Normal and max temp for D1?

paxton

Well-known member
Nov 13, 2006
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Huntsville, AL
I had a bunch of work done and I want to watch the temperature on my truck. And I'm trying to tell if my temp gauge is trustworthy. The other evening, temperature was about 70 degrees. I got the truck up to speed, and, with the Torque app connected to a OBD2 adapter, the computer was saying coolant temp was right around 180.

Does this sound reasonable? The gauge was just below mid, but just a hair below.

I'm assuming the truck tries to keep a nominal temperature as a target. What is that temperature? What's the red-line temp?

Thanks!
 

MM3846

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Feb 18, 2014
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If you are running 180, thats fantastic. The lower the better, as long as it is above 165 or so when up to temp (fuel injection doesn't work very well below that). Max temp? Idk. Some say 200-205, other 210-220. I start getting careful at 200. The temp gauge on the dash is useless.
 

stu454

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Dec 15, 2004
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Atlanta, GA
As an aside, how do like Torque for your D1? I want to get the Bluetooth OBD2 adapter and just monitor it through an old Android phone.
 

Tugela

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May 21, 2007
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Seattle
Pay no attention to the dash gauge. It doesn't give linear feedback. It basically has only three positions: cold, normal, and you're fucked. Before I replaced my radiator I watched the live engine coolant temp reading on my Scangauge fluctuate between 170 and 210 without the needle moving on the dash. New radiator and it stays steadily in the upper 180s. I've read other statements on here that assert optimal operating temps are in the 190s and that the Rover engine is supposed to run on the warmer side. The trick is to keep it from going too warm.
 

Butch

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Mar 8, 2006
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As an aside, how do like Torque for your D1? I want to get the Bluetooth OBD2 adapter and just monitor it through an old Android phone.

I have Torque Pro and it is well worth the $5 for the app. It is very customizable to your needs and has multiple screens/readouts you can design to your liking. I use it to mostly to give me real-time data on water temp, voltage and speed, as well as reading/clearing codes.

The OBD2 adapter cost me about $20 plus shipping when I bought it a year or so ago, but they have come down drastically in price. I think the same one I purchased is under $10 shipped now.

I am glad I didn't spend more on a code reader prior to finding Torque.
 

1MITCH1

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Jan 24, 2007
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Daphne,AL
I stay around 180-185 in the current weather. In the heat of the summer off-road with the a/c on I see around 205.
 

p m

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Stu, you'd be delighted with Torque Pro. The downside is in two things -
- some of the ELM327 Bluetooth adapters are flaky, so you may not notice that the phone stopped talking to the adapter. And few things are more distracting while driving than trying to re-establish a bluetooth connection.
- when your phone talks to the OBD-2 dongle, I am not sure you can have another BT connection (like to the head unit, to play music).

So for now, I use UltraGauge hooked up to the OBD-2 port with a hard wire, and play tunes on my phone through BT.

yeah, and about temperature: with a 180F thermostat, most of the time my D1 stays between 177 and 194F. But I know that it may and will go up to 224F while driving uphill in deep sand on a 100-degree day, and there isn't much to be done about it or worry about - except to watch that it doesn't go any further. Setting the alarm chime in UltraGauge to 200F will drive you nuts. I'd set it at 220F.
 
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K-rover

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Jan 15, 2010
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Raleigh, NC
Stu, you'd be delighted with Torque Pro. The downside is in two things -
- some of the ELM327 Bluetooth adapters are flaky, so you may not notice that the phone stopped talking to the adapter. And few things are more distracting while driving than trying to re-establish a bluetooth connection.
- when your phone talks to the OBD-2 dongle, I am not sure you can have another BT connection (like to the head unit, to play music).

So for now, I use UltraGauge hooked up to the OBD-2 port with a hard wire, and play tunes on my phone through BT.

