Installing temperature gauge cluster

[waderain]

after 4 months with a blown engine I finally got it fix and running again. Except for a few minor things its running pretty good so I've decided to keep it

But when I'm driving it I get a "it's overheating" feeling because of when it overheated and blew up the engine from before so, does anybody know of any guides for installing a temp/oil/voltage cluster on a Sonic?

 

[Stew]

The Ultragauge is pretty popular, I have one myself. Plugs into the OBD2 port and displays all those, except may oil pressure, I forget if it reads that. If you were thinking traditional gauges there are some threads of people installing those as well.

 

[waderain]

Yeah, I've looked at a couple of port gauges like this but not sure, I've heard good and bad things about them. The one thing is if all this info can be read through the OBD2 port then why didn't Chevy make an option on the screen to look at some of this stuff? Don't think it would of been that hard to make at least an on screen temperature reading.

I might just end up putting a mechanical temp gauge that's spliced off the upper hose, sounds like its the easiest option

 

[mja]

I might just end up putting a mechanical temp gauge that's spliced off the upper hose, sounds like its the easiest option

Mechanical gauge is the way to go if you want a proper reading.

Stock location is at the water outlet/thermostat housing is ideal. Threading/tapping the plastic thermostat housing and JB welding in the sending unit is really the best option we have.

Upper hose location seems like the easiest but it's not reading anything relevant with a stuck thermostat. Waste of time and money. If you must use a hose, at least the bottom hose would be slightly better since coolant is coming direct from the motor.

Ideally tap a thread in the block or head for a proper reading, I haven't dug around the motor that much to see if there's a plug somewhere. Maybe someone else knows who has done that.

 

[mja]

guides for installing a temp/oil/voltage cluster on a Sonic?

Mechanical oil pressure sender (hose) is also a good investment but might pose a problem if the crankcase ever sees positive pressure and blows out the line The cheaper ones are simple plastic lines. Good ones will have threaded fittings, that's what you'd want.

It should tell if there is an issue receiving boost into the crankcase if oil pressure drops or there is a PCV issue.

For that, there is a threaded tap for the stock electric sending unit. You'd need to fit together a t-fitting there where you can plug in stock/oem sender and run a threaded oil line from the 't' inside your dash to a gauge. Not sure if we have other taps on our motors.

 

[Maddog]

Yeah, I've looked at a couple of port gauges like this but not sure, I've heard good and bad things about them. The one thing is if all this info can be read through the OBD2 port then why didn't Chevy make an option on the screen to look at some of this stuff? Don't think it would of been that hard to make at least an on screen temperature reading.

I might just end up putting a mechanical temp gauge that's spliced off the upper hose, sounds like its the easiest option

I use similar to this one for the obd2 https://www.amazon.com/Foseal-Scanner-Adapter-Diagnostic-Android/dp/B00W0SDLRY
have it link to 'Torque' (lite) on my phone and tell the passenger to hold up my phone so I can see it
There is a lot of info available from the Obd2.
You can get permanent mount scan gauges too but they are a little pricier, guy on ebay has an air vent mount (which is a great idea)
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/122799157584


Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

 

[JTee2017]

I use similar to this one for the obd2 https://www.amazon.com/Foseal-Scanner-Adapter-Diagnostic-Android/dp/B00W0SDLRY
have it link to 'Torque' (lite) on my phone and tell the passenger to hold up my phone so I can see it
There is a lot of info available from the Obd2.
You can get permanent mount scan gauges too but they are a little pricier, guy on ebay has an air vent mount (which is a great idea)
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/122799157584

I bought the BAFX ODB II Bluetooth interface on Ebay for under $18 to $22 also and use it with Torque Pro . . $5 version. I use it with a year or two old Moto G4 Play which can be found cheaply. I use that because it has a decent size screen and I simply mounted it with an adhesive/magnetic dash mount. Works and looks pretty good.

There are also free or cheap gauge "skins" you can find on Google Play store and Amazon.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-BAFX-ELM327-Bluetooth-OBD-2-CAN-V1-5-Scan-Tool-Android-OBD-Reader-Scanner/251488093341?hash=item3a8ddbc49d:gDsAAOSwENxXl3Az

https://www.ebay.com/sch/Cell-Phones-Smartphones/9355/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=Motorola+Moto+G+Play+4th&_sop=15

I also have used it with a $45 Fire tablet which fits in the same location for a larger screen.