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[charles05663]

I purchased a Oil Level and Temperature Dipstick with Lighted LCD (63004-09) when I bought my bike.  I recently installed the Oil Temperature Gauge - Fairing Mount (75320-05A)  and took my first ride with it yesterday.

The first thing I noted that there was a 30 degree difference between them.  While the faring mount gauge work register about 180 degrees the dipstick was registering about 210.  While on the drive the faring mount climbed to about 220.  I stopped and check the dipstick and it was registering around 250.

The odd thing about this, in the two years I owned the dipstick, it always read about 210-220 and I can't really remember it much higher.

Has anyone else seen this?  I think I might take the dipstick and put it in some boiling water to check it.  If the dipstick is accurate, is there any calibration to be done on the faring mount gauge?

[grc]

Did you install the gauge sending unit in the oil pan, or in one of the oil lines/hoses?  The comparison is only valid if you are measuring the temps at the same place (oil pan).

There is no calibration adjustment on the actual gauge that I'm aware of.  Try the same approach with the fairing gauge that you plan to use with the dipstick; put the sending unit in a pan of boiling water along with a thermometer and see what the gauge reads.  If it's way off, return it as defective and get another one.


Jerry

[charles05663]

I installed the faring gauge's sending unit in the oil pan next to the drain plug.  I do have an extra sending unit due to breaking the first gauge.

http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=63035.0

[dayne66]

Just got my bike dyno'd the other day......Russ @Lonewolf hooked up to a connector on the bike so and the computer displayed temperature......would it not make sense for HD to have a guage that used that same connector and was a replacement for the 'ambient air temp' guage?

I may have answered my own question....it would make sense, so not likely that HD would do it!

[SIX38]

I had the same concerns and checked the accuracy of both by placing in motor oil heated to 200 deg. They read the same. The reason for the differant reading is that the dip stick gauge is reading the temp at the rear of the engine, in the area where the oil returns to the pan from the engine. The oil then travels to the front of the oil pan where the oil pick up and gauge sending unit is located. There are baffles in the bottom of the oil pan to allow some cooling of the oil to occur. So the two differant readings you are seeing is the net cooling that's taking place. The dash gauge should read lower. Page 3-11 of the 2009 shop manual shows a good description of this.

Stay Cool!
Tom P.   

[spydglide]

Interesting........a 30 degree cooling factor.  Sounds about right.  Without the oil cooler, it would prolly be about 1/2 that is my guess.  spyder

[BTAman]

Remember the old adage... a man with one watch knows what time it is... a man with two watches is never quite sure. 

[Fired00d]

Remember the old adage... a man with one watch knows what time it is... a man with two watches is never quite sure. 

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d