If you've added one on, where did you mount the sensor? I bought a Cyberdyne gauge and was hoping to mount the sensor in place of the bleed screw on the elbow that comes out of the head. Has anyone done this? If so, what size/length sender would I need? The one that came with the gauge is too large.

I am also looking at installing a water temp gauge but, where are you getting your 12v power source from to operate the gauge correctly?

the factory set up comes with a 1" tee fitting that has a 1/2" NPT bung . All you do is cut the top hose add the tee and two hose clamps and it screws into the NPT outlet. The polaris set up use the yellow and brown that behind the headlights but be carefull its designed to run off the 12 VAC that is there. Most polaris systems dont have 12 VDC , all stuff thats designed to work on cars works on DC power.

I installed a cyberdyne gauge last year and i used the sender that came with the kit all i did was put in a tee on the head and then installed stock sender and new sender in each side..

As for power i grabbed it from the brown and yellow wires from behind the gauges and like Mark stated it is ac power, so i installed an ac/dc rectifier that i picked up from radio shack.. the one main problem is these sleds dont put out all 12v at idle so the gauge looks like it does not work but when you are travelling down the trail it works just fine...

ill shap some pics in a couple mins and post them for ya to see.

Hope this helps Kev

Some pics

Looks like a pretty easy install?

What is the plastic hose for on one side of the tee? Is it just to protect the wire to the sending unit?

Yep thats all it is for.. not even shure if it is needed but i figured why not...

Verry easy install.

Kev

im looking to add this water temp gauge. i have a few questions tho. would this gauge allow the motor to "retard" when temps are too high? how much is a rectifier? how much did you pay for the gauge kit and where did you buy it? ive been looking around for quite some time and this seems to be the best one out there. also what size of gauge would you buy?

any comments will be helpful

Rectifier from Radio Shack is less than $5. Just make sure its hooked up right and you have dc power.

I have done the same exact set up as kevchev did. At first I thought all was fine and then I ran into a few problems with the sled running really hot but the gauge did not show that she was running hot.

What I found out was that with the tee fitting installed the way Kev ( and I ) did it, the sensors were no longer in the water stream reading the water temps. While there is still water touching the senors, there is no water flow thru the tee fitting, just stagnant water. While the water in the tee fitting will change its temp as the water around it comes up to temp, there is a delay in seeing the temp rise and the water will never be at the same temp as the "real water temp". Add to the fact the with the big hunk of brass sitting out in the cold air. I ran into issues with the gauges reading a much lower water temp that the motor was really at.

I solved the problem by putting the stock temp sender back in its stock location and installing a tee fitting in the water hose as it leaves the motor for the add on sensor.

On a side note, I also found out that you can not run the motor with the stock temp sensor removed and unplugged from the wiring harness. On my motor ,a 2003 perk motor, if the stock sensor is unplugged, the idle quality goes all to hell & the motor wont rev out, my idle EGT temps went up around 200* and the Perk did not work plus the temp light on the dash lighted up..

I tried jumping the two wires that the stock sender plugs into together and while that fixed the poor idle quality and running in retard mode issue, the perk would still did not work.

From what I figured out, when the stock sensor was unplugged the IGN box goes into some sort of retard mode and also shuts off the perk function. ( One note, my motor does not have the DET feature on it! )

My opinion is to leave the stock sensor installed in its stock location and add on a tee fitting for your aftermarket sensor.

PB out

Does anyone know what size/thread the bleed screw is?

I bought a water temp gauge from one of the sponsers on here. Sabercat700 I believe his name is. The kit is pretty easy to install and fits nice. I wanted to keep my stock warning sensor in place becuase it will automatically retard the motor if I get too close to being too hot. Also, the guage I bought will blink(I believe) when it hits a preset temperature. I have not had it working yet as my recoil snapped when I tried restarting my motor after putting it in after a crank rebuild and putting the gauge/sensor in.

Edit:
I put the sensor, the "T", in the 7/8" hose that goes/comes to the head. This way it will read the temp. when the thermostat is open as I always give my sled ample time to warm up and I am only concerned about the temp. of my sled when I am riding it for extended periods of time.

Apparently a 6M bolt will fit in there just dandy. I guess the sending unit won't.

If you have the Cyberdyne like I have you are goign to have grounding problems.

I've got the Cyberdyne; where did you mount your sensor?