I have this setup and yes sometimes it does drop the connection, but for me unplugging the adapter and plugging it back resets it.
And my Galaxy S3 can connect two bluetooth devices at once. I can stream Pandora via bluetooth to my head unit while still being connected to the OBD2.
 

paxton

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Nov 13, 2006
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Huntsville, AL
Yes, Torque is pretty awesome. Some sensors are available and some are not, depending on the vehicle. I haven't had time to delve to far into it on the Disco to see everything available, but it has certainly worked out for the few things I was trying to find out.

I've been thinking of doing a Raspberry Pi/Arduino combo with a small touch screen and maybe a couple of other digital displays to take over my radio slot. Getting the sensors wired and talking is obviously the hard part. Torque has almost convinced me this is unnecessary. I've done Android development, so I may consolidate my ideas for RPi/Arduino and just use the Nexus 7 tablet for everything.
 

MM3846

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Feb 18, 2014
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LI, NY
I stay around 180-185 in the current weather. In the heat of the summer off-road with the a/c on I see around 205.

And thats an OK temp? I didn't use my A/C much last summer bc I'd be hovering around 205-210 if I did. I do have a NOS LR radiator waiting to go in.

My 98 runs at 198F using my Scangauge II. I think the OEM thermostat is a 190F

88C/190F. Thats FULLY OPEN though.... If you buy a Stant or whatever 190F it STARTS to open at 190F. It's a British thing... confirmed it with a buddy who has had a couple MGs and Triumphs.
 

paxton

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Nov 13, 2006
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Huntsville, AL
One thing to look at, Stu. OBD2 was mandated in 96, right? Were there any changes after the first year of Disco support for OBD2? How stable is the '96's implementation of OBD2?
 

p m

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I have this setup and yes sometimes it does drop the connection, but for me unplugging the adapter and plugging it back resets it.
And my Galaxy S3 can connect two bluetooth devices at once. I can stream Pandora via bluetooth to my head unit while still being connected to the OBD2.
THanks, it's good to know. I should be able to test this.
 

p m

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One thing to look at, Stu. OBD2 was mandated in 96, right? Were there any changes after the first year of Disco support for OBD2? How stable is the '96's implementation of OBD2?
OBD-2 was mandated for 96+ model year, so it was in place in 95.
It is stable; later-96MY D1s had advanced evap setup, so some new codes appeared that make no sense for early 96 D1s. I ran into that when I used a 98 GEMS ECU in my early-96 D1, but my fuel pump had no pressure sensor.
 

jymmiejamz

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Dec 5, 2004
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If you are running 180, thats fantastic. The lower the better, as long as it is above 165 or so when up to temp (fuel injection doesn't work very well below that). Max temp? Idk. Some say 200-205, other 210-220. I start getting careful at 200. The temp gauge on the dash is useless.

180 is too low. It should run around 190. I don't think the condenser fans even kick on until 205 or so.
 

best4x4

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Mar 1, 2015
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Beaumont, TX
Also remember with the AC on you'll have two efans running which help cool things down. The OEM thermostat is a 195, so 200-210 should be considered the normal range. My H3 Alpha has a 5.3L all aluminum V8 and it runs 193-220F with a 195F thermostat.
 

p m

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180 is too low. It should run around 190. I don't think the condenser fans even kick on until 205 or so.
It probably is a little low - for emissions reasons and for cooking out water from motor oil.
But I like to run the cooling system under lower pressure. If anything, not to have to replace the heater core sooner than it is necessary (still there at 260kmi).
 

MM3846

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Feb 18, 2014
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LI, NY
180 is too low. It should run around 190. I don't think the condenser fans even kick on until 205 or so.

It probably is a little low - for emissions reasons and for cooking out water from motor oil.
But I like to run the cooling system under lower pressure. If anything, not to have to replace the heater core sooner than it is necessary (still there at 260kmi).

I've seen over 180F only 2 or 3 times since November. I could care less about catalyst efficiency or anything emissions related. I read a lot of guys in Australia running 82C stats on their 3.5s without problems. I'd rather keep the thing cool.