VDO GUAGES

[j2b]

Just had a touch at the breakers and got the usual oil pressure oil temp , voltmeter vdo guages for 20 notes , now i also got the pressure sender and oil temp sender from the same audi with a little bit of loom .
My question being the wireing is it a case of connecting the wires like for like or some other way ?
I"ll try to upload some pics when i can , i should be able to sus it but my mind aint what it used to be lol
cheers in advance

[capri_rob]

Theres a few threads on this - I've looked at doing it a few times but its not as straightforwards as you might think it should be

[DanThe]

Easy job! Heres some encouragement

[mrLEE30]

looks a bit chilly there Dan!!!

[capri_rob]

Thats the easy bit - I thought the hard bit was getting the oil temp/pressure senders wired in as the M20 block requires a specific fitting to be made up and a tap put into the block ?

if its that easy Dan you can help me do it after Xmas

[DanThe]

No problem Rob, give me a shout when your ready.

Its not chilly at all, its been a steady 6°C today in my workshop

[Grrrmachine]

DanThe, can you very quickly explain how to tap into the engine for oil pressure and temp? What fittings, where to plumb in, that sort of stuff?

[DanThe]

Nope, never done it on an M20 before

[adit]

they look quite good there, mounted in place of the face vents:

[DanThe]

I think they look more at home in the centre console, but thats my track car and I dont want to take my eyes too far away from the tarmac so they got planted in the dash vent space

[adit]

possibly Dan, but where they are in your picture, at the back, or in a pod, replacing the ash-tray?
which looks best?

[j2b]

Was thinking centre consol rather than the centre vents in the dash

[DanThe]

They look too 'add on' in a pod IMO
Why bin the ash tray when they look right at home in the console -

[appletree]

Well done getting the temp sensor, there special 0-180c rather than the normal 0-150c which as I found makes you gauges read 130c at 90c.

There not to dear from Audi though. pt # is 049 919 563B if any ones interested.

I've fitted mine in the vents to, but went for oil temp, oil pressure an boost

[capri_rob]

In the console is how I want them in mine.

Dan I'll try and get some and let you know when I need your help

[j2b]

Well done getting the temp sensor, there special 0-180c rather than the normal 0-150c which as I found makes you gauges read 130c at 90c.

There not to dear from Audi though. pt # is 049 919 563B if any ones interested.

I've fitted mine in the vents to, but went for oil temp, oil pressure an boost

will take note of the temp sensor part no , just incase the original is fooked

[Grrrmachine]

Basically, I did this on an old Audi Coupe (B2), and I was using the same gauges.

You need to provide 12V and earth to all three gauges, and it doesn't have to be independent; you can chain them across.

Then you need to screw the oil senders in somewhere; on the E30, this isn't easy because there's no natural port you can tap into, and the sender threads are all wrong. BMW threads are usually M12x1.5 fine pitch, while the senders you have in your grubby little hands will be M10x1.0 ultra-fine pitch.

You'll therefore need some sort of oil hose and T-piece that allows you deliver an oil supply to the senders. The new issue with that is that the further away from the oil circulation these senders are, the less true their readings will be.

Ideally you'd tap into the block and screw the two new senders straight in, but that's really not practical, so your options are:

1) replace the sump plug with a sender. Really not advisable, since it'll be hanging down low and will be smashed off.
2) replace the existing pressure switch with a t-piece that allows you to use the dual-pin pressure sender/switch, as well as providing a second hole for the oil temp sender.
3) get the right-threaded sender and fit into the existing pressure switch location, and then tap the oil filter housing for the temp sender. On M40/M42 engines there is a blank plug on the oil filter housing which is ideal for this purpose.
4) drill, boss and tap two new holes into the side of your sump and give each sender its dedicated mounting position.

[capri_rob]

So basically for option 2 you need a T piece which has an M12x1.5 fine pitch thread to actually fit into the block where the existing pressure switch sits, and then it must have 2 x M10x1.0 holes to accommodate the new temp/pressure senders ?

Does this also render the warning light on the dash redundant ?

Does such a thing exist "off the shelf" for a plug and play solution ?

I think this is where I gave up when I looked into it before

[Grrrmachine]

So basically for option 2 you need a T piece which has an M12x1.5 fine pitch thread to actually fit into the block where the existing pressure switch sits, and then it must have 2 x M10x1.0 holes to accommodate the new temp/pressure senders ?

Exactly

Does this also render the warning light on the dash redundant ?

Not really. If you look at the big canister-style sender you got for the oil pressure gauge, it has two pins on top; one is for the pressure gauge, the other for the pressure warning light on the dash. Of course, the warning light might come on at a slightly different pressure, but it's still just a light. That's why you can remove the original pressure warning switch.

