Defender td5 temp gauge

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Evan farmer

Active Member
Posts
782
My defender td5 had an engine swap off a discovery and discovery ecu and now temp gauge is wrong for quite a while now wich is pretty annoying is there a way to get it working without programming the ecu
 
No im looking for a solution which doesnt involve using a computer
Unfortunately no such thing if you want something well done. Beside the temp gauge there are other problems too by using a D2 fuel map on defender. If you'll connect a tester i'm sure there will be plenty of fault codes stored. For example the boost control is trunkated as the defender doesnt have a wastegate modulator so the D2 management works on a "open circuit" default for that so not a full capacity, the defender doesnt have electronic VSS which is expected by the D2 management also the clutch switch's input is the other way around so the surge damping is not operational... if it was a simple ECU swap the injector codes are not saved either and so on... in a nutshell, even if the engine is running and you think it's OK believe me that it is not.
 
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Unfortunately no such thing if you want something well done. Beside the temp gauge there are other problems too by using a D2 fuel map on defender. If you'll connect a tester i'm sure there will be plenty of fault codes stored. For example the boost control is trunkated as the defender doesnt have a wastegate modulator so the D2 management works on a "open circuit" default for that so not a full capacity, also the clutch switch's input is the other way around so the surge damping is not operational... if it was a simple ECU swap the injector codes are not saved either and so on... in a nutshell, even if the engine is running and you think it's OK believe me that it is not.
Im sure that the mechanic coded the injectors to get it started and something else on it as i couldnt get it to start
 
How would you go about that as the original sensor needs to stay put with the diesel im sure

That's why I said ADD an additional sender, leave the original one for the ECU. But that is not ideal as the ECU is still going to be seeing the wrong temperature.

If the mechanic coded the injectors then he can get you a proper Defender map, for free , from the Nanocom Map Wizard.
 
That's why I said ADD an additional sender, leave the original one for the ECU. But that is not ideal as the ECU is still going to be seeing the wrong temperature.

If the mechanic coded the injectors then he can get you a proper Defender map, for free , from the Nanocom Map Wizard.
He had to get someone to do it for him
Where would i fit the temp sensor as i would like to get a gauge with numbers anyways
 
The bit where the temp sender goes.

LR temp sender on the side/bottom.
Aftermarket one on the top.

20200411_134515.jpg


But I have to agree with otheres here. If your Defender is running a Disco fuel map its not going to be very happy, even if it seems so.

Any Td5 tuner will be able to sort it out properly and get it running as it should. Id suggest Gareth at Empire Tuning. You dont have to map it for power etc.. but at least get the right software for the hardware.
 
The bit where the temp sender goes.

LR temp sender on the side/bottom.
Aftermarket one on the top.

View attachment 205642

But I have to agree with otheres here. If your Defender is running a Disco fuel map its not going to be very happy, even if it seems so.

Any Td5 tuner will be able to sort it out properly and get it running as it should. Id suggest Gareth at Empire Tuning. You dont have to map it for power etc.. but at least get the right software for the hardware.
Do you have the name of that aftermarket water temp housing
It sounds like i need the ecu to to get looked at then
 
I sustain that a defender fuel map is needed anyway for the engine to run well though even if the gauge will work normally it will stay at the middle between 70-119*C so not much use that's why an additional temp gauge is compulsory. I checked one of these https://www.mainline-sensors.co.uk/...rature-sensor-cable-18mm-k-type-universal-fit fitted under the coolant elbow's upper bolt and it shows 1 degree below the coolant temp reading with tester... so this ring type sensor is accurate and very easy to install
 
Why do you need the temperature gauge? By the time the TD5 one tells you there’s something wrong, it’s time for a new cylinder head.
Seriously though, it’s good to have it working, even if it has only four real positions
“Cold” “warming up” “normal” and “too late”
 
In this particular case the temp gauge behaviour is not the main issue IMO. The real problem is that the engine is running on a wrong fuel map. Also the best additional gauge is with that bolt-on type sensor as it shows immediately if the head's temperature is rising which doesnt happen with any ECT sensor cos in case of a coolant leak the ECT reading will not rise right away(eventually it will drop a bit) as the sensor remains out of coolant then when the coolant gets too low and starts boiling the steam and radiant heat will make the ECT reading to rise which is definitely too late.
 
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