Coolant Temperature / Head-Guard

[kernels]

Hi guys, after reading a few posts about engine damage caused from overheating I thought there might be a small market for a gadget that constantly measures engine operating temperature and can generate an alarm when the car overheats or at least warn the driver as the temperature starts getting high.

I've now got most of this working on the bench, able to read parameters from the on-board OBDII

So, the information that would now be useful is to find out what temperatures most experience while driving, especially the guys towing large caravans up steep hills.

What coolant temperatures do you get up to while towing, where would be good points to warn the driver ?

I was thinking probably just a very short beep every 2 seconds when the coolant gets to 108 degC, then gradually increase the beep time as things get hotter ?

I can also check the battery voltage while the engine is not running, to warn people if their battery is getting too low.

Are there any other parameters that would be worth actively monitoring, that could save an engine ?

 

[VillageSTX550]

EGT, helps measure load on the turbo, and lets you know if the engine is too hot to turn off(basically lets "you" be a turbo timer).
I believe that a ScanGauge might have these features, but you'd have to look into it.

 

[Iceman]

The android torque app does all this. Has settable alarms and realtime coolant temp display etc.
Only disadvantage is you have to have your phone or tablet with you. Good idea for those who dont the phone/tablet setup though.

 

[nuckin futs]

The android torque app does all this. Has settable alarms and realtime coolant temp display etc.
Only disadvantage is you have to have your phone or tablet with you. Good idea for those who dont the phone/tablet setup though.

does this come with the free app or the one u gotta buy

 

[kernels]

The android torque app does all this. Has settable alarms and realtime coolant temp display etc.
Only disadvantage is you have to have your phone or tablet with you. Good idea for those who dont the phone/tablet setup though.

I was going for something standalone since my phone is likely to be connected to the radio. Also wanted it to 'just work', no setup or anything, just plug it in and it's working.

I was hoping to be able to monitor more than just temperature, but it doesn't look like oil pressure is standard on OBD2, neither is EGT.

 

[Iceman]

You can pair and connect to more than one device at the same time with btooth. Mine is connected to the hands free, streams audio and an obd2 plugin for torque all at the same time without any problem. Once i turn on the ignition it all just connects and all i have to do is select the torque app. Has the advantage that it uses the gps to keep a trip log as well. Every half a second about 20 different parameters are recorded. Great for diagnosing engine issues and prooving cops wrong on speeding tickets! I think i might have paid a couple of dollars for it but it was bugger all really. The obd adaptor was like 11 bux.

 

[bods]

I was going for something standalone since my phone is likely to be connected to the radio. Also wanted it to 'just work', no setup or anything, just plug it in and it's working.

I was hoping to be able to monitor more than just temperature, but it doesn't look like oil pressure is standard on OBD2, neither is EGT.

Egt won't be monitored on most as they don't have a probe in the exhaust for it. Some of the later model d40s I believe do have them though. People have reported on here having had them replaced after they have failed.

Same with oil pressure. They only have a switch that detects pressure to turn the light off, so no monitoring there...