Does such a thing exist "off the shelf" for a plug and play solution ?

You need this part:
LMA Performance: LMA052/M (OIL GAUGE T PIECE M12X1.5(M&F) to M10X1(F) - BMW)



Also available from DemonTweeks if you're ordering other stuff at the same time. See here:

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorspor ... s-adaptors

There are also eBay adapters around that can be modified to suit:



All of this will be Wiki'd in due course.

[capri_rob]

A "plug and play how-to" Wiki guide for this will be awesome - so if the gauges/senders can be bought from ebay or suchlike together with a comprehensive list of any other bits like those mentioned above that would be

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-80-coupe ... 4ab1e04d19

tempted to have a punt on this

[Grrrmachine]

Give me a day or two and I'll knock something up. I'll be doing it to my own, and might even offer a complete gauge, sender, adaptor and mounting plate package if there's enough demand.

[DanThe]

There are also eBay adapters around that can be modified to suit:



All of this will be Wiki'd in due course.

Thats useless for oil temp readings, the sender needs to be in a location where oil flows

[Grrrmachine]

Yeah, I know. The trouble is that there really isn't anywhere on M20 engines that allows that. If you use the sump plug then you get the coldest oil at the bottom of the engine, and there's no blanking plug on the filter housing or the head that you can tap in to to get a feed.

It's not ideal, but I wouldn't say it's "useless". Searching the forum doesn't show up any better alternative.

[DanThe]

It is most definitely useless, by the time the heat change gets to the end of that flexi the gauge will be well behind

[Grrrmachine]

Temp isn't at the end of the flexi though....

[capri_rob]

So using the T piece method
Is there enough room on an M20 to plug in what looks like quite a chunky pressure sender as well as the temp sender and associated wiring ?

Agreed the one with the braided hose looks a bit cobbled together

The last oil pressure gauge I installed was nearly 20 years ago on my first car ( Mk1 Golf - piece of p1$$ using a T-Piece as the oil pressure sender was easily accessible.

[Grrrmachine]

I can only speak for LHD models, but using a T-piece it should poke out enough from the block to accommodate everything. If you look at the Demontweeks website, they sell both a short and long T-piece; the longer one should clear the recess in the block, to allow the sender to protrude from the side of the T-piece.

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorspor ... s-adaptors

[capri_rob]

Well done getting the temp sensor, there special 0-180c rather than the normal 0-150c which as I found makes you gauges read 130c at 90c.

There not to dear from Audi though. pt # is 049 919 563B if any ones interested.

I've fitted mine in the vents to, but went for oil temp, oil pressure an boost

Appletree the set I'm looking at says it comes with the 0-150c sender - why would that give an incorrect reading if that sender and gauge came from the same car ? Surely if it gives the correct readings in one car it will do so in another ?

[steve_k]

Just a thought would it be possible to use something like a plate between the oil filter & the oilfilter housing?

like i said just a thought as i've seen it done on some V6's & V8's

[DanThe]

Temp isn't at the end of the flexi though....

Oh yeah, I see now

[j2b]

I can only speak for LHD models, but using a T-piece it should poke out enough from the block to accommodate everything. If you look at the Demontweeks website, they sell both a short and long T-piece; the longer one should clear the recess in the block, to allow the sender to protrude from the side of the T-piece.

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorspor ... s-adaptors

That adaptor has a m12x1.5 male for the block and and also an m12x1.5 female at the rear with a m10x1.0 take off at the side , you can also get a m12x1.5male to m10 x 1.0 female reducer/adaptor to screw into the rear of the t piece to allow for fitment of vdo senders, if the pressure sender is fitted at the rear of the t piece and the temp sender fitted to the side i can"t see any clearance issues ,cheers for the heads up on the wireing
(edited).

[Grrrmachine]

I didn't know you can reducers, but you can get a VDO temp sender in m12 x1.5 thread, if using a 150 degree gauge.

Write-up in progress.

[j2b]

I didn't know you can reducers, but you can get a VDO temp sender in m12 x1.5 thread, if using a 150 degree gauge.

Write-up in progress.

the reducers are on the tweeks website

[Jozi]

How are these wired up on a M52, much the same or is there an easier way

[Grrrmachine]

The wiring will be identical; it's finding places for the sensors that will be an issue. I'll look into it once I've covered the standard E30 engines.

While I'm doing the write-up, I'm also pricing up a package so that you can get the gauges, sender, fascia and adapters all in one kit. Currently looking to be about 150quid, with the bulk of that being the fascia itself.