This is my first post so I am somewhat virginal! I have spent some time looking but cannot find reference to my question but if anyone knows different please point me in the relevant direction. I took delivery of my MCS in September. I specified the Sat Nav option and did not realise that deleted the Temp guage. Now all I have is a light that will come on when the car has overheated. It seems ridiculous to me not to have a temp guage....but what is more amazing is that BMW tell me that it cannot be retro fitted. Surely there is a temperature sender somewhere that I can tap into and fit a guage. Does anyone know? There is an option to have extra guages under the switches in the centre console, one being an oil pressure guage(useful) and the other an ammeter(which is I think a waste of time).
I don't know the ultimate solution, although it might be an option that rspeed.net could possibly offer different gauges for this setup: http://www.rspeed.net/mini/item.asp?...7&prod=M20-151 that could be a neat solution.
Alternatively, as a stop gap, you can get the coolant temp. to display on your odometer read out, check out this new DIY guide, it's a simple push button procedure, but it will mean leaving a minute or two early to set it up each journey until you find a 'proper' solution:
In my case, all the temp gauge does is creep up to 90c during the five or so minutes it takes to warm-up, and then it just stays there ALL the time, in any situation, rain, 39c bumper to bumper with A/C on, uphill, downhill, hard driving, ......Yeah right
The way I see it, it's just a fake Doesn't really do anything helpful. Navigation is so infinitely better
If you do have a very efficient cooling system, with a well functioning thermostat, the temp should never move. As heat rises the thermostat opens and lets more fluid get cooled, as heat decreases the thermostat closes and causes the fluid to heat up. So, as your car reads 90 all the time, the thermostat/coolant flow is constantly changing.
Great website......only a couple of hours and already responses! Thanks guys. From what I have read it does seem that the standard temp guage is a bit of a fake since even stationary and with the electric fan switching on and off the guage does not move on my friend's Cooper.
I've been told on another thread that the analog temp guage is
non linear. It moves up to the halfway point fairly quickly, but
stays right on halfway provided the temp is in a normal operating
range. (I suppose something like 85 -105 C). Above that range, it starts to go up again.
Exactly! If the fan wasn't switching on and off, the gauge would move, provided that the internal thermostat wasn't moving. On my 66 Mustang with the fan running all the time it gets too cool. So I put on an electric fan and the temp gauge is stationary. Trust me, this gauge isn't fake. It moves a lot when there is no fan at all. It can go from Hot to Cold in just a few seconds by being stopped to freeway driving.
If you do use the FAQ I posted on how to get the temp to display on your digial odometer read out you will see it does fluctuate, but not much. Which shows everthing is working well if you ask me!
Thanks. I tried this, and on my MC, when the needle gets up to halfway, the display
shows a coolant temp of 75C. It goes up to at least 95C with the needle still there at
halfway. I didn't drive it hard enough to get the needle to start rising above halfway, so
I don't know the coolant temp when the needle starts going up again. So...
needle at 1/2 means coolant temp is somewhere between 75C and some value
>= 95C. That's good enough for me.
so this is my first post as well and let´s see if can give this thread
a new kick.
I do have the same prob and i think that i am pretty close to the solution.
The Temp sensors is placed on the right side of engine ( when you stand in front of the car).
But you shouldn´t use this sensor, because it gives the sensed infos onto a so called BUSSYSTEM which is very important for the motormanagemant.
So if yo put a additional indicator on this pick up it might interfer the voltage and the singals and your engine might run with false temp information.
So, i ´m now searching for a place where i can install another 2. sensor.
Are there e.g. drain - screws somewhere in the cooling system?
So maybe it is possible to replace this screw and to put in a sensor.
If not, the solution on picture might be a help. But where should i place this stuff ???
Maybe instead of this thing where this plastic bleeder screw is in.
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Doesn't really do anything helpful. Navigation is so infinitely better 
