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Adding a Digital OIL Temp Gauge..

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fox8701

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Messages
107
After plenty of research and trial/error and the want to know the oil temperature of the engine, I sat down and did it... I had a few options on where to add a sensor and found it most practical in the oil pressure switch outlet port while still having an operable factory pressure switch.

I bought a KOSO slim digital temperature gauge and sensor (the sensor included in the kit will not fit, need to buy one of the optional sensors).. First disconnect wire and remove oil switch; I used a brass tee-fitting & tied it into the port of the oil pressure switch (see pictures), Then install the tee fitting into the engine first then the oil pressure switch in the bottom, then the temp sensor on the side, tightened it all up and using teflon tape on all the fittings, then snaked the wire through the frame and to the front of the bike, Tapped into the 12volt connection port (same one that turns on automatically only when the bike is in the on position), & mounted the gauge above the cluster.. The oil pressure switch is still fully functional and the oil temp seems to be accurate so far; The only gripe is the digital gauge is semi hard to see during full sun, which I may have to mount elsewhere or try a new style however is just the right amount where its not blinding to the eyes at nighttime.. So far project costed me just shy of $100 bucks for everthing I needed I bought off amazon.. I wire loomed the entire harness from sensor to gauge & heat shrinked the two connections between sensor & gauge (not needed but precautionary)..

*During the install the only issue I ran into was with the tee fitting, being that on the 09's (and maybe other years) the oil switch port is very close to the filter mount; I had to grind down with a hand file the side of the T- fitting where the temp sensor installs very so slightly (really very little) of metal has to be shaved off the end/side in order to be able to rotate the fitting into the port tightly. And to mount the temp sensor the T-fiting had to be mounted out slightly away from the engine due to the lack of room to run sensor/wiring (see pics), however it does not interfere at all with riding or your feet. The engine oil pressure switch port is 1/8" NPT and the koso sensors are only available in MM metric, so the adapter fitting is requried to make this work (as the sensor is 10mm and the tee fitting is 1/8 NPT)

Parts needed: (all purchased off amazon)
Koso North America Super Slim Temperature Gauge - BA024B11
Koso North America Oil Temperature Sensor - M10 x P1.0 BF100100
Koso North America Ultra Slim Mounting Bracket - BE006S00
Metal Brass Pipe Fitting Street Tee; 1/8" Male Pipe x 1/8" Female Pipe x 1/8" Female Pipe
1/8" NPT X 10MM BRAKE LINE Adapter Fitting (brand name: CNC)

ENJOY!!

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Good for you! The gauge is a tad conspicuous for my tastes but I do lament that it's rare to find oil temp & pressure gauges on vehicles any more. It's great to know when you've reached operating temperature, & even better to know if you're overheating!
 
Cool idea on the Oil temp setup. What kind of temps do you see?

What exhaust system is that? [up]
 
It's a modified beson exhaust and it's been in the 40/50s here so I haven't been able to get a good ride in, but the highest I've seen it on a 30 minute ride (in the mid 40s) was about 140 degrees F, so we'll see what the warm weather brings to it during the summer
 
It's been a couple years, but I hope he replies...:D

I did the ol' add a digital voltmeter to the stock XB dash thing, and found that same small display (on eBay) with a sensor input and a momentary switch to select. I used it for cylinder head temp, but you could use it for anything including oil temp. I liked the super invisible install of the extra gauge. I might even have pics? I'll look.

The last dash I modded, I used the same display as a front/rear temp display to help with tuning and just added a light for the battery because who cares what it is, as long as it's charging between 12.3-14.7... WHY IS THAT LIGHT NOT STOCK!?!
 
I'm curious how you did that setup for the head temp. I did the digital voltmeter mod on mine, and I do like knowing the voltage at a glance, especially as I've owned other bikes with known charging issues.

I remember seeing a lamp (on the SVRIDER forums) that would change color relating to the voltage it was receiving. I don't remember where they were sourcing it from.

edit: Here it is...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-12v-Battery-Voltmeter-Volt-Meter-alternator-Charge-warning-lamp-LED-/191567285249?hash=item2c9a4ccc01:g:eek:UUAAMXQydtTOs8s&vxp=mtr

When I still had my SV650 (1st gen), I was considering using one of these for the backlight of my tach. Granted, I had already done the voltage regulator upgrade, so it wasnt high on my list of things to do.
 
