How To / Top Hose Temp Gauge

The aim of this "How To" is to show you the basics of fitting a Water Temp Gauge into the top radiator hose.

The only reason for me doing this was to get a better indication of the water temps exiting the radiator

On the S5 Turbo II the stock water temp gauge has 3 readings

1 - Cold Car
2 - Normal Operating Temperature
3 - Overheated and a dead engine

This is a bit too vague for my liking - so i fitted this extra guage , and this is how i did it.
( click on the images for larger versions )

	This is the Gauge that i purchase ( Ebay ) It came with the water temp sender probe aswell I fitted the gauge in a gauge holder just about the radio , and wired it into the back of the cigar lighter so that it would light up only when the lights were on ( and it also dims with the dash lights )

	This is the probe ( secured to the front strut brace for the time being )

	Now that i had what i needed - my next challenge was to get a top hose adaptor that would accept the probe I bought one from ebay that was custom made to accept the prope As you can see - the probe screws in to the centre of the adaptor and then the adaptor is fitted into the top radiator hose and secured with the jubilee clips

	The next step was to remove some water out of the system so that i didnt get water all over me or the drive

	Seeing that it was a top hose water temp gauge , i removed the top water hose ( circled in red ) Once this was out of the car - i cut about 1 inch out of the centre of the pipe and fitted the adaptor

	I then put the tope hose back onto the car , fitted the probe ( i used a rubber washer at the bottom for a good seal and some PTFE tape to seal the threads ) and filled the system back up with water. I then took the car for a drive to make sure that there was no leaks ( which there wasnt ) - the only thing it needed was a bit more water adding to the system Note : I couldnt get a reading from the gauge whilst the car was sat at tick over - i had to take it out for a drive )