Chaz
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 posted on 25/7/06 at 11:50 AM |
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Zetec Help Needed!
I have 10 days till SVA and I have some problems which i really dont need right now! Its all electrics and i'm rubbish at it...
1. My rad fan switch (which is in the top of the rad) is not switching the fan on! It gets really hot and never does anything?
2. In the standard zetec thermostat housing i'm not using the rad fan switch in the top. The lower sensor is for water temp, correct? This has
two wires coming out of it, but i only have ONE to put in from the temp gauge! What shall i do here?
3. I thought the oil warning light is for oil pressure. There is a single terminal on the block on the offside, is this where it goes?
4. When i turn on the ignition the fuel gauge goes through the roof, i think i need to put some kind of resistance in. Any ideas? Again its a smiths
gauge.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Many Thanks.
Chaz
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MikeR
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 12:05 PM |
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ok, chill - you'll get it sorted.
1) Are you sure you don't have an air lock in the rad preventing the rad switch from getting full temp and working?
Have you measured resistance / put a light bulb on it to see if it does work, try putting it in a pan of boiling water and seeing if it works
2) i'm guessing one is earth and one is live, multimeter to an earth on your chassis and measure voltage, the one that has a voltage is the one
you want (with the engine running up to temp - or do it in a pan of boiling water to be safe)
3) no idea, haven't got a zetec
4) you don't have a matched sender, use a multimeter to find out the values of your sender then ask someone / search web what values your gauge
expects. Either a) figure out the resistor you need or b) get a matched sender.
5) smile - you're almost done.
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BKLOCO
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 12:56 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Chaz
I have 10 days till SVA and I have some problems which i really dont need right now! Its all electrics and i'm rubbish at it...
1. My rad fan switch (which is in the top of the rad) is not switching the fan on! It gets really hot and never does anything?
If this is a Polo rad switch then it is capable of switching the fan without a relay. Take one side to earth the other side to the fan. The other
fan terminal should go to a permanant live.
2. In the standard zetec thermostat housing i'm not using the rad fan switch in the top. The lower sensor is for water temp, correct? This has
two wires coming out of it, but i only have ONE to put in from the temp gauge! What shall i do here?
This is NOT a rad fan switch. It is the temp sender (thermocouple) used by the ECU. on the Ford set up the ECU switches the fan. Take one side of
the lower sender to earth and the other side to your gauge
3. I thought the oil warning light is for oil pressure. There is a single terminal on the block on the offside, is this where it goes?
Yes this is the low oil pressure switch and should connect to a low pressure warning light. The other side of the warning light should have an ign
switched supply. If you have a gauge then you need to fit sender in the blanked off hole that is rearwards of the said pressure switch and wire the
gauge to this sender. an alternative is to fit a "T" piece and fit the gauge and sender to the same hole in the block.
4. When i turn on the ignition the fuel gauge goes through the roof, i think i need to put some kind of resistance in. Any ideas? Again its a smiths
gauge.
If it's a Smiths gauge you really need a Smiths sender. Not being rude but biasing it using resistors will not be easy for someone with
limited electrical knowledge.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Many Thanks.
Chaz
Most of all....As arthur Dent says....
DON'T PANIC.
There will always be someone on here who will help.
Remember also that none of these gauges are needed for SVA.
Just a speedo. Iindicator warning, fog warning, main beam warning, hazard warning, is all you need.
Hope this helps.
[Edited on 25-7-06 by BKLOCO]
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want!!! 
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MikeR
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 01:06 PM |
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Don't suppose you have the pin outs for the polo fan switch thingy. I've got to wire mine up soon & was told mine was a 2 temp one
(well i paid extra for it), ie earth the rad, live to one terminal, and the other two will switch to live at different temps for powering the fan.
Just not sure which is which without taking it out and putting it in a pan of boiling water.
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BKLOCO
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 01:14 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
Don't suppose you have the pin outs for the polo fan switch thingy. I've got to wire mine up soon & was told mine was a 2 temp one
(well i paid extra for it), ie earth the rad, live to one terminal, and the other two will switch to live at different temps for powering the fan.
Just not sure which is which without taking it out and putting it in a pan of boiling water.
Sorry haven't got a clue.
I've just used the 2 terminal single temp one. (I didn't even know there was another type available )
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want!!!
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Chaz
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 01:23 PM |
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Thanks for the help, your not being rude, i'm a biff at electronics.
1. Dont think there is an air pocket on the radiator, the metal head of the switch gets very hot so i doubt its that. I dont think its a polo rad
either, i got it from MK as the one they supply. I think i need to buy a multimeter!
