Nifty Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 Having installed an Apollo tank I decided to make use of the fitted oil temperature sender and wiring that was already in the loom. I bought a new two way switch and have wired the oil temperature sender and water temp. sender wires to it with the ouput going to the water temperature gauge. The water temperature seems to be shown correctly, with the thermostat and fan functioning at the correct temperatures, as indicated by the gauge. The oil temperature appears to be reading low, only 40 degrees when I couldn't hold my hand on the tank. I have a VDO gauge...would the sender be set up for a differently calibrated gauge and if so is it possible to get the correct sender to fit the Apollo that will read correctly on the VDO gauge 🤔 Keep off the straight and narrow 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 If the thread in the apollo is M10 (I think it is) you can use the oil temp sender off a MK1 Golf GTI (or the water temp sender of any Golf MK1, but it is not proved to survive above 120 deg.) /regin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 I called Think Automotive. here This pdf is quite interesting here They know all about VDO vs Caterham branded gauges (water and oil compatible senders). They sent the correct sender out directly. This works perfectly for oil temp switched to my water temp gauge. Hants (North) and Berkshire Area club site here My racing info site here Edited by - stevefoster on 3 Jul 2004 07:44:30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Day Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 So that's why my oil temp always reads a little cold, I just thought I wasn't driving hard enough. I'll ring Think on Monday for the correct sender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul McKenzie Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 Yep, I did this mod by drilling and tapping a sump plug for the temp. sender. The sender has to be a Caterham water temp. sender to have the correct calibration for the switchable water (and oil) temp. gauge Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Day Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 Does anyone know the conversion factor for caterham branded to VDO temp sensor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishmaninwales Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 Nifty Can you tell me more about the existing loom wiring for the oil temp sender? Where will I locate this? (1994 car). Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Day Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 Malcolm You won't find the wiring in a 1994 car (mines a 1994). You have to connect a separate wire from the oil temp sender to the water temp guage via a dash mounted switch. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishmaninwales Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Mick Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted July 4, 2004 Author Share Posted July 4, 2004 My car is a 1995 1.4K Supersport. The oil temp sender wire was black with a yellow stripe. There was a whole load of it ending with a sealed end cable tied to the left upright of the chassis, just in fron to the alternator. The other end of this was sealed but in the right place for the water temp gauge *thumbup*. Thanks Steve for the Think Automotive link...will get in touch with them. Nifty. Keep off the straight and narrow 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Nuts Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Nifty, I have a (well, a couple of) spare temp senders - they also expire on a regular basis I find! I can run one up tomorrow for you to have. Replace at your leisure! Guy NN 😳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted July 4, 2004 Author Share Posted July 4, 2004 Cheers Guy...but won't they be for Caterham gauges rather than my VDO ? Keep off the straight and narrow 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Nuts Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Ah yes, they will. Sorry, I misunderstood, I thought you already had a vdo sender but with a Cat guage which is why readings were strange. Must read posts properly! Oh well! Guy NN 😳 Edited by - No Nuts on 5 Jul 2004 08:36:35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Day Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 So if using a "Caterham branded" sensor with a VDO gauge does anyone know the true conversion factor? As my oil temp seems to top out at 80deg C whatever I do I reckon its add 50% to the reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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