water temp accurate informations..

ghostdancing

ghostdancing

True Classic
hello gentlemen, i own since a couple of months a 1972 128 coupe 1116cc; i post this discussion here on the workshop section because looks like it's more alive then the proper 128 section..

as owner of several fiats in the past (BTW i'm from italy, so i have to say "as the 99% of my country's drivers"..), i know that the cooling system it's the most trouble- leading part of the system (i currently also own a 1994 cinquecento, a city car that must be absolutely unkown in the stateside, it's the last fiat with the time honoured pushrod motor (600, 850, 127 and many more models)
virtually all the cinquecentos die due a blown head gasket, cause by overheatings..

well in the 128 the temp gauge it's in the middle all the time when driving, the fan kick in before the middle position (when the car is idling stopped..strange behaviuor, dont?)..but i would like the get an accurate gauge to know actually the water temp (i dont trust so much the original gauge, and the scale it's not marked, just cold\hot and a large blank "ok, no problem" area in the middle..

so the question is: there is an aftermarket accurate temp gauge that i can fit in the dash?
 
Perhaps the 124 Veglia unit placed in the location where the ashtray is located by factory would be an option? I currently have a voltmeter there on my 128. that solution could either be amazingly simple or it could simply net you the same inaccurate reading on a different location.
 
You could also use an infrared handheld thermometer. Fairly cheap to buy. Just open the hood and aim it at whatever part of the cooling system you want to check. Helped me find out my spider temperature gauge was so far off I threw it away.
 
I tried to use the Fiat gauges to keep it more original but they are nowhere near as accurate as a modern gauge. I switched to Autometer because they fit in the same location on most Fiats and have a nice look. They are much more accurate than the almost 50 year old Veglias. Next I’ll look into using an Autometer gauge with a Veglia face for the period correct look.
 
thank you for advising; you say autometer.. it's an USA famous (and expensive) brand of aftermarket rev meter..correct? walking on the cheap side i see these china made gauges w\"cut hose and fit" sender carriers..it would be less then 10 usd shipped from the people republic..they are also not ugly..what do you think? a temp gauge it's just a voltmeter..don't?

a related question: if there is a drop in tension (due old and poor wiring\contact etc..) at the leads of the temp gauge, it will show an higher or lower temp? i'm pretty sure that my wiring acts like resistors, so the battery 13 circa volts drop to 11,5 when the current arrive in the dash..
 
I think 11.5 volts is enough to give accurate readings.
I think you get what you pay for. Some good products are made in China but at that price?
Sure it’s just a volt meter but there are volt meters that are better than others.
 
One thing you might try as a little experiment is to use a length of new wire with new terminals attached to each end and temporarily run it from the sender directly to the stock gauge (after disconnecting the stock wire). This will show if your inaccurate readings are due to problems with your wire harness.
 
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