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Old Mar 9, 2006 | 09:18 PM
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EGT gauge problems?

i think my EGT gauge is not accurate. some say that after driving at operating temp, they come in, let the truck idle to 350-300* before shutting the truck down. pulling in my driveway which is mostly idleing, i am at 450*, and it takes about a minute for EGT's to get below 350 or so. i let it drop to the 400* tick mark, and then shut her down- which is usually 15 seconds or so. but one thing i noticed, was that in the mornings when it is COLD, the EGT gauge will never move below 100*. is this normal to you guys? i dont think so, because mine seems to be about 100* hotter than everyone else i see or talk to. those of you that have gauges, does your EGT gauge sit at 200* when the key is off, then jump to the temperature (down) when the key is turned to "run"? mine has never gone below 100* when turned off, ignition on.

one thing i do notice, is that i can let my engine sit and idle for 5-10 minutes after driving, and the EGT doesnt get lower. sits at 350-300*. after that long, the EGT should be well below 300*. i can coast down the hill and get EGT to about 350, and it will actually raise the temperature just sitting and idling.
 
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Old Mar 9, 2006 | 09:45 PM
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Mine goes to zero when you shut it off. When you start it, it jumps up to like 100 or so and gradually increases to around 250. If I let my truck idle for 5 minutes or so in park or neutral the EGTs will drop to under 300 easily. Most of the times, it doesn't even take a minute for the EGTs to drop under 400 for me to shut her off, just 30-40 seconds and it'll be at 350.
 
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Old Mar 9, 2006 | 09:56 PM
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strokin My trucks EGT at idle is just a tad below 300 degs, and when i shut it off it goes below 100 degs.
 
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Old Mar 9, 2006 | 10:56 PM
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From: Northern Colorado
KOEO - cold engine - reads about 50º
After a mild run - 15 sec of idle - 400º - 425º
- idle 60 sec - 375º - 390º

doesn't want to come too much lower than that for a long time.

I don't know what the published accuracy of these pyros are but I doubt if they are all that great. My guess would be +/- 75º
 
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Old Mar 9, 2006 | 11:14 PM
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Mine (Autometer) sits at 0 with the key off. I let it idle for 3-5 minutes tonight, just to see how low it would go. It barely got below 300* and it was about 45* outside. When I first go to start it and kick the key on, the temp usually shows about 10*-20* warmer than it is outside.
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 12:27 AM
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I have an X Monitor (digital) Mine is very close to ambient when i turn the key on. At idle mine usually hangs between 245-249. After a hard run at the most maybe 2 mins and it is down to about 250 or so. I often wondered how accurate mine was.
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 01:19 AM
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Originally Posted by MRBASS
I have an X Monitor (digital) Mine is very close to ambient when i turn the key on. At idle mine usually hangs between 245-249. After a hard run at the most maybe 2 mins and it is down to about 250 or so. I often wondered how accurate mine was.
Is yours pre or post turbo?
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 06:20 AM
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On a colder morning, say 30 degrees, when I start mine, the egt sits at 190. When I pull back in, it is usually at 350-400, I let it idle for a minute or so, and it goes below 300. In the summer, it takes longer to idle to get below 300, but it always does. My probe is installed pre turbo FYI.
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 08:59 AM
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I just installed a pyrometer in a customers car yesterday. The guage read 100 degrees sitting in the box! But it was one of those kind that are self powered, just a thermocouple, a lead wire and a guage. On the test drive it seemed to function properly.
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Kwikkordead
But it was one of those kind that are self powered, just a thermocouple, a lead wire and a guage.
A self powered gauge?? Mine was sitting at abour 400* in the box, but of course the first time it got keyed power it dropped to 0* until I started the truck.
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 12:05 PM
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Originally Posted by jtharvey
A self powered gauge?? Mine was sitting at abour 400* in the box, but of course the first time it got keyed power it dropped to 0* until I started the truck.
I know it sounds strange, but all it has on the back for connections is two posts, a two wire lead, and a two-wire thermocouple. By some miracle it works. I think it reads some tiny voltage that the heat makes in the thermocouple.
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 01:38 PM
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Kwik, that's a very interesting design. It just doesn't seem like it should work at all. An electric guage with no power wires. Very odd.
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 06:23 PM
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Originally Posted by jtharvey
A self powered gauge??
A couple of companies still make them but most don't. Autometer is one that now sees them as obsolete but here is an instruction sheet for install when they did offer that type. http://www.autometer.com/download_instruction/869.pdfat
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 06:42 PM
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mine has a thermopile to power the guage and sits a 100 F
called the mfg and they said it was normal for that guage (self powered ones uses a thermopile to produce millivolt current when two dissimular metals are heated , simular to a thermocouple on a water heater )
 
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Old Mar 10, 2006 | 06:52 PM
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Originally Posted by jtharvey
Kwik, that's a very interesting design. It just doesn't seem like it should work at all. An electric guage with no power wires. Very odd.
In my line of work on the old air cooled VW's you could get a cylinder head temparature guage. The thermocouple was a special washer with a double wire coming off of it and it went to the guage. No 12v power anywhere and the guage just worked. Same basic idea as the EGT sender just a different pickup on the thermocouple.
 
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