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The head temp thing was just to compare front/rear temps and I really don't think it worked all that well. I didn't want to tie into the stock sensor and possibly corrupt the readings to the ECM so I used a sensor like this that goes around the plug (tight!):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AIM-Mychron...ash=item543fc5d0b9:g:T1MAAOSwnHZYQYh5&vxp=mtr

IMHO, a much more accurate way to measure air cooled engine temp is to measure oil temp as it's leaving the cooler.


The light is really cool! I've never seen one before (and one is on the way now :). Can you see it clearly during the day when it's used at a backlight?

I am a fan of a super clean install and minimal driver distractions... and that does both. You wouldn't really see the light unless it blinked, and I don't want to mentally process 13.3V vs. 13.4V while riding.
 
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Unfortunately, I never got around to getting the lamp, but I thought it was super cool as well.

I'm going to look into that for the head temps. Its mostly going to be used for reference, more so than a detailed reading of how hot the head is running. It would just be nice to know if it is running a bit hotter than normal.

I like the very clean understated look as well. Hanging a bunch of gauges all over the place was cool back when I was in my 20's but I like the more "stock" look. When I did my voltmeter, I chose the smallest one I could find. Its a little on the bright side, so I used a small piece of tint to tone it down.
 
After plenty of research and trial/error and the want to know the oil temperature of the engine, I sat down and did it... I had a few options on where to add a sensor and found it most practical in the oil pressure switch outlet port while still having an operable factory pressure switch.

I bought a KOSO slim digital temperature gauge and sensor (the sensor included in the kit will not fit, need to buy one of the optional sensors).. First disconnect wire and remove oil switch; I used a brass tee-fitting & tied it into the port of the oil pressure switch (see pictures), Then install the tee fitting into the engine first then the oil pressure switch in the bottom, then the temp sensor on the side, tightened it all up and using teflon tape on all the fittings, then snaked the wire through the frame and to the front of the bike, Tapped into the 12volt connection port (same one that turns on automatically only when the bike is in the on position), & mounted the gauge above the cluster.. The oil pressure switch is still fully functional and the oil temp seems to be accurate so far; The only gripe is the digital gauge is semi hard to see during full sun, which I may have to mount elsewhere or try a new style however is just the right amount where its not blinding to the eyes at nighttime.. So far project costed me just shy of $100 bucks for everthing I needed I bought off amazon.. I wire loomed the entire harness from sensor to gauge & heat shrinked the two connections between sensor & gauge (not needed but precautionary)..

*During the install the only issue I ran into was with the tee fitting, being that on the 09's (and maybe other years) the oil switch port is very close to the filter mount; I had to grind down with a hand file the side of the T- fitting where the temp sensor installs very so slightly (really very little) of metal has to be shaved off the end/side in order to be able to rotate the fitting into the port tightly. And to mount the temp sensor the T-fiting had to be mounted out slightly away from the engine due to the lack of room to run sensor/wiring (see pics), however it does not interfere at all with riding or your feet. The engine oil pressure switch port is 1/8" NPT and the koso sensors are only available in MM metric, so the adapter fitting is requried to make this work (as the sensor is 10mm and the tee fitting is 1/8 NPT)

Parts needed: (all purchased off amazon)
Koso North America Super Slim Temperature Gauge - BA024B11
Koso North America Oil Temperature Sensor - M10 x P1.0 BF100100
Koso North America Ultra Slim Mounting Bracket - BE006S00
Metal Brass Pipe Fitting Street Tee; 1/8" Male Pipe x 1/8" Female Pipe x 1/8" Female Pipe
1/8" NPT X 10MM BRAKE LINE Adapter Fitting (brand name: CNC)

ENJOY!!

16877490951_efd1fce6ca_z.jpg


I know this is an old thread, haha.. but great right up! Really wanting to do this before the summer... riding in "The South" heat July-August I would love to keep vitals in check. Really wish more auto's and bikes came with oil temp from the factory.


On another note.... what did you do to get rid of all your harness like the Voltage Reg plug etc right in front of your belt pulley??
 
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