Here a cheapskates way out. I have less than $15 invested in this set up. Soldered copper fittings together, (3/4" copper "T", 1/4" NPT fitting ) Manual gauge, only needs 12 v (AC or DC) for light. Picture is not very clear, but you get the idea. Make sure to mount the sender horizontal or down, so you don't get an air trap like Bob was talking about. That hose is the upper 1" hose cut just past the thermostat. If I did it again, it would go over by the brake and make the 90 degree bend through the "T" fitting, instead of having the bend in the stock hose. The gauge is to the left side of the gas tank, in the panel. I hope my soldering holds up to 10 or 15 PSI that it runs at, I'm not the best at sweat soldering.

This is a much better way than an electric gauge.The electric gauge suffers from a lack of rapid responce as well as fluctuating readings because of voltage changes.My son and I have been useing a SW 2 5/16" dia, 270 * sweep mechanical gauge on our 800's since 03.Only way to do it and get useable data.We also have a temp sensor for the Avenger III installed in the waterpump so that we can compare the difference between the actual motor temp as compared to the entire cooling system temp (temp rise). I will take a pic.

Click to view attachment

What I'm trying to point out here is that the temp of the disharge coolant really doesnt mean anything unless you know the inlet temp as well. If the discharge is 180 (not good) but the inlet temp is 160,there is a situation with SYSTEM efficency as opposed to the motor (such as low snow) . If the discharge is 180 and the inlet is 120 (normal), then you have a motor issue.. We ususaly see only a 20 degree rise. Intrestenly , when I'm on the bottle,the temp rise will go to 40* in about 20 sec.

Doo Install If it works flawlessly for 'Doos, why not us? I know where the sender attaches isn't the same thread, but otherwise what is causing us difficulties?

Im bringing this thread back. What do you guys think about using a mechanical autometer gauge. I have had good luck with them in the car i figuerd it would work good on my sled. I was thinking of going with this gauge. looks like it lights up good at night.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Auto+Meter/105/4932/...-1/760217|10339

ANYONE?

I would think the gauge might have a problem with moisture if it's made for use in cars.

you cant mount them externally on cars too.

You can or can't? I think the moisture Could be a problem. The mechanical gauges tend to take a bit longer for them to register the correct temp. I think. Can you mount a Mechanical gauge on a personal watercraft? I thought I remember seeing in an Overtons or Dennis Kirk a mechanical gauge. That might be a better alternative because those would be for sure be moisture resistant. Just a thought.

That one starts at too high a temp, IMHO. The one I posted a (very poor) picture of earlier here, is a Sunpro from a local Autozone store. It was real cheap too, but the reason I used it was the temp starts to read at 100 Deg. F, and most others start at 120 or higher. I want to know when the Tstat is opening (around 120 deg F), and with that gauge (starting at 120 F) on my sled it would almost never move unless it overheated.

I meant to say you CAN use them externally.

I still plan on using the Cyberdyne I bought, I just haven't got around to it yet. I bought another t-stat cover for the head to thread for the sender that came with the gauge (too chickensh!t to mess-up the existing one). I see that the Polaris add on one has a ring mounted under the sender that has a wire attached, and it's grounded to the motor; that's my plan in case it's erratic.

I think iv decided what gauge i want to use, now i just gotta figure out where i want to tap in to my coolant at....

Any updates?

havnt done it yet. I kinda got chicken to drill a big hole in my hood to mount the gauge. I still want to do it. I wish i could find a nice autometer gauge that starts at like 100*

The reason I am bringing this forum up is because I want some help with installing a automotive water Temp Guage on my 2002 RMK 700. I am thinking about just switching out the stock sender and disabling the light and then install and new sender in the stock location. I have been looking at a few gauges on ebay that start at 100*f or less. I am just wondering if these gauges will be able to wire into a AC system and if not how would I go about installing a AC-DC voltage rectifier into the system. I am sure someone has a Automotive gauge working on their snowmobile. Any help would be apreciated!

Thanks

Jason

Why not just use the Polaris gauge?

The polaris gauge is discontinued for some reason and I cannot get it. That is why I want to install a automotive gauge and make it look as much as stock as possible.

Jason

Does anyone know off-hand the ID of the hose that leaves the top of the head on my 600? I'm thinking about ordering a Grip-n-Rip inline fitting....