Living with a Jazz Crosstar

[culzean]

Whatever happened to proper temperature gauges where you can actually see whats happening,  even my motorbike has one........

If you want a proper temperature gauge you have to run back to cars without canbus network, more than twenty years ago..

Just think it is cost-cutting on Jazz, Jazz has never had one even back to GD, my Civic has one, surely it could at least be on the multifunction display like MPG etc.   The one on 2016 motorbike is just a bar type electronic display with 8 bars that light up as temperature rises.  The engine temperature data has to go back to ECU anyway.

[Jocko]

I've never found the lack of a temperature gauge all that important. The blue and red light works great for me.
The new Jazz and Crasstar has an even better system with a White light coming on as the temperature rises above normal, suggesting you "drive slowly to prevent overheating" and the Red light telling you it is overheating and to stop.

[culzean]

I've never found the lack of a temperature gauge all that important. The blue and red light works great for me.
The new Jazz and Crasstar has an even better system with a White light coming on as the temperature rises above normal, suggesting you "drive slowly to prevent overheating" and the Red light telling you it is overheating and to stop.

I simply do not like cheapskate on-off indicators rather than proper displays that show you what is happening and can give you advanced warning instead of 'Oh Sh!t whats that red light' and steam coming from bonnet area...

[Jocko]

can give you advanced warning instead of 'Oh Sh!t whats that red light' and steam coming from bonnet area...

That is what the White light on the Jazz/Crosstar does.

[jazzaro]

Just think it is cost-cutting on Jazz, Jazz has never had one even back to GD, my Civic has one, surely it could at least be on the multifunction display like MPG etc.   The one on 2016 motorbike is just a bar type electronic display with 8 bars that light up as temperature rises.  The engine temperature data has to go back to ECU anyway.

Surely one of the matters is cost cutting. Another matter is that many people does not know what is that gauge... My wife asked me what was that symbol on the dash after 5 years; recent thermostatic valves are reliable, often they get older and they open the flux before the standard temperature so it's difficult to see steam coming from the bonnet.
Since the CANBUS network, coolant gauges are controlled by the ecu so you do not read the real temperature, but they only show that the engine is warmed.

[Jocko]

My Jazz, even in the hottest of Scottish weather, has never as much as brought the fan on. 93°C is the hottest ever recorded.

[John Ratsey]

Surely one of the matters is cost cutting. Another matter is that many people does not know what is that gauge...

Too true! I'll have to re-read the manual to find out which of the innumerable icons relates to temperature.

Regarding the seat comfort, I'm fairly short so I have the seat as high as it will go and I sit nearly upright so I see the road through the upper part of my varifocal lenses. My current thinking is that I'm not getting enough support fron the back part of the seat squab (see photo) so I've ordered a wedge-shaped cushion https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003JLYPO4. This will reveal if my conclusion is correct. Ideally the seat squab should rotate forwards slightly when the sea is raised. The front seat passenger's complaint is insufficient support in the lower back which can probably be fixed by tilting the seat back one or two clicks.

[Jocko]

I'll have to re-read the manual to find out which of the innumerable icons relates to temperature.

I downloaded the manual and it is as clear as a thesis on Quantum mechanics. I normally work on the principal of drive the car/use the equipment/work with the software, then when something crops up that you don't know what to do read the book.
Man's approach being, "If all else fails, read the manual".

[jazzaro]

Regarding the seat comfort, I'm fairly short so I have the seat as high as it will go and I sit nearly upright so I see the road through the upper part of my varifocal lenses. My current thinking is that I'm not getting enough support fron the back part of the seat squab (see photo) so I've ordered a wedge-shaped cushion https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003JLYPO4. This will reveal if my conclusion is correct. Ideally the seat squab should rotate forwards slightly when the sea is raised. The front seat passenger's complaint is insufficient support in the lower back which can probably be fixed by tilting the seat back one or two clicks.

mmmh, in some cases the front part of the squab is higher to avoid submarining in case of frontal crash.
That's strange, my seat seems to be ok...

[culzean]

Since the CANBUS network, coolant gauges are controlled by the ecu so you do not read the real temperature, but they only show that the engine is warmed.

Plug a scangauge into OBD and it can display engine temp in degrees C or F....the information is there, coolant temp sensor produces a voltage proportional to tempersture. 

[jazzaro]

Plug a scangauge into OBD and it can display engine temp in degrees C or F....the information is there, coolant temp sensor produces a voltage proportional to tempersture.

I mean that the dash does not show the real T° but a sort of filtered average, while the ECU knows the precise value. If you want to know it, you have to plug a scangauge.

[equaliser]

Plug a scangauge into OBD and it can display engine temp in degrees C or F....the information is there, coolant temp sensor produces a voltage proportional to tempersture.

I mean that the dash does not show the real T° but a sort of filtered average, while the ECU knows the precise value. If you want to know it, you have to plug a scangauge.

I've been using a Vgate iCar Pro bluetooth OBD2 with the Car Scanner app in my iPhone to get these values but I'm not sure it's much use in day to day driving. I've learned to do without a temp gauge and the blue light is a good enough warning that the engine is cold and not to work it too hard until it's off.

[Jocko]

the blue light is a good enough warning that the engine is cold and not to work it too hard until it's off.

I agree. I have used the ScanGauge to monitor the temp, but just out of interest. It is amazing how long it takes to get at or near fully warmed up, on a cold winter day.

[equaliser]

I agree. I have used the ScanGauge to monitor the temp, but just out of interest. It is amazing how long it takes to get at or near fully warmed up, on a cold winter day.

At the moment it's only taking a few minutes of driving for the blue light to go out so it'll be interesting to see how much longer it takes in the winter months. I remember watching a YouTube video of someone in Poland (I think) using an OBD2 app to monitor coolant temperature in the winter in a GK3 Jazz, it took a long time and actually never got very high.

[jazzaro]

I've been using a Vgate iCar Pro bluetooth OBD2 with the Car Scanner app in my iPhone to get these values but I'm not sure it's much use in day to day driving. I've learned to do without a temp gauge and the blue light is a good enough warning that the engine is cold and not to work it too hard until it's off.

I agree, a blue and red light are enaugh for daily driving. We must consider that also what we think to be a normal gauges is a software modified panel, so it shows 90°C even when the real temperature fluctuates between 80 and 105°C.
In the past  I 've used the scangauge to check some thermostatic valves, usually they should start opening at 88-92°C depending from the engine but, if you check them, you will see that they gradually reduce their opening temperature  while they get older, the wax inside the cylinder of the valve slowly decays so the plate will not follow the original opening law.  So even the gauge shows normal 90°C, the engine runs at 80°C, and you will detect this only with the scangauge.