RFOneWatt wrote:
Campfire Time wrote:
Some temp gauges are just pretty front ends that replace the old dummy lights. They have 3 settings. Cold, just right, or over heating.
The gauges in my 2007 Expedition 5.4L were as you describe.
I thought I would be fine if I watched my temp gauges when in the mountains and simply slow down when they started to climb.
NOPE. as soon as the gauge moved at all the dashboard lit up like a christmas tree (ALL gauges pegged, all lights on) and computer reading "VEHICLE OVERHEATING - PULL OVER"
No wiggle room. Not knowing how much time I had to pull over was also a bit stressful with a couple big trucks behind me, somewheres around Yellowstone.
As soon as I got back home to Michigan I traded the Expy in for a diesel TV, bought a $9.95 OBD II reader and the Torque OBD App for my phone.
Now I don't worry. (about that haha)
I loved that Expy though.
-RF
Any of the post 2009 F150's and any 250/350's going back to the mid 2000's do increment up after 225F. Both the engine temp and transmission temp. I can't speculate as to if or why older ones don't seem to. (Dead up and down trans temp is 230F, one notch over is around 240F, adjacent to the red is 250's, and overheat and cluster warning is around 257 IIRC, normal gauge position is just shy of half which emcompases 190 - 229, "normal" temp is 200-212ish). Feel free to correct those numbers if I got it wrong.
The voltage readout is basically an idiot light though, I'm fairly certain it is binary in operation. But normal on the new efficient electrical system varies from 12.5v to 14v, so a accurate gauge would swing constantly, and not as expected.