2002 XKR 81,100 miles

This isn't a heat problem thread,
I have the REALGAUGE installed and it's worked extreamly well for the past years.
This spring when car came out of storrage the gauge indicated it was running hot ie 3/4 dial.
Previously it would run 1/2 dial (aprox 185-190).
Using a scanner I read the real temp at 190... though the gauge is 30 degrees higher.
It would appear the 0 ( Cold) index has shifted. The dial is about 1/4 up when the key is turned on, eng cold.
Even with key off it's at the same place.

Does anyone know if on the back of the cluster there are calibration screws / setting?
think of it was a watch, it's running 5 mins fast, I need to move the dial back.
There wa no work done before this happened, I've since done flush/tstat/refresh but that was before I read the temp via scanner.

Much appreciated any advice

 

Maybe you should contact JagWrangler?

 

I did email him yesterday , thanks for the idea, I have to dig into docs on the cluster

 

I've had this happen several times with my RealGauge - for some reason it just loses it's zero point. The only way that I've found to reset it is to pull the cluster out and just push the needle back to the bottom position.

 

Jagwrangler issues a calibration procedure here -https://www.thejagwrangler.com/uploads/8/0/2/8/8028029/realgauge_calibration_2.3.pdf - that worked for me when I wanted to set my gauge to custom values.

 

I actually have a 'real gauge' kit that came with one of the XKRs I bought. (not installed)
Never got around to the installation so it just sits on top of a toolbox in the shop for 'maybe someday'.

 

Instructions from Steve are spot on but it does take a good bit of time to get the wires all pinched together under the cluster. Like most, my gauge reads a bit warm and if it gets to the alarm stage, I'll get in there to fix it. I did get both systems, oil and temp, so a onetime pull on the cluster. Should have added the LED lights, great hindsight.

 

don’t need a gauge when the high speed fans are loud af and you have a warning light.

total coolant loss will not show up on the ECT anyways

 

That's to calibrate the gauge against the sensor - the OP has the issue that I've had where it just randomly 'zeros' itself somewhere on the gauge.

 

Bladerunner… random question but when your gauge “zeroed” somewhere on its own did it happen to be from low battery voltage or anything else that you may have noticed? Or was it just completely random? I only ask because I just installed my real gauge system and put about 5 miles on car since. It has been in the garage apart for suspension and bushings upgrade and my battery has since died(forgot to put the maintainer on it, as it was supposed to be a weekend project that started a month and a half ago). Just curious, thanks!

 

It's happened a few times, and I can't really attribute any specific cause that I've noticed. It shouldn't be battery related, I would say, because it'll be fine when the car is running, then on switch-off it fails to go all the way down, and that then becomes the 'zero' point for future trips - if it was battery I might expect to see it suddenly go haywire before the car starts. Dunno, it's a mystery to me!

 

Thank you all for your thoughts and BladeRunner919 appears to see what I'm seeing.
The Zero index on the gauge sb by the 'C' but isn't with either the car off or on.
History was it went into storage in Dec 1, He disconnects battery and covers it, He also reconnects
and starts it a few times. I picked it up at the end of April and saw this condition.
I have one more item to try before pulling the cluster, I haven't done a hard-reset which I'll try probably tomorrow.
There maybe some residual data in RealGauge circuitry but I doubt it since it's a poweroff issue as well.
Otherwise I'll pull the cluster and "manually" zero it out. theen rerun the calibration of RG.

Question to BladeRunner919 - it's been a while since i've had the clstr pulled, is the needle freely accessed from the front or do I have to remove the cover? Also I'd thought there might be a set screw on the back, did you see any (there is a cover that would need removed from the pics I've looked at).

 

I haven't done it for a while (the car's been laid up with a gearbox a-drum failure that I finally swapped this weekend), but from memory it's super-easy. Once the wood trim is off, I think you can just unbolt the perspex cover. Have a look at this for an idea of access:

 

Thanks again.. so I went with my first option of doing a hard reset..and it worked! Must be something residual causing this (perhaps weak battery) Saved me from having to remove the cluster.
Note: car was cold
Here are pics

Before hard reset with key on (not running Looked the same with key off

After hard reset with key on (not running

 

Thanks again.. so I went with my first option of doing a hard reset..and it worked! Must be something residual causing this (perhaps weak battery) Saved me from having to remove the cluster.

Here are pics

Before hard reset with key on (not running Looked the same with key off

After hard reset with key on (not running

 

Nice one - that's never worked for me, so I'm glad you had better luck!