So you’re saying that the gauge or temp sensor or computer was wonky? The “really too hot” light can also malfunction.
Sorry. I find that to be implausible. I’ve had more than one vehicle with buffered gauges that had a thermostat stuck open. The needle never went to the normal range.
Personally, I want a real gauge that gives me that actual temps. As a driver / vehicle owner I’ll always take more info rather than less. Buffered or not. Don’t just give me the “too cold/too hot” light - which can also be wrong.
Right, no oil pressure gauge. Just a switch to identify low oil pressure to trigger the idiot light. Also had a low oil switch in the oil pan to tell you when your 8 qts of oil was disappearing.
The oil temp gauge was software, too, but GM does that as well.
Real car guys have been adding gauges to their cars for as long as I have been alive. The vast majority of the car buying public has no interest in knowing the exact temperature, oil pressure etc. So a switch and light or fake gauge suits them. They don’t need the expense of a sensor and analog or digital gauge. In fact, it might detract from the ability to identify a problem. Red lights and klaxons going off…that’s what they need. Meanwhile, the true car guy notices even the slightest shimmy or unusual noise before it ever becomes a real problem
Now what does burn my bacon is when they use a switch and an analog gauge- then use software to estimate the actual value to make the gauge move. GM did this in the Trailblazer with the oil pressure gauge. The switch makes it go into the normal pressure range. Then, the computer uses RPM to estimate what the oil pressure would be at that engine RPM. May they roast in that hot place no one wants to go…
Ya know, the simple word alarm or even horn would have worked, but no!!! Y’all smart people and your smart words making us (me) not as smart people google these words, well, did you know that Klaxons just happens to also be a British rock band from 2005-2015, just to add to my confusion… I had to look up the meaning to figure out what you meant…
You would probably be really confused by Brits who refer to “the Tannoy”.
As in, the following exchange at Heathrow or Gatwick:
Passenger: When will boarding begin?
Airline employee: Just listen for the Tannoy.
My son was away at his school trip to Washington DC. He asked me to keep his Snapchat streaks going while he was away, along with very detailed instructions on how to do so. I told him that asking someone who was alive in 1970s to streak would have a very different interpretation than he and his friends would today.
Yeah and I dont understand any of this. For some reason I was remembering our high school conversations walking downtown for a cherry coke (coke cola). One took Spanish and the rest of us German so we would teach each other. None of us spoke UK though.
Back to cars. When I needed an oil pressure sensor for my olds, the Napa guy needed to know if I had gauges or not. Different part.
Tannoy was (is?) a loudspeaker manufacturer in The UK, and apparently their speakers are/were used for PA systems.
So, just as a lot of people in The US used to call all refrigerators a “Frigidaire”, it seems that everyone in The UK refers to a PA system as “the Tannoy”.
Ha ha. Who knew, who cared? And I was here fo4 the British Invasion. Even drove a Morris. Did the speakers cut in and out and go dark like other British electrical devices?
That was one of the last “dumb” instrument clusters, the next generation minivan had processors in the cluster, able to display stabile gauges.
The trouble with displaying actual temperature is that while the vehicle is moving, the gauge shows 40% (195 F). Then while waiting at a traffic light (with the A/C off) the gauge will climb to 60 - 70% (210 - 220 F) before the electric radiator fan engages.
This results in a trip to the dealer. Customer complaint: “Engine runs hot” or “vehicle almost overheated”. Technicians’ response: “No problem found; engine operation normal”. Customer returns next week to complain again.
Then there is the mechanic who didn’t duplicate the problem but will replace the coolant temperature sensor on the first visit, the radiator on the second visit, the water pump on the third visit and so on.
This leads to bad customer surveys and “the dealer has no clue”, “call the manufacture”, “hire a lawyer”, “demand letter”, “lemon law” etc.
There must be a better way to display engine coolant temperature.
My wife used to do that, drive without a fuel gauge anyway. The gauge went out on her Silhouette and she wouldn’t let me get it fixed, saying that she would only go a couple hundred miles since the last fill up, then get more gas. That worked, except when she forgot to reset the trip meter. She ran out of gas twice before we donated the van.
