<VV> Digital vs. Analog = What you see is not always what you get !

[Charles Lee]

The way it should be, too - gauges operate "normally" in the center.

My friend has a 1995 Saturn and the operator's manual shows what I thought 
was a typographical error, that the coolant temp gauge reads "Full Cold" 
when started (OK), and when warmed up, the normal operating temperature 
should be "Full Cold" !

I thought there was a problem with the gauge (I'm basically skeptical, but 4 
of 5 Saturn svc mgrs told me it was a "typo" in the manual !)

Apparently the reasoning was that "cold" was not as important as "hot" so 
the gauge was dedicated to the "hot" range ?

They quickly changed that design probably after people blew their engines, 
operating at what was perceived to be "normal: because it was in the 
"middle" ?

1997 went back to "normal;" ....

My 1996 F**d Probe has an "oil pressure switch" that didn't work, so I 
looked for a thermistor-type sensor, but all I found was a switch in the oil 
passage that simply detected "on-off" if their was pressure, or not.
I soon realized it was not an analog gauge, but simply an "on-off" gauge, 
with 2 positions : "have pressure" and "do not have pressure" !

What you see is not always what you get !

Charlie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <FrankCB at aol.com>
To: <kenpepke at juno.com>
Cc: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 8:39 AM
Subject: Re: <VV> Fw: Digital vs. Analog Re: Temperature/Pressure/Fan


> Ken,
>
> Excellent idea!  I tend to do something like that with my non-racing
> vehicles by quickly noting that the gauges are in the 1/3 to 1/2 of full 
> scale
> reading.  Of course there are 2 exceptions - the temp gauge just after the
> car is started and the gas gauge when I just got a full tank.<GGG>
>
> Frank Burkhard