"Engine Saver" kits. Coolant Loss Detection & Incremental Overheat Lights

[hibshman25]

We began production on the engine savers and when we began pressure testing units we found that the coolant level sensors we were using had an internal leak. Due to this we will not be offering the engine saver as discussed through out this thread.

We have proven components available to provide the 240 degree audible alarm so at this point we are going to release Engine Saver I. Once we come up with suitable components for monitoring coolant level we will release an Engine Saver II.

Here are the details for Engine Saver I

- Provides a secondary temperature overheat warning. If operator fails to notice the temperature warning light on the dash which comes on at 210 degrees, engine saver will provide an audible alarm at 240 degrees by activating the reverse beeper.


- Eliminates the uncertainty of just how hot the machine is. When an operator discovers that the temperature light is on often times the first thought is " how long was the light on?" With Engine Saver I installed operators will now know they are between 210 and 240 if the overheat light is on and there is no audible alarm.


- No soldering or cutting wires. There are only two wires associated with Engine Saver I. They get tied into the machine with the use of quick splice wire connectors that are included with the kit.


- The Engine Saver I sensor is mounted in a beaded aluminum coolant hose fitting. This gets spliced into a coolant hose as if one was installing a digital temperature gauge sensor. Hose clamps are included.

- Sell price for the kit is $80. Very cheap insurance for these 4 stroke motors!



Why 240 degrees??? The factory temperature overheat light comes on at around 210 F which in automotive world is normal operating temperature Due to this BOP and many others feel 210 F is premature and conservative for an overheat light. The 4 cylinder motors are derived from Yamaha's sportbike R1 motors so we researched the temp warnings Yamaha uses on the bikes. We found that they implement a two stage warning system. On a 2006 Yamaha R1 sportbike the first stage warning for high coolant temperature activates at 243 F. The second stage warning for excessively high coolant temperature activates at 289 F.

 

[RTX]

Great idea at a good price. A punctured heat exchanger can quickly turn into a blown motor.
Glad to see someone finally address this issue.

 

[kinger]

Great idea. Is there a direct correlation on oil temp vs coolant temp rising at the same rate? I would think with no coolant the oil would still have some lag to heat up and give the additional warning?

 

[hibshman25]

Great idea. Is there a direct correlation on oil temp vs coolant temp rising at the same rate? I would think with no coolant the oil would still have some lag to heat up and give the additional warning?

From testing I have done so far oil temp runs cooler than than the coolant temp. With coolant, if running a motor at around 6k rpm it only takes 1.5 minutes of run time for coolant temp to jump from 210 to 240. The oil temp jumps at almost the same rate. I suspect if coolant is lost the oil temp may actually rise quicker beings the oil is typically cooled by the coolant. I intend to do some testing on an engine with no coolant. The logic of the kits is figured out...just need to finalize my temp set points.

 

[Agman 57]

Sounds like a GREAT idea, I love it how the TY Guys, just keep making our good sleds even more reliable!

 

[superfan75]

That sounds like a great idea and I think it has a lot of potential once you get it dialed in. Do you intend to be able to have the customer choose different temps for the warning light to come on or just stick with whatever temp you decide to go with after testing ? Hopefully installation will be easy since wiring isn't my strong suit. For that price I'll be interested for sure. It's a lot cheaper than a new engine.

 

[Mooseman]

Wouldn't just a coolant level sensor be easier and more instant notification wise? As soon as the tank is low, an LED would light up. Could even add a buzzer. You would know even before it starts overheating.

 

[superfan75]

Wouldn't just a coolant level sensor be easier and more instant notification wise? As soon as the tank is low, an LED would light up. Could even add a buzzer. You would know even before it starts overheating.

That also sounds like a really good idea. You would think the engineers at Yamaha would've came up with something to warn the rider of overheating if there is loss of coolant. It would be cheap insurance.

 

[hibshman25]

After further testing oil temp is not the way to go. Oil temp fluctuates greatly based on engine load. At an idle when temp light comes on oil temp is around 190. I installed an r6 rad with fans inline and loaded tested at 6-7k rpms. Oil temps at time reach 240 while coolant hadn't reached the overheat light temp of 210.

Liquid level sensor would function great, however they are quite costly and put my kits way over my target budget. I want the kit to be reasonably priced.

Wiring will not be complicated on whatever my final kit ends up being. I have source for yamaha plug connectors so kit will for most part be plug and play.

Engine saver is far from dead...I have more ideas to test and will find a successful option!

 

[superfan75]

Keep up the good work. It sounds like your really making sure its going to work right before you start selling them. I'm very interested in how the final product will turn out.

 

[yamariv]

Sounds awesome, keep us posted!

 

[hibshman25]

Just a quick update. I did some more testing this week, and have finalized the logic and sensors that will trigger the warning lights. I just need to finalize the construction of the housing that holds the sensors. On all rx/apex/vector chassis sleds the housing will splice right into the coolant hose below the thermostat housing. On the Nytros it will splice into vertical hose between the chain case and oil tank.

 

[hibshman25]

Wouldn't just a coolant level sensor be easier and more instant notification wise? As soon as the tank is low, an LED would light up. Could even add a buzzer. You would know even before it starts overheating.

I did mount a float sensor into a stock coolant tank from an apex and did some testing. Problem is that the tank is not completely full and it sloshes around too much which constantly changes the state of the switch. There are electronic sensors and such, but this would drive price up significantly. I actually built a prototype housing which can be spliced into a coolant line and mounted a float switch into it to test. This worked excellent and is the route I am going with the product. With the float fully submerged in coolant, the switch does not changes its state when it encounters any quick and sudden forces.

 

[hibshman25]

That sounds like a great idea and I think it has a lot of potential once you get it dialed in. Do you intend to be able to have the customer choose different temps for the warning light to come on or just stick with whatever temp you decide to go with after testing ? Hopefully installation will be easy since wiring isn't my strong suit. For that price I'll be interested for sure. It's a lot cheaper than a new engine.

I started a new thread with a Poll regarding the temperature at which the warning would activate.

 

[Mooseman]

I did mount a float sensor into a stock coolant tank from an apex and did some testing. Problem is that the tank is not completely full and it sloshes around too much which constantly changes the state of the switch. There are electronic sensors and such, but this would drive price up significantly. I actually built a prototype housing which can be spliced into a coolant line and mounted a float switch into it to test. This worked excellent and is the route I am going with the product. With the float fully submerged in coolant, the switch does not changes its state when it encounters any quick and sudden forces.

I didn't think of the sloshing around that would cause that. A fully submerged unit would work. So does this mean you're doing both a low coolant level and temperature activated warning? Separate or together?