Anyone used one of these Engine Alarma systems ?

Yes have seen these advertised and thought they could a good idea.
However, I would go one step further and have a rotary switch fitted plus a number of sender units.

The idea would be to have the digital readout mounted in a convenient spot (obviously).... The cable from the digi readout would go to the central "post" of a rotary switch which would need around 8 supply terminal posts.

These 8 input posts would have input cables coming from anywhere that you wanted to monitor the temp of. EG: Gearbox, Transfer case, Diff/s, Radiator top hose and bottom hose (this would enable you to see how efficient your radiator is at dropping the coolant temp), as well as the engine block's temp etc

The only limiting factor is that you can only set the unit up to alert you once the gauge reads a particular temp. So, say you wanted to set the alarm @ 100oC so you would know if the coolant was getting too hot, then when you switched the rotary knob to see what the gearbox temp is (assuming it is running above 100oC....which I'm not sure about at all), then the alarm is gunna go off it's head..... Sooo, it really means the alarm feature could/should only be set to measure the temp of the item that is likely to run the hottest.

Good idea for the gadget-minded.....

Roachie

Gday Dunco,
Going by the feedback on ebay it all looks positive.
One of the big problems with a lot of the alumium motors is that they don't like getting hot.
I found with the 1hz Toyota that when they have a sudden loss of coolant ( for whatever reason), resulting in a vapour lock, the temp guage goes up suddenly and then returns to the usual mid range, a movement that is very easy to miss, hence damaged motor.
For years, for both water and oil, we used Murphy gauges both for the quality of the guage and the alarm settings, but everythings seems to be going digital nowadays.
I have found that any sort of early warning system is always cheaper than sitting on the side of the road.
All the best
Lotzi

I'm kinda hoping my temp gauge will tell me when its hot (of course more likely I would see it when it to late) Murphy's law.

Another alarm in the cabin area is not what I need LOL, I had enough trouble when my low water level alarm went off the other side of miles, scared the hell out of me. I pulled off the road to late for brain to kick in to say DON'T drive off road here after rain.

To late in a rush to check what was happening to my vehicle I was in a world of hurt, vechicle was fine just a clamp was loose and water was slowly escaping, that fixed (GREAT DEVICE by the way) by now I was a foot taller and being accompanied by huge mud boots.

By the time I got out of the mud and back on the road I had secured enough mud on my vehicle I left a trail of mud for miles and felt like I had square wheels.

On your question I guess in the end if it saves your engine its a cheap investment.

Brian

Hi Dunco,

I have one of these: Engine Saver Low Water Alarm

When i bought it a few months ago I had an interesting conversation with David Jones, the man who owns Engine Saver.

He was telling me that in his opinion for truly effective coverage you need to incorporate that block temperature sensor with low coolant detection.

He had some very logical and well constructed points to back his argument, the one that stuck with me the most was the scenario were you have one of these temperature type units fitted and you have a total loss of coolant whilst the engine is still cold. ie, At engine start.

He argued and I couldn't fault his logic, by the time the exterior of the block reached 100DegC the internals of the engine will be significantly hotter and in fact will very likely be already damaged.

David was also saying he has a newer Engine Saver coming out soon that will combine low coolant and high block temperature into a single unit.

It will apparently be available in a retrofit kit form for people who already have the low coolant sensor and wish to add the block temperature sensor.

Geoff

If its just a temperature gauge you want look here

http://www.kartbay.com.au/p/286804/digital-water-temp-gauge-probe.htm

lHalf the price and tells accurate water temp.
For An extra $75 I would think it cheaper just to read this one and if you have the engine saver all the better.

Hi Dunco
I have one very easy to fit.you dont have to break into any water hoses etc just attach the thermo couple to the thermosat housing bolt.
I have found it very accurate even get the ambient temp in the morning when the engine is cold.
And a must in toyota's as the temp guage is basicly usless just go to the middle or there abouts and don't move until its to late.

http://www.fullwavemarine.com/tempgauge.html

Rob.

I have one fitted and think it is fantastic. The best way to set it is to fit it and drive around for a few days to see where your temp normally sits. Then when you are happy with that just set it say 10 degrees above that. When you hear it go off you know you have a potential problem and can take action. It may just be that you need to button off for a bit. It is amazing how this guage will fluctuate in temp without the factory guage moving at all.

I like this idea rather than low coolant alarm as sometimes you can overheat your engine without actually loosing any coolant so in this case it really can be an engine saver.

I tend to drive now and adjust my driving habits to both the pyrometer and the engine saver.

Was thinking about getting another for auto temp but I also heard there may be something in the pipeline for a dual use setup.

I've got both an Enginesaver and one of these.
Both work well and if Enginesave brings out an upgrade I'll use this one for something else.
The service from this seller was great and the unit works a treat, very easy to fit and as has been said it gives ambient when you first start it up in the morning.