with it leaving it plugged for days without starting the car.

With an iPhone, you will be using DashCommand. Torque is for Android. There is an informative thread on here for DashCommand.
 
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