the gauge has 24 hash marks,4 white dots,110-180-230-350 markings what gives,I read gauges at work and this one has me baffled!

 

24 hashes and 240 degrees from the low 110 to the high 350, every hash is 10 degrees

230 would be the 12 hash

 

You probably can't read the hash marks at speed. As long as the needle doesn't go past vertical, you're fine. If it reads 350, pull over. Other than that, don't overthink it.

 

Thanks for the replies, I just think this is a hard gauge to read .but the vertical mark of 230 degrees is a good point of reference. so I now know why they put the white dots in it, its to confuse me! Anyway it was an easy job to install . The instructions call for cutting the two pronged connector ,I just added jumpers with spade connectors that plugged into original plug.

 

You are right, the HD oil gauge is baffling. The hash marks are not linear i.e. every mark does not equal 15 or 10 degrees. I figured this out the hard way, but in my opinion the gauge is intentionally deceptive. Any reasonable person would read the gauge as 230F with the needle at the 12 o'clock position, but that is not correct. The "dot" to the left of 12 o'clock represents the 230F numbering. When your needle is pointing to 12 o'clock, bisecting the printed 230 number, your temp is actually about 245F. This was my experience with the same HD gauge I installed in 2007, I validated this observation with threee seperate external thermometers, my friends bike read exactly the same. After I verified this I took the gauge to three different dealerships and asked the service guys to show me how to read it and none of them were correct, it took a parts guy to give me the right answer. Knowing the MOCO, I highly doubt they have corrected this descepancy yet, since it wont positively impact the profit margin. Don't take my word for it, get yourself a turkey fryin thermometer and check it for yourself. Just for kicks try to get someone at the dealership to explain to you the correct way to read that gauge.

 

The oil at the front of the oil pan where the fairing oil temp gauge reads from is substantially cooler than the oil measured from the area of the dipstick at the back of the pan. If the gauge is at 12 o'clock (= 230 at the front of the pan), then expect the oil as measured at the dipstick (rear of the pan) to be anywhere from 245 to 265. The oil guage is not a linear scale, but 230 degrees is at the 12 o'clock position.

 

Look at the Medallion oil temp gauge which is set to the same basic scale as the Harley gauge, 230 degrees is at 12 o'clock. http://www.medallionis.com/Bagger.html

 

This particular gauge can only give you an "approximate" reading, so don't bother looking at it too closely. You are supposed to just glance at the gauge and note the location of the needle in relation to the number markers to give you a general idea of how hot the oil is.

 

I generally only talk about things I know, and this is one of them. I’ve been actively studying the Twin Cam oiling system and how to cool it for three years now. You're almost right about a temperature differential at different points in the pan, but those extreme temp differences are not at the front and rear of the pan. It’s more like outboard and inboard; there is a baffle in the pan that makes a complete partition like a slightly smaller upside down pan, inside the oil pan. Returning hot oil dumps into the front top of the pan, it is routed to both outside edges of the pan, where it flows rearward between the exterior wall of the pan and the baffle (this where it does some cooling). When the oil reaches the rear of the pan it changes direction and flows forward through the open back of the baffle, it then continues forward, zigzagging around the staggered partitions in the baffle, back to the pick up port. There is a shrouded port in the top of the baffle that matches up to the dipstick/fill hole. So temperature taken through the dipstick is reading oil temp in the center, bulk oil portion of the baffle about 3/4 of the way through the total return/pickup journey the oil makes inside the pan. The pan pics are oriented with the front of the pan facing to the right. Note: the pick up port is not all the way at the front of the pan, it is cast into the pan and extends rearward about three inches, this makes the pick up port and the dipstick port about five inches apart, the oil doesn’t shed 15 degrees between the two.I have an analog dial gauge in my dipstick hole and I have an Autometer gauge with the sender at the front pick up plug hole in the pan, those two readings are within 1 or 2 degrees always, and yes my gauges have been verified accurate. So to reiterate, 12 o'clock needle position is not 230 degrees, believe what you want, but I know what I know.

 

Isn't it great to read information that is written by people whom actually know what they are writing about.....

Thank you Fab.....


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