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For the benefit of anyone who has fitted (or is intending to fit) a temperature gauge I did two tests this weekend on the XTZ to draw up a comparison table between the temperatures read on the gauge and those read from the ECT sensor by the ECU to give some sort of idea as to the accuracy of a temperature gauge.
The bike was left to idle until the fan cut in and then out again and the temperatures were read at intervals on the diagnostic tool and the gauge and elapsed time recorded.
The first test shows what happens with AIS connected and functioning normally, the second with the AIS blocked.
The first noticeable thing is that the temperature gauge reads fractionally lower than the ECU does up until the point at which the thermostat opens, there after is reads slightly higher, which is kind of what you'd expect as the gauge sender is after the ECT sensor in the cooling circuit. The biggest margin of difference is detected at the top end of the temperature range.
The second point of note is that when the AIS is disconnected the bike takes longer to warm up at idle up to about 60C, at which point the two test's results are similar. With the AIS blocked it takes almost a minute longer to reach 60C.
The fan in both tests took just over a minute to bring the temperature down the level where it cuts out.
Obviously there are a number of factors which would vary from one bike to another (mods, coolant mix, fuel, climate, ambient temperature etc.), but the results should be fairly representative of how the cooling system behaves on an XT. In fact, when Schnidely tested his bike, he got exactly the same results on the gauge for the fan cut in/cut out temperatures, and only fractionally longer for the fan cycle at 24C ambient.
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