Oil temperature gauge

[Peter308]

I am new to 7’s so apologies if this is a well rehearsed topic / dumb question.

Whilst it is important to have an oil pressure gauge (although the positioning on the 620 dash makes it not particularly readable for the driver) I really like to see oil temp so I know my engine is up to temp before driving hard on track. I’m surprised Caterham do not fit them as standard. Is fitting a temp gauge a common mod and where to locate? I was thinking of replacing the std. oil pressure gauge with a dual temp/pressure gauge. Or, given the poor location, cutting a hole in the right hand side dash piece.

Thanks, Peter

[Jonathan Kay]

Welcome.

Several Members have used a switch between the water and oil temperature senders to the existing gauge: would that be an alternative for you?

Have you already got the appropriate wiring diagram? Let me know if you'd like a copy.

Jonathan

[Paul Mason]

On mine I have a mechanical racetech combo oil pressure (upper half of gauge) and oil temp (lower half of gauge) works well for me and easily readable in the standard location of the oil pressure gauge

[Paul Mason]

Sorry, just realised, not sure where the gauge is on a 620, mine is standard S3 so may be in a different place so easier to read

[Peter308]

Jonathan - thanks, I'll look at the switch idea. 

Paul - on the 620 dash the 3 gauges are on the extreme left of the dash, although the oil pressure is the nearest to the driver. Oh, and it's an SV so wider still! 

[tomwood]

Hi Peter,

I went through this thought process myself recently. I’m not familiar with the 620 gauges but there’s a chance you can apply that outlined below on yours too. 

I took out the digital oil pressure gauge completely and swapped it for a mechanical one + associated sender. Straightforward to swap. I bought all the parts from Think Automotive. I now have a faster acting more accurate gauge for oil pressure.

for oil temperature I went with the tried and tested approach of using the existing coolant gauge, rewiring it with a switch so that I can flick between coolant temp / oil temp depending on which way I’ve flicked the switch. It’s an elegant solution and requires little rewiring once you’ve worked out how to do it.

suggest you read this previous forum topic for more background reading but specifically the last post from me which was a follow-up to the discussion after I finished the modification and confirms how to wire it up complete with a diagram that can be followed. If it’s too small (our club server resized it) drop me a private mail and I’ll send you the original.

https://www.lotus7.club/forum/techtalk/water-oil-temp-gauge-switch-mod-advice-needed

regards,

Tom

[Peter308]

Thanks for the details and Link Tom. I like the switch solution so will investigate further. 

Regards, Peter 

[John Vine]

This is what I did on my R400D.  Works really well.

JV