I have now installed a set of Prosport gauges from ALTA (loving them I might add). I installed a boost gauge and a H2O temp gauge. My question is now that I have the H2O gauge, how hot is too hot?
I was wondering if there were any MA's out there that know at what temp the first orange idiot light comes on at? That way I know when the car is starting to get close to the danger zone (Top Gun music now starts to play ). It doesn't do much good to watch a gauge and not know where the boundries of "Safe" are.

 

bump....

 

come people....some one has to know

 

Good luck - the owner's manual doesn't even list the limits - just that orange is "too hot" and red is "overheating".

 

i'm going to bump this question one more time

 

Since your sensor is mounted out of the real mainstream-- actual flow-- of coolant they are "hit or miss" as regard to actual water temp conditions of the engine you might as well live with the conditions, and like the "nice display" that you have

 

I don't think you're going to get an answer, unless one of the MINI engineers happens to pop in.

I can only think of two ways to find out on your own. Get a ScanGauge or similar tool that can read the actual temperature off of the data bus, and then either:

1) Intentionally overheat your engine and see what the ScanGauge reads when the warning light goes from off to orange and orange to red, or

2) Replace the factory temperature sensor with a variable resistor so that you can "dial in" any engine temperature you want. Then do the same as option 1), varying the resistor until the warning light comes on and then checking to see what the ScanGauge says. (Assuming that the factory sender is resistance-based).

 

As many others have said I'm not sure where you've actually mounted the sensor, that really has a lot to do with "How Hot" it can get.

I use a Scangauge, and I've seen as high as 241 on the street in traffic. I'm pretty sure the fan doesn't even kick on till the mid 230's, so you've got some room.

The conventional wisdom with 50/50 mixes of coolant is that it will boil at around 265 degrees F. Once the fluid boils, it releases air into your system, which dramatically reduces the effectiveness of the cooling system, and eventually "Blows Off" some of the coolant through the expansion tank to relieve pressure.

That being said, should your coolant get much past the 250 mark, I'd either try to increase airflow over the radiator, or shut the engine down and ensure proper function of your cooling system (Cause it shouldn't be getting that hot).