Engine (and gearbox) behaviour being odd...

Hello everyone,

Currently trying to figure out status of my "cheap buy, state fairly unknown" VR4.

the dash indicator for temp, after 5 min of running goes from "stone cold" to "red zone overheat". Which is not true, as the engine itself is just luke warm when you touch it physically.

Disconnected the dash temp sensor.
Temp meter is back to 0 again.
Swapped in a different temp sensor from different engine, yet a mitsubishi, and physical appearance is exact same, and we're back to dash temp sensor going "over the top".
Again, engine not more than luke warm.

No air bubbles on the coolant system as far as we can understand.
No water in the engine oil.
No "puff" of coolant when we run without cap on the radiator and engine is running.

I realize that the "new" sensor may be broken too, but, what are the odds?

However, to be sure, I'd like to understand the true temperature of the engine - i.e. what the ECU gets as value.

So, what tool to use to monitor/log the ECU, where do I find it and is there a manual? Preferrably I would want to use a computer, rather than a "in-hand holding box". :)

Kindly,
MGD4

Get Evoscan does everything, search on here for the information :)

Yep evoscan cheap and cheerful give you engine temp and lots of other very useful features.

As above, evoscan is what you need. There are two sensors there, the single wire is the dash sensor and the multi plug goes to the ecu. Evoscan will report what the ecu is seeing but obviously won't help diagnose the dash issue any further than that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick Mann

As above, evoscan is what you need. There are two sensors there, the single wire is the dash sensor and the multi plug goes to the ecu. Evoscan will report what the ecu is seeing but obviously won't help diagnose the dash issue any further than that.

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hi Nick/ Anyone! any chance you could point me in the right direction for what evoscan cable I need, im assuming the £5 one for logging isn't the one for the other features?? ive been searching for a while an im just not too sure on what I should be buying, id like to get it right first time lol, and im also not sure if the threads are out of date now, cheers for any help

A vag kkl cable usually works, although I think recently someone discovered that there can be issues?
Open port 2.0 gives you more options, especially if your car is a facelift.

ill have a look, I was hoping for the cheap cable to be able to do everything but I know from experience its never the case, mines a 1996, is the difference between the pre&facelift just the ecu software wise ?

The chip is different so the tuning options are fewer.

Try a vag kkl, they are cheap as and mine worked fine.

Check battery voltage. Do other gauges read high, such as fuel?
Check with engine running.