Section : Cooling

Dubious Gauge Reading

Posted By : Jonathan Pashley, 14-Mar-2004, 09:13pm

Hi Guys
My 74 Mk IV temperature gauge only seems to read 1/4 hot even on a run
I know that Spits have a tendency to run hot so what should i look for first in trying to get an accurate reading

Jon YUK64M

Followups :

Dubious Gauge Reading

Posted By : John Davies, 14-Mar-2004, 10:06pm

Jon,
See my post on what your temp sender SHOULD do.
http://www.tssc.org.uk/messageboard.asp?board=club...

Easy to check with a multimeter.

Otherwise, measure the temperature another way as a check. Infra red meter, temp tabs, oven thermometer, if you can smuggle it past 'er indoors?

John
- Dubious Gauge Reading
  
  Posted By : David Styles, 15-Mar-2004, 10:15am
  
  Spits do have a tendency to run hot...
  
  but mine has a 74 C thermostat in it,... and a 3 core rad. With the nice shields infront of the rad to maximise air flow it never gets above about a quarter of the gauge.
  
  So its not unheard of for an engine to run in this way. Just depends what you've got fitted I spose ?
  
  (PS. This is quite deliberate for continental touring...
  last time I was in Italy it was 42 degrees C in Florence...and the spit was still happy as larry)
  - Dubious Gauge Reading
    
    Posted By : Tim Everitt, 15-Mar-2004, 02:09pm
    
    I don't want to put a lot of people's noses out of joint, but if a Spitfire cooling system is in good nick, my experience is that they do not run hot. I've never overheated in 20 years! Unless you have particular reasons to be suspicious, I would be inclined to believe the guage..... But you can always test it if you are worried.
Dubious Gauge Reading

Posted By : Mark Stradling, 15-Mar-2004, 01:50pm

My 74 Mk IV has only gone above the 1/4 mark once or twice - and then only in the middle of summer, sat in a queue of crawling traffic on a hot, breezeless day.

Even then it wasn't the fact it made it to ALMOST HALF WAY! that worried me, but the fact it caughed and spluttered like it was about to die!

The later I put down to the under-bonnet heat vaporising the fuel - sound like time to order a heat shield?
- Dubious Gauge Reading
  
  Posted By : Jonathan Pashley, 15-Mar-2004, 09:26pm
  
  Thanks for that Mark and the rest of you guys
  its put my mind at rest although i think i'll flush out the system and put some "for-life" in.
  Incidentally I tried the gauge from my knackered 1500 in and it still ran at 1/4.
  
  Cheers
  Jon Pashley
  1974 MkIV & 1976 1500(shed)