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MG MGF Technical - B&g water level sensor ....quick question

Hi All...
JUST GOT THE B& G water level sensor ..looks a really good DIY fit with good instructions ...well worth the money .Ordered on line 10.30 sunday...phone call on monday 8.40 am to check model details and arrange delivery ...got on tuesday 1pm.....
What a service!!!!!
Can i ask you guys thoughts on the wiring(as i,ve done a mod which is in the way!!)
part of The kit wires into the cig lighter (on my model)
You unplug the rover oem plug from the cig lighter and plug in there Water level sensor kit socket into the cig lighter.
The cig lighter socket you have unpluged now plugs into there wireing looms "extra socket" to take your cig lighter.
Dead easy...
The problem i have is that i wired in a start button which is tapped into the "ignition live" brown wire on the oem lighter socket and the neg earth on the blk wire.
My thoughts are that all should be fine and if there is a problem ....ie me lighting a cig as the start button is pressed ...and the water level dropping .the worst is a blown fues ??
Any thought , hope all the above is clear
Thanks
Mel
m e johnson

Kel which model of car do you have?
Deborah Evans

Mel,
The current drain from the starter relay and the minimal drain of the piezo buzzer/ICs are negligible compared to the drain of the cigarette lighter. Nothing whatsoever to fear and you can prove it for your own peace of mind by doing it with a spare fuse handy if you are really worried!
The B & G kit is fun to fit as well - great safety aid. The only issue is the 'Star Trek' monster LED. I put it in an unused switch blank but it is big and looks rubbish - the buzzer is all you need - it is loud even with the top down! A smaller bezelled LED from Maplins would look better in that easily accessible location but you don't really need an LED at all. I regret locating it there now.
Rob has a more elegant but time consuming location inside the binnacle using an unused cat overheat lamp(why did they put that in?). You can always fit the lamp later - it too is a minimal drain. Have fun.
Charles
Charles

Is it really not that difficult to fit?
I have one that is sitting in its box, instead I have been driving with the heater set on my arm/feet as a LLW!
I believe I am seeing a tiny amount of loss of coolant, want to know if it all goes at once suddenly.
As my dear old dad says, "your engine won't stand getting cooked you know!"
KS Gould

Kate,
It is very easy. Fit it for peace of mind and fun and a nicer temperature inside! Your dear old dad is right and the kit does do exactly what you want - let you know if you are dumping coolant.
(Apparently some people keep having to look at the temperature guage when driving Fs - how much fun is that!)
I frightened myself parking across a slope in the summer after a particularly 'joyful' run when I started up an hour later the buzzer went continuous -aagh! But it really is that sensitive to the level I had no water loss just the level a few mm different.
It is a must-have for Fs hence MGR's belatedly fitting it as standard.
Have you done the boat anode yet!
Charles
Charles

Yes the boat anodes are done, and we are living on the boat too. Also we fitted hydraulic steering a couple of weekends ago. Much better than the chains that ran from the steering column to the rudders!

Guess I should take some time and fit the LLW kit to the car, it has had a new rad and pipes recently.
I was lucky the rad gave out just after I got back home, there was a pool of coolant leaking out as the car cooled and the metal contracted!
KS Gould

Charles...many thanks that puts my mind at rest i,ll fit it at the weekend.
Deborah....Mines a 1997 1.8 mpi. From the instructions with the kit some models (later mgf tf)wire into the fuse box area as the cig lighter is a constant live on the later models.
Early mgf cig lighters are ignition live.

Mel..
m e johnson

Aye mine is a late 03 TF160 so I needed an extra loom to wire into the block connector above the fusebox.

As has been said earlier the fact you have the starter wired into the cig lighter is no problem.

The starter is a transient current load (and I assume you wired it through a relay?) so really it's not a problem.

Effectively you have no more current load than the kit was designed for (ie lighting cigs), except on engine start, and if you wired through a relay then the current draw on the circuit is well within specification.

Go ahead and fit the sensor as directed. I consider it a 'Must Have' piece of kit! When I'm drag racing the TF the LAST thing I need is to look at the coolant guage when I'm concentrating on the run, so the buzzer is essential peace of mind should I get a coolant loss.

Debs :)
Deborah Evans

I have mine wired without the light, I could not bring my self to drill holes in the dash. All the switch blanks are in use. I have found even with a helmet on I can still hear the warning buzer but it hasn't come on at 200kph on the track !!!. Around town at 60kph when the water pump packed up it did it's job and some 6 weeks later every thing is still running well. Oh what have I said ?.
Andrew W Regens

I didn't bother with the warning light either - it would have looked too much of a lash up putting it into a switch blank. Eventually I'll get around to wiring it in to the spare warning light position in the dash (CVT Gearbox Warning Light).

In the meantime, as Andrew says, the buzzer is certainly loud enough to be heard through a helmet.
Deborah Evans

Hi, Deborah ...>i presume you wired it through a relay<
Err no i didn,t!!
I got all the info off this site on the wireing of the start button ( i,m just a keen hobbyist and no expert)
I can,t remember why i didn,t do it through a relay although i seem to remember that a few guys did the mod at the same time and they didn,t either.
I presume it will still be ok ?
Thanks again
Mel.
m e johnson

Anything like that should be wired through a relay to protect the wiring and the button from passing too much current through it.
C Tideswell

Why have another Relay ?? There is only the current for the EM Relay which in turn feeds the starter motor Relay.
The replacement Starter Button only carries the same current as the contacts in the ignition switch which is protected by the EM Relay.
Geoff F.
G. Farthing

Cheers
Mel
m e johnson

quite, and the cig lighter can push out 10 amps, which is enough to make you deaf
Will Munns

This thread was discussed between 07/11/2006 and 11/11/2006

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