2. Ok the top sender is of no use to me then! The lower one i will earth on one end and send the other wire back to the smiths gauge, but will they be
compatible?
3. My only problem with this low oil switch is that it should in theory light up on my dash on ignition (before the engine is turing over). The light
DOES come on if i touch the wire on the engine block, but DOESNT when i touch it on the single switch terminal on the offside of the engine block.
Strange?
4. How difficult is it to modify the signal from sender to gauge, to make then compatible? What do i need?
Just dont want to end up with a long list of last minute jobs the night before SVA!
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02GF74
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 01:40 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Chaz
Thanks for the help, your not being rude, i'm a biff at electronics.
4. How difficult is it to modify the signal from sender to gauge, to make then compatible? What do i need?
maplins sell multimeters, about £ 5.
right; is the sender known to be working?
when you connect it and if goes of the scale, is the tank empty or full?
assuming both gauge and sender are working, then try the follwing.
go to maplins and ask for a 100, 200 and 300 and 1 K ohm resistors.
disconnect wire from senderto guage and fit each of the resistors in trun in between so the circuit is made and see what happens. (if you don;t have
time to go to maplins & have a small light bulb, e.g. torch - fit that instead of the resistor and see if it makes any difference).
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Chaz
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 04:30 PM |
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Ok. Got a multimeter.
1. Checked the rad fan switch on the radiator and there is no resistance at all! Even when i put it in boiling water. I just wanted to make sure its
making the connection when it gets hot. So does this mean its bust and i need to get a new one???
2. This sensor is putting out some values, whether they are compatible for my smiths gauge i dont know. I'm getting nothing on the gauge.
3. The oil warning light sensor doesnt light the led on the dash, it only does it when i earth it on the chassis.
4. The fuel sender on an empty tank of fuel is 4.5ohms, full tank of fuel its putting out 194.5ohms. Does this help me find out what resistors i need
to put in there for a smiths gauge?
I feel like i'm getting somewhere at least.
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Danozeman
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 07:28 PM |
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My oil light doesnt come on with the ign either. Only when i earth it.
Dan
Built the purple peril!! Let the modifications begin!!
http://www.eastangliankitcars.co.uk
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paulf
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 08:49 PM |
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If using smiths gauges you may need a voltage regulator, the older smiths gauges used a seperate 10v unit but im not sure if newer ones have it built
in it may be worth calling the manufactures.You will also need the matching sender to get accurate readings, I have tried to get mine accurate using
resistors etc but it does not work perfectly.
I wouldnt worry about these gauges for SVA to much and would concentrate on the essentials first.
Paul.
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leto
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| posted on 25/7/06 at 09:51 PM |
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If you got a signal lamp try that instated of the LED for oil pressure.
Some googleing on the fuel gauge/sender bit gave this:
If I interpret this site (link) correctly a Smith gauge wants a sender that gives
180 ohms at empty and 10 ohms at full.
This site (link) is about a Jaeger fuel gauge and a good reference on how to test.
[Edited on 06-7-25 by leto]
“I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is a round”. (J. Cash)
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MikeR
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| posted on 26/7/06 at 06:57 AM |
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sounds like your sender is setup to send the opposite of what your gauge wants to see - don't worry. A fuel gauge is not a SVA requirement.
Ignore this till everything else is fixed.
(reality is your gauge will go from empty to full)
Buy a new temp sender - its only going to be a few quid, test it in boiling water before fitting it.
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Chaz
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| posted on 26/7/06 at 07:47 AM |
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Can i just check then that these things i dont need to worry about for SVA!
- Fuel gauge
- Oil Pressure light
BUT I thought i needed this!
- Water Temperature
I definately need radiator fan to work though, just for normal operation of the car.
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Schrodinger
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| posted on 26/7/06 at 01:39 PM |
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You do need some way of showing you have a full tanke of fuel for the sva, but I wouldn't worry too much about the guage at this point.
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MikeR
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| posted on 26/7/06 at 05:16 PM |
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Do you really need a way of showing a full tank? I thought you could just use a dip stick.
You don't need any Oil / Water gauges for SVA - but you need them for peace of mind.
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Peteff
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| posted on 26/7/06 at 05:59 PM |
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Do you really need a way of showing a full tank?
He just looked in mine, I don't have a gauge and had done 20 miles to the station in it and he said it was alright for the test.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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MikeR
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| posted on 26/7/06 at 07:19 PM |
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of course - the tank is supposed to be full for the test to get the weights right.
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