by "AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
Published 12/07/2017 at 20:39
by "AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
Published 12/07/2017 at 20:39
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STARS: 0
I could use your experience. Would you do me a favor and tell me if I’m making a good call here?
I haven’t had a working oil pressure or water temp gauge since buying the car. I figure now is a good time to fix that, while I still have leftover wrenching confidence from my last successful car project. So, I asked my Miata buddy for what he would do, and he pointed me towards these two products, saying that they’re what he used for quite awhile and they’re hard to beat for my needs. I normally listen to him because he’s a Miata genius, wins championships, and crushes track records, etc., but he’s busy and stopped responding.
What do you think? Keep in mind despite the projects I’ve done in the past and detailed on here, I’m a total noob when it comes to all things mechanical. I don’t have the slightest idea how to install these things (yet) and I don’t even know where my oil pressure and water temp sensors are? Is that even what they’re called..? What are senders then..? How does a thermostat relate to the water temp sensor? Do I need that too..? Uhm. Well... Anyways, here are the products. Any info you could take from the product page and translate into non-mechanic speak would be appreciated. I’m mostly wondering if these are complete packages and would solve my problem, getting me accurate oil and water info, or if I’d also need to buy something else along with these to get it all hooked up. A la a new thermostat, or some kind of sandwich plate to plug things into.
Oh and one more question! Is there any reason I would also want to monitor oil temperature at this point? Okay that’s it! Thank you in advance, 100 Miata points for any and all helpers
http://www.good-win-racing.com/mazda/miata/61-1581.html?id=DGbeBS9v
http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/61-1616.html
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/07/2017 at 20:47, STARS: 0
If your Miata has OBD2, this data should be available with an OBD2 scanner of either the bluetooth variety or something like a Scangauge or Ultragauge.
IMO, I’d opt to repair or replace the OEM dash gauge if at all possible before adding an aftermarket one or modifying the OEM sender to read to an aftermarket gauge.
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
12/07/2017 at 20:48, STARS: 0
Quite a few 90s Japanese cars had multiple coolant temp sensors. Ex one for the radiator fans, the dash thingy, and one for the ECU. IIRC the sender is for the fans, but I’m not sure. The one for the gauge is usually just a copper plug looking thing with one or two connectors.
First I’d just try replacing that sensor, if you haven’t already. I don’t know much about oil pressure systems, but it’d probably be a good idea on a car with as many miles as yours, since low oil pressure is a tell-tell sign of bad bearings and piston rings.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/07/2017 at 20:56, STARS: 5
I think you need to get yourself a service manual. Locate the sensors (via the book, or someone familiar with NA Miatas), test them (this will likely require a multimeter and spec chart), and replace if necessary.
To determine if you need a thermostat, you’ll need to find out how hot the coolant is getting. But thermostats aren’t all that expensive, so if you have any reason to suspect that it’s time to replace it (like age or mileage), it’s not a huge waste of money.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/07/2017 at 20:58, STARS: 0
It does not, mine was one year away from OBDII. I would be so happy if I could just pull codes whenever something went wrong.
Costwise at least, the two options would be similar. 95 Miata’s didn’t actually come with a real oil pressure gauge. It was more of a switch, one side being “fine”, the other being “blown engine”. So for that I either need to go aftermarket, or modify an older Miata’s oil sender (to the best of my knowledge)
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/07/2017 at 21:01, STARS: 0
Oooookay. This makes sense. I think I may need a sensor for the fan, because I’m starting to think my fan isn’t turning on...
"benjrblant" (benjblant)
12/07/2017 at 21:04, STARS: 0
If you’re racing it or taking it to the track, oil pressure would be valuable information to have. A go/no go light would be sufficient for just cruising around town. See if you can grab a factory service manual or some sort of shop manual to help indicate sensors with diagrams and good ‘destructions! I’m unsure of how complicated this job is on the Miata, so I’ll stop advising here.
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
12/07/2017 at 21:09, STARS: 0
Don’t forget there’s probably a relay for the fan too, so don’t forget to check that.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/07/2017 at 21:09, STARS: 0
I had completely forgotten about the Chilton repair manual the previous owner left under the carpeting in the trunk. After a quick read it seems like replacing the thermostat would be a good first step, followed by troubleshooting to see if it’s the sending unit, or the gauge itself that’s the problem
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
12/07/2017 at 21:15, STARS: 1
There’s gotta be a way to pull codes. Probably envolves jumping two pins or wires, I’d check some forums for details. Although in my experience OBD-I is pretty bad about recognizing problems.
Example on Hondas
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
12/07/2017 at 21:17, STARS: 1
If you come to Ohio I’ll help!
Others’ advice here has been pretty good
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/07/2017 at 21:18, STARS: 2
A bad thermostat will either overcool the engine or allow it to overheat. But it won’t keep the temperature gauge from working. And it has nothing to do with the oil pressure sensing circuit, either. If your coolant is not leaking or boiling over, you probably don’t need to change the t-stat yet.
I think it’s more important to restore the temp sensing circuit first, especially if you’re going to be driving the car.
"rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI" (rillweid)
12/07/2017 at 21:19, STARS: 1
I’m gonna second most of the people on here by saying stick with the OEM stuff and see if you can repair it because that A)looks cleaner and B) will usually be better quality. As far as oil pressure goes, worth it if you’re doing loads of aggressive driving, but probably not if most of you’re routine involves daily driving.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/07/2017 at 21:21, STARS: 0
Yeah, just found my service book and it mentions using a paperclip to jump pins. Awesome! So many potential weekend projects!
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/07/2017 at 21:25, STARS: 0
I think it has been overheating... I obviously don’t have specific temperatures I can point to but I’ve noticed lately that my engine is taking much longer to cool down than it used to. And now that I think about it, I did have some boiling coolant a few months ago, after a good two hours of very heavy driving in the mountains. Pushing 350,000 miles, who knows when it was last changed out... Can’t hurt, right? But yes, I’ll be attempting to get the temp sensing circuit in good shape as well!
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/07/2017 at 21:26, STARS: 0
Right. A relay. I know what that is. I know exactly what that is...
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/07/2017 at 21:28, STARS: 1
I would be shocked if I could make it the whole way without any issues! Certainly would not mind getting our Mazdas together though!
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
12/07/2017 at 21:32, STARS: 0
It’s basically just a reverse circuit breaker for your car. Probably in the under hood fuse box.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/07/2017 at 22:01, STARS: 2
Yikes! Well if there’s any chance that it hasn’t actually overheated yet, don’t let it start doing so now.
"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa)
12/07/2017 at 22:43, STARS: 0
Nah. My car doesn’t even come with either of those equipped- just a speedo, tach, gas gauge, and odometer. It’ll throw a CEL at you anyways if there’s a problem. I actually think it’s worth doing if you don’t want to open your hood to check your oil level, though.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/07/2017 at 23:17, STARS: 0
What Car?
Gas and tach are my only requirements, and happen to be the only working gauges at the moment! But I def need everything else before I boost the car. My 01 Ranger has no tach from the factory and it drives me crazy. Not that I ever drive it hard, but I’d still like to see the redline and how quickly the revs build
"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa)
12/07/2017 at 23:19, STARS: 0
Just a Hyundai. I think driving with no tach would drive me nuts.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
12/08/2017 at 01:02, STARS: 0
I forget what year this happened, but somewhere during the NA run, Mazda switched from an actual oil pressure gauge to one that just comes on as long as you have oil pressure but doesn’t actually tell you the pressure.
"sony1492" (sony1492)
12/08/2017 at 01:05, STARS: 1
The parts in the links might be overkill. The motor in your Mazda most likely has a sensor to send temp signals to the tach and a sensor for the ECU(known as an ect sensor or engine coolant temp).
Check the sensor for the gauges first and see if the connections loose. Though I’d probably replace it and see what happens (cost like $10). If that dosent fix it you may have a problem with the wire(it’s a one wire sensor) or the gauge cluster.
I’d recommend replacing the ect sensor, I’ve had at least 3 fail in my hand by having the sensor seperate in two. It tells the ECU what the coolant temp is and as a result it has control over how rich or lean the car runs aswell as timing. If it’s failed your car probably won’t set any codes. It has no relation to the gauge. (Costs about $30)
If your cars getting too hot the first thing id do is properly bleed the coolant system of air. You can probably find something online about how to do this for a miata. I’m confident it’s simple.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/08/2017 at 01:07, STARS: 0
They replaced the oil pressure unit with a simple switch in 95. I have a 95. Woohoo. And—at least on track—by the time oil pressure is low enough to trigger the switch, the engine is basically seconds from grenading.
But Mazda probably saved about $0.20 cents per car so it’s all worthwhile
/s
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
12/08/2017 at 01:27, STARS: 0
Trying to decide what to do is killing me. I’ve got a spare engine, and turbo parts on the way. But.... Miata cooling is a well known issue. Stock Miatas overheat on the street... To handle boost reliability I’ll need a significantly better level of cooling than stock, which means rerouting the coolant path, dropping in a better radiator, putting vents in the hood, etc.
I basically just want to make sure my engine doesn’t die on me until May. That’s when I can afford to do the big engine swap/coolant system overhaul work. So for now... Replacing thermostat because it’s cheap and probably very old, ect sensor for the same reason, radiator cap just in case, coolant flush, and new gauges (I found an old ppi from buying the car saying that the coolant temp gauge was shorted). Troubleshooting a fan that may or may not be working is on the list too. Hopefully that will help me keep things safe until I get more cash flow once the weather improves.
"sony1492" (sony1492)
12/08/2017 at 02:19, STARS: 0
That sounds like a solid plan. If it’s anything like a 323 the fans will kick on if you engage the AC(though it’s not relevant if the AC actually works)
"Mechanic4Christ" (serving-god-1-car-at-a-time)
12/09/2017 at 06:19, STARS: 1
Hi the temp sensor helps you to keep from over heating your car and is located really close to the thermostat, I recommend that you replace both for accuracy.. the oil pressure sensor controls the flow of oil thru the cylinder guide’s to make your Vechile run smoothly. It is located above the oil filters housing going to the oil pump. My 5 yr old daughter could do either of these it’s so easy. 35-45 minutes tops for all 3. Also don’t use anything other than OEM parts unless you want another car..... Mechanic 4 Christ 615-755-7219. Call anytime