Joel's DIY Budget Oil Temp Gauge by JDwhiteWRX

3 minute read

Joel's DIY Budget Oil Temp Gauge

Compliments of JDwhiteWRX @ www.rexnet.com

I have another budget gauge project finished which is kind of similar to my budget DIY water temp gauge but this time I have used a gauge that goes up to 150 C and does not have the controller function.

Here is the link to the gauge I used http://www.ebay.com....984.m1423.l2649 if the link goes dead I bought it from the ebay store "Super Electronics Parts". The cost on this gauge is $18 delivered.

So this is what it looks like

I made a spot for it in the DIN pocket because its the same size

As you can see its a perfect fit and I can still use half the pocket to put things in.

The sensor looks like this and what I have done is drilled a hole in my sump plug the same size, not all the way through, it stops about 2mm before the end. Why put the gauge in the sump plug? well I have done a bit of reading on this and it seems to be a logical choice for the location of the sensor.

I have also drilled and tapped another hole for a grub screw to hold the sensor firmly in place.

I then used some high temp silicone to insulate and protect the sensor in the sump plug. You don't want air cooling the back of the sensor.

Now to change the oil you could just use an open end spanner but I decided I still want to be able to use a socket so I have used a small connector from Jaycar (about $2) to make it easy to disconnect the wiring to the sensor. These connectors are very fiddly and time consuming to install but work well.

So now the sump plug is easy to remove.

Just a few cable ties and run the wiring up into the car and connect to the gauge.

All wired up and working well. The blue is a little bright at night so I may get some window tint on it.