Coolant Temperature Gauges...or the lack of

47p2

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W638, W140, W220, W639 All gone but not forgotten
The Viano I recently bought doesn't have a water temperature gauge and I have to rely on a bulb in the binnacle to let me know when things get a little too hot under the bonnet. :Oops:

My V-Class has a gauge which when sitting in traffic one day, I noticed the needle rising ever so slightly above the normal mark. Further investigation found the maxi fuse at the radiator which controls the fan was blown. It turns out it should have been changed for a heavier fuse when it was in for a service but 'someone' forgot. Now if the gauge hadn't been there to advise of the slight change in temperature things could have been a lot worse.

My current S-Class gauge also came to the rescue when it showed the engine wasn't coming up to temperature and a new thermostat was required. Again the gauge played a vital role in the diagnostics of the cooling system

So why now have Mercedes decided to give me a bulb instead of a gauge that will either be off with no known problems or on when it's too late to do anything about any known problems or possibly off because the bulb has blown causing me all sorts of problems.

I can see me fitting an after market gauge to give me piece of mind
 

Top Cat

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(97) W202 C230 Elegance Estate
It seems to be another one of the general cost cutting measures that is plaguing a lot of modern cars, sadly. I suppose it's like having just an oil pressure warning light instead of the full pressure gauge - at 70 in the outside lane the damage is probably already done once the light comes on, yet a gauge would have given an indication in advance, possibly quite some time in advance if it was purely engine wear rather than an instantaneous and unexpected fault.
 

xavierx

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This seems to be the way everyone is going.

Some manufacturers are going with the "OK/NOT OK" reading on the cluster or as you say a light.

Other manufacturers are doing something even stranger, they are fitting an analog gauge, but intead of actually reading the temperature, the gauge will sit in the Cold, Norm or Hot position with no inbetween positions.
 

roadhog

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W124 300D x2, C124 300
My 'other' car doesn't have a temp gauge either but I can get a readout of the temperature via a hidden menu involving the trip button should I wish. Can you not do something similar in a Merc?
 

television

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2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
Yes mechanical gauges are expensive, but LED strips are cheap, and would do the job just as well
 

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