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Messages Page 2856 of 3200

#28551 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [lemko] by andre1969

Nov 14, 2012 (9:24 am)

Replying to: lemko (Nov 14, 2012 9:20 am)
ou can always get those funky aftermarket gauges that screw to the bottom of the dashboard!
 
True...one of the previous owners of my '67 Catalina did that, installing an aftermarket temp gauge and oil pressure gauge under the dash.

#28552 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [andre1969] by ateixeira

Nov 14, 2012 (9:33 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 14, 2012 9:24 am)
Subaru now uses a blue light when the engine is cold, and it goes off once it's warmed up. So you are still notified if it's outside of certain parameters, I'm sure.

#28553 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [ateixeira] by lemko

Nov 14, 2012 (9:37 am)

Replying to: ateixeira (Nov 14, 2012 9:33 am)
That's a neat retro touch! I recall a lot of older GM cars that had a "COLD" light!

#28554 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [andre1969] by dieselone

Nov 14, 2012 (9:37 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 14, 2012 9:24 am)
Installing aftermarket gauges today should be a simple "plug-n-play" ordeal.
 
I was checking out a new Dodge durango and the info available on the lcd display in the gauge cluster was impressive. Engine temp, oil temp, trans temp, oil pressure, voltage, and engine hours etc. All that can be had by simply plug into the ECM.
 
Back when I had my trans rebuilt on my '00 Suburban, the rebuilt trans had a problem with not keeping the torque converter locked. The tech brought a scan tool and as we drove down the road it was amazing all the info he could get. After a 15 minute drive he new exactly what the problem was. It ended up being a faulty connection on one of the actuators in the valve body of the transmission.

#28555 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [lemko] by uplanderguy

Nov 14, 2012 (9:40 am)

Replying to: lemko (Nov 14, 2012 9:37 am)
That's a neat retro touch! I recall a lot of older GM cars that had a "COLD" light!
 
I definitely remember that light on my grandparents' '63 Bel Air wagon.

#28556 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [lemko] by dieselone

Nov 14, 2012 (9:40 am)

Replying to: lemko (Nov 14, 2012 9:37 am)
I've never seen a car with an engine cold light. Though I've read some cars (M3 specifically) had a tach where the redline would change between a cold engine and warmed up one. IIRC, that was a few years ago on when the M3 had the high rpm inline 6.

#28557 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [dieselone] by andre1969

Nov 14, 2012 (9:44 am)

Replying to: dieselone (Nov 14, 2012 9:40 am)
My '67 Newport had an engine cold light. It's been awhile, but I think it was green.
 
IMO, it seems kinda silly that a dirt-cheap Dart or Valiant would have a real gauge standard, while a mid-level car like a Newport would just have idiot lights.

#28558 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [andre1969] by dieselone

Nov 14, 2012 (9:49 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 14, 2012 9:44 am)
Well it seems from the mid 70's through the mid 80's full gauges were rare. Maybe it was to lure people into believing they weren't needed;)
 
My wife had an '01 Impala that had a oil sending unit fail. The oil light was on for a few days before she said anything to me. If it hadn't been a company car, I would have been upset. I don't know how she wasn't concerned with the huge yellow light. But nothing was actually wrong other than a faulty signal being sent to the gauge cluster.

#28559 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [dieselone] by lemko

Nov 14, 2012 (10:05 am)

Replying to: dieselone (Nov 14, 2012 9:49 am)
My 1988 Buick Park Avenue was an oddball as it had a full complement of gauges. I really like that feature on that car.

#28560 of 32000 Re: Toyota Recall [dieselone] by andre1969

Nov 14, 2012 (10:06 am)

Replying to: dieselone (Nov 14, 2012 9:49 am)
I also wonder if people might be more likely to notice a red light coming on, than they would a gauge that happens to be going too far in one direction or the other? Maybe that was part of the thinking when they first started going over to idiot lights?
 
I think the migration to idiot lights might have actually started in the late 50's. To use one example, my '57 DeSoto has full gauges, but for '59 the oil and amps were replaced with idiot lights. For some reason, I'm thinking Olds was an early adopter of idiot lights, and might have actually started phasing out real gauges for 1957. For some reason I'm thinking Cadillac did, as well.
 
At some point, they started combining gauges with idiot lights. Not sure when, exactly, but the full-sized '79 Mopars have full gauges standard AND idiot lights for everything (oil, fuel, temp, amps, a door is a jar, etc).
 
I guess an idiot light is enough to do the job for the most part, but I'm a bit leery of them. Awhile back, my 2000 Intrepid's oil pressure light started coming on at low rpm, and flickering. My '67 Catalina used to do the same thing, and the aftermarket oil gauge would back it up, by showing low-ish pressure. It's since been fixed, although I forget what the mechanic did to it, but it really did have a low pressure problem.
 
So, when the Intrepid started doing it, I figured it was a real problem. But nope, turned out there was a TSB on it. In certain situations, such as fully warmed up, stopped at a traffic light, lack of air flow and heat build-up from the engine would trigger the light, and make it flicker. Once you got moving again it would cool down and turn off.

Messages Page 2856 of 3200

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