What’s In An Instrument Panel?
We all drive every day (at least most of us if we're honest about it), but we rarely pay attention to the gauges in our car. Sure, we all look at the speedometer when we see a policeman in an attempt to not get pulled over, but sometimes even that is not enough.
So what should you be paying attention to in your cars gauges and more importantly, why? First, they are there to educate you about the condition of the car as we drive down the road. They can alert you about any possible problems that are coming up.
However, many vehicles today do not have much more in the way of gauges than a speedometer and gas gauge (which are the only ones most people pay any attention to), but rather have warning lights. When auto makers discovered that the average driver in today's world never looked at the other gauges, and were not educated about what they meant anyways, they decided to do something that would do a better job of getting the attention of the driver. Warning lights replaced the traditional gauges and have been a better way of getting the drivers attention (in most cases) when there was a problem.
If your vehicle still has gauges, you should pay attention to the water temperature gauge to make sure that the car is not getting too hot. This is particularly true in the heat of the summer time. The normal operating range for coolant temps in the average car would be around 200-210 degrees. If the gauge is creeping up to 220 or more, you should pay close attention and stop the vehicle and turn it off if it does not start to come down.
The oil pressure gauge is another gauge found in an instrument cluster. This gauge reads the pressure (or force) of the oil through the engine. This is important to know, because a loss of oil pressure usually means some big problems are imminent if you continue to drive the car. This loss of pressure, whatever the cause, means that the parts of the engine that need lubricating while running are likely not getting it. If you do not stop the car and turn it off, then you can break something inside and that can be real expensive to fix or replace.
RPM's on the dash are in a gauge called a tachometer. RPM's tell you the revolutions per minute that the crank of the engine is turning. This is important to know because the higher the RPM's, the faster everything is turning. The faster the parts turn, the tougher it is for them to be lubricated enough to counteract the heat generated in the motion. That, in turn, can mean a broken engine or at very minimum, one that does not last for long. Street cars and trucks generally run between 2000-3000 RPM's while driving down the road, and even less when they are idling in the driveway. For some reference point, compare that to a NASCAR race car, which runs around 8000-9000 RPM's and Indy cars, which run between 12,000-13,000 RPM's.
A less common gauge in the car is the oil temperature gauge. While oil pressure and water temperature are more important, oil temperature can also indicate some potential trouble. If the oil gets too hot in the engine, then the oil will break down, causing it to lose its lubricating ability. Lubrication in the engine is crucial to it running, so when it breaks down that can mean big trouble and possibly destroy an engine. Generally most cars that have gauges do not have an oil temp gauge because the water temperature will heat up before the oil, so if you see the water temperature getting too hot and stop, the oil temp should never be a problem.
Instrument panels are something that more people should pay attention to. We should learn what the gauges really mean to us and our vehicles. As I stated before, many cars today have warning lights instead of gauges. Warning lights in your cars instrument panel usually come on too late. Speaking as an old timer who likes to know that when a problem is coming, if the light comes on, you are already into the trouble zone and should park the car and get it fixed.
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