Water Temp Gauge - Voltage Stabiliser?

[neilsjuke]

The voltage stabiliser must be fitted the right way up as on the back of an instrument to work properly .
Neil

[alaric]

Hi again. They are all elans. Some are elan +2s, some are elan sprints. I was confused for a few moments by the question on whether an elan had a regulator, as the previous posts had shown pictures of a regulator on an elan dash. I try my best to be clear when posting to avoid confusion; I hadn't realised the elan sprint had a capillary temp guage so apologies for that - I should have said electrical temperature guage to clarify... I'll try harder .

All the best.

Sean.

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Can someone please explain why the orientation of the Stabiliser is important.
I fitted a solid state version in my S4 & it hangs where it feels like on loose wires, just to the right of the Radio slot.
It does its Job fine.

Sean,
Just me being pedantic but if you may here's another minor correction.
We're talking here about what is commonly known as the Voltage Stabiliser.
The Voltage Regulater is the bigger component to be found in the Engine Bay.

Cheers
John

[terryp]

Hello
Just found the old one on the back of the dash (Thanks Sean & Mark) and now fitted a solid state one but the gauge is exactly the same and under reads by approx 15 degrees (I have a 71 thermostat and the fan cuts in at 78/80 so I know approximately where the gauge should be)
Any ideas? , or do I just reside myself to knowing what is really is?

Terry

[bcmc33]

Is there a voltage regulator in an Elan? If so, where?

Don't these embarrissing senile moments make you wince?

[john.p.clegg]

Terry

You have a mis-match with your sender/temp gauge.....do you have access to a rheostat/potentiometer? if so it could be an easy job to fit in-line and add resistance till you read correct at the prescribed temperature and then find a resistor of the correct Ohmage and wire in-line...

That is assuming that the sender is incorrect low resistance,if the other way you have problems..

John

[john.p.clegg]

Is there a voltage regulator in an Elan? If so, where?




If you have a dynamo you just might...black box 4"x4"x3"....

John

[oldelanman]

Hi Terry,

Assuming that your gauge, sender and voltage stabiliser are all OK it could just be dirty/corroded connections in the loom somewhere. I'm no electrician but I think a bad connection somewhere will increase the overall resistance of the circuit resulting in a lower current flow and consequent low reading on the gauge. You could try running a slave wire directly from the sender to the gauge and see if the reading changes.

Regards,

[terryp]

John / Roger
I think I would need less resistance to correct a low reading to a higher reading? So if I try Roger's idea of the slave wire that may give less resistance. Then I've only got to find out where the problem is?


Thanks to all

Terry

[alaric]

Hi all. My circuit diagram only shows the water temp guage and fuel guage connected to the output of the regulator / stabiliser, whatever you choose to call it - I'm going to call it a stabulator.

Some months ago when I tested my temp guage with the sensor in boiling water (removed from the engine), I got about 100C on the guage for 10v DC supply to the guage, which is the voltage that's supposed to be the average from the stabulator. The supply was from a bench variable power supply and measured using a digital volt meter. I then introduced the stabulator and put 13.5v into it measured using the DVM. I got about the same 100C temperature measured on the guage with boiling water, so was happy that the stabulator and guage worked well enough as a pair. I then popped the wax thermostat into the pan of water and watched it start to open at the correct temperature as I heated the water - about 85C on my guage - I forget what was actually stamped on the thermostat but it was ok for 85C on the guage. I then fitted it all to the car and ran the engine. At about 85C on the guage the radiator started to get hot. I then made a cup of tea and felt content.

So, if you have 10v from the solid state regulator or are using the stabulator, you should be seeing about the right temperature. You could try removing your sensor and putting it into boiling water to verify the accuracy - connecting an earth wire back to the chassis obviously.

I would expect the capacitor across the output of my stabulator to be helpful, but can't see this in the circuit diagram in the manual. Without analysing the circuit properly it's hard to tell why Terry's temp guage reads low - most probably high resistance on the circuit from the guage to the chassis (via the temperature sensor) as already suggested.

All the best.

Sean.

[oldelanman]

John wrote...

Can someone please explain why the orientation of the Stabiliser is important.
I fitted a solid state version in my S4 & it hangs where it feels like on loose wires, just to the right of the Radio slot.
It does its Job fine.

John, I see nobody has answered your question so here's my theory......

The original voltage stabiliser is an electro-mechanical device involving a heated bi-metal spring and contact points and it will have been finely adjusted to produce the required output voltage. It is a relatively delicate device and it's operating characteristics may well be affected by external influences like gravity and vibration. If mounted with the bi-metal element vertical the effect of gravity is eliminated and the effect of vibration from road input is minimised. The workshop manual is very specific about the vertical orientation stating that the maximum permissible "out-of-true" of the mounting is 10deg in any direction.

Solid state stabilisers on the other hand are purely electronic devices and having no moving parts are not affected by vibration or gravity so you can put them wherever you like.

Plausible....what do you think ?

Also, slightly off topic, here's another open question.....

I had my capillary type water temp gauge repaired and refurbished recently and it came back with a sticker saying "kettle testing may damage the gauge". Anyone explain why that is ?

Best regards,

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

John wrote...

Can someone please explain why the orientation of the Stabiliser is important.
I fitted a solid state version in my S4 & it hangs where it feels like on loose wires, just to the right of the Radio slot.
It does its Job fine.

John, I see nobody has answered your question so here's my theory......

The original voltage stabiliser is an electro-mechanical device involving a heated bi-metal spring and contact points and it will have been finely adjusted to produce the required output voltage. It is a relatively delicate device and it's operating characteristics may well be affected by external influences like gravity and vibration. If mounted with the bi-metal element vertical the effect of gravity is eliminated and the effect of vibration from road input is minimised. The workshop manual is very specific about the vertical orientation stating that the maximum permissible "out-of-true" of the mounting is 10deg in any direction.

Solid state stabilisers on the other hand are purely electronic devices and having no moving parts are not affected by vibration or gravity so you can put them wherever you like.

Plausible....what do you think ?

Also, slightly off topic, here's another open question.....

I had my capillary type water temp gauge repaired and refurbished recently and it came back with a sticker saying "kettle testing may damage the gauge". Anyone explain why that is ?

Best regards,

Yup; I'll buy that.
Thanks roger

[john.p.clegg]

Roger

"I had my capillary type water temp gauge repaired and refurbished recently and it came back with a sticker saying "kettle testing may damage the gauge". Anyone explain why that is ?"

....maybe it doesn't like getting too hot.....100 degrees C is pretty hot..

John

[terryp]

John/Roger/Sean
Well tried the earth first and yes confirmed that the gauge/supply/wire is fine, its the sender!
I checked the earth to the engine and it seems OK , so it looks like a new sender
Does any one know the correct part number GTR No?
Also does this look standard , i.e. the reducer?
Thanks

Terry

[john.p.clegg]

Terry

try A050 M 6136W

John