Cool coolant speed rev battery alarm OBD2

[darrylrobert]

i bought this cheap OBD2 dashboard display to warn me when the coolant temp gets to a dangerous level. I was originally going to hide it, early testing of this unit is good, its plug and play with my 2001 xc70 turns on and off with the engine and beeps every 30s when it reaches the user adjustable values.

http://www.wins-novelty.com/

OBD2 coolant speed battery rev alarm and display

[abscate]

I bet if it had a rollover alarm, June would buy one.

[darrylrobert]

its interesting seeing the coolant temp rising and falling depending on car movement and gear selection, mine went from 86c moving in lower gears to 91c in high gear and up to 96c when i was stopped. There was a recent discussion on here about the "idiot" /driver comfort gauge that doesnt move from 12oclock when steam starts pouring from the bonnet (hood)

[EngineeringBloke]

Earlier this month, I had a coolant leak. I saw coolant spraying from the middle of the thermostat housing. Kept it topped up with distilled water until I got the thermostat replaced. Coolant mix was checked.

After that, level in coolant overflow tank stayed steady so I was confident that the leak was fixed. I had monitored the actual coolant temperature continuously via my ODB2 Torque app to ensure no overheating had occurred during the coolant leaking and my drives from the moment I got the low coolant warning that alerted me. Temps stayed around 194 F once warmed up.

So the next day, I drove up the Mt Washington auto road. There is about 4000 feet height gain to 6000+ feet on the 7 mile road. Great view at the top and wonderful scenery going through Crawford Notch on route 302.

On the way up, temps went to 107 C for about a minute, then cooled with the engine fan, and then 108 C again for about a minute before coming down. Although this is over the boiling point of water (100 C), the 50/50 mix with coolant has a higher boiling point, and pressurized cooling system further raises to the boiling point to about 256 F (125 C).

During this time, the dash temp gauge stayed at the normal middle position.

Temps were normal during my drive down the road - no raised coolant temperature. I was in AT low gear (L/1) and only hit the brakes briefly a couple of times due to steepness, but had to brake again to slow a little due to some cars (a minivan and SUV) in front traveling slower than I was. I was horrified to see those two cars with almost continuous brake usage shown by their brake lights. You were told to set low gear and avoid such brake usage to avoid brake overheating and damage at the drive start, and the instructions were repeated on the big envelope provided.

Anyway, still happy with my 06.