Check out my latest mod:
 

I don't know if I can call it a mod, but I think its a pretty cool idea. I bought an indoor-outdoor thermometer from Target (about $30) which has a remote unit and a base unit. I mounted the remote unit right behind my front licnse plate and the base unit just happened to fit in this otherwise pointless little accessory holder near the maplights on my 97 ltd. It constantly tells the temperature inside and outside the truck on a little LCD screen and can also record the lows & highs. So far I have driven in heavy rain, sleet, snow, mud, sub-freezing temps and triple digit temps with no problems. I did notice that the indoor reading won't go much below freezing, but I've seen the outdoor reading go down to single digits. I love it so much I thought I would pass the idea onto you guys & gals. :bigok:
(see attached pic)

I purchased 2 of those as gifts last Christmas, and everyone who recieved them, love them. They are quite handy, and pretty accurate. If you want to get really crazy you could have outdoor temp, in the truck temp, and intake temp!

I got the same one's for $20. Did you get ripped off?

hmm, it might have been closer to $25 or so. It's been a while since I bought it so I can't really remember. Whatever the price was I am glad I got it.

The intake temp was my orignal plan. I wish it had two remote units so I could switch between outdoor & intake temp. That would be ideal.

The question is, where is the best place to take the intake reading? I say from the airbox...

You should do it! That would be cool. I wonder how much of a "lag time" there is on those temp meters as the temp changes...

If you really want a "realtime" view of your IAT, get a BR-2. Here's a thread of it in action. It really is quite the tool.

My .02
Dr. Z

I'm going to go watch the Mariners play now...

is that powered by batteries or can it be hard wired?

Hey, cool mod. I like the idea. I just went searching around the Target website - was this the same one you bought....

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B00006ANER

I'll jump in here. Yeah, that is the same one. They have the gold one pictured, but you can get it in silver (my favorite).

They were $30 when I bought them. My bad!

I got one like this

http://rswww.com/largeimages/C408611-01.jpg

It's pretty small, can be hard wired, and is back lit. Can be changed to degrees F

Regards

Kerr

Kerrs-

That's sweet, where did you get it?

Over here they are called RS I think you call it radio shack

try this RS

Hope it works

Kerr

Oh, we have all sorts of names for them. :) But yeah, that's Radio Shack over here.

It looks like the model you got may be a European only item. This is what "Rat Shack" shows in their US catalog:

http://www.radioshack.com/category.a...3%5F000&Page=1


Do you have a model number/manufacturer on it? Is it a Tandy (parent of RS) item or someone else? That's a slick looking package.

Ya, I would like to know more about those as well. They are only about $12.50, and are nice and small. Kerrs, if you have any more info, please let us know. Thanks a lot-

CTB

this looks soo ghetto haha. But very nice idea:bigok:

I've been thinking about doing this too, just can't decide which one to get. Need to check mounting locations with a ruler...here are some more choices
JCWhitney

John

Edit: Oops...fixed link. That's what I get for trying to edit it. Does funny things if you try to paste a link in the middle after typing the post...anyway, thanks Mark.

John

Cool. I also did a custom temp display. I took a while, but it is hardwired and fit in good:

http://www.toyotaoffroad.net/jnburtman/temp_721.jpg

I mounted my temp sensor behind the front bumper. This seems to be the best place for the best reading.

I have an EXTENSIVE write-up that can be found here with tons of pictures:

http://www.toyotaoffroad.net/jnburtman/Pictures.html

Look for the link labeled Custom LCD Outside Temp. Display

Hi John;

You setup the URL tag a bit backwards. You need to put the URL after the equals sign, and then put the text that you want the link to show as between the open and closed side of the tags.

Anyway, I think this is what you wanted people to see: JC Whitney

Good find btw!

I'm an idiot. I was reading all the information on this and the linked pages and then I remembered that I have this ability with the auto temp controls. I was actually looking at where to order one from :bang:

Hey guys-

Just curious, but how would you go about hard-wiring one of these thermometers? I'm really thinking about getting one, but was just wondering how to hard-wire it so it didn't need battery power to run.

Also, was the sensor wire long enough to run outside of the vehicle all the way to the front bumper, or did you need to extend it? Thanks for all of the info-

CTB

Bump

You have to experiment with different wattage resistors and measure the output of the unit with the batteries in to detemine what wattage resistor to be used. Each unit is a little different, so it can take a while.

More info on the link I provided above.

Uh oh...that is getting a little far beyond my electrical expertise. Maybe a new battery every year or so isn't such a big deal after all! As little of a mod as this is, I'm actually pretty excited about it.

For those of you who have done this - where exactly did you mount the outside sensor to the front bumper?

CTB,

JC Whitney has a couple that are 12 volt, haven't decided which one I want. I would love to see other sources/choices. I think most external sensors are mounted behind the license plate? It doesn't matter much, though, could go in the fender, in the intake (it would read low if there was a lot of water in the air...)...

Jason, what unit did you use? Did you hack it out of the case, or just mount case and all behind the panel?

Anyone tried to mount a ceiling console out of a 4-runner into a late-model tacoma? Same body, right? Just a matter of mounting lugs? Would love to have mine up there...anyone good with headliners?

John

Hey furthur,

I think I may try this one out from JC Whitney:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml;$sessionid$PW1X0YYAAAHAAQSNDV1CFFCCJUOXKIV0?CATID= 4821&BQ=jcw2

That company has NOTHING to do with RadioShack (which whom I work for) They just happen to sell simmilar products and have simmilar initials.


Just thought I'd clear that up :)



RadioShack is in England as well, here is their site


http://www.radioshack.co.uk/

:nerd:

Alright, just wanted to try this one more time....have any of y'all had any experience with this indoor/outdoor thermometer from JC Whitney?


Thermometer

I really like the on that kerrs posted here , but it only seems to be available overseas.

Anyway, if y'all have any feedback, it would be really appreciated. Thanks fellas-

CTB

I have the same one as Jason B, I tried to hard wire it and blew the display on two of them.. I want to buy one that is hard wired, because I am sick of playing around with the resistors!
http://webpost.net/sl/SLCPunkIII/Jan31_Interiorcopy.jpg

Donnelly / CIPA
 

Here's my vote :)

Is that in your rig Peter? I take it that's just a wrapper on a stock mirror and not a whole new mirror?

"Gotta' Link" (or a product name)?

Re: Donnelly / CIPA
 

But aren't those Donnelly mirrors pretty darn expensive? I really like the $15 idea from JC Whitney! :D

Re: Re: Donnelly / CIPA
 

Yeah, you've got me there ... about $250.00:pat:

Re: Re: Donnelly / CIPA
 

You might want to look locally for that thermometer at maybe Target, Venture, chain parts stores, Sears, etc.

I've just about ordered this a number of times in the last couple of days, but JCW wants $10 shipping, 1/2 the price of the item! So, I started looking for other things on the site that "I absolutely must have". When I got over $100 I realized that I was spending money I didn't really need to. :)

So, I'm gonna try a couple of the larger misc stores here tomorrow, and the autoparts stores along the way. I figure that if I can find it within about 20 miles of driving, then I've done better than paying the "shipping" charge. I'm not including any charge-backs to the time spent in looking.

Re: Re: Re: Donnelly / CIPA
 

Eeeek! Okay, I was hoping that someone actually came out with a flexible wrapper for a stock mirror.

Hmmm.. now there's an idea... :)

I just took some velcro and slapped half on the remote unit and the other half on the back of the plate. It fit perfectly in the recess between the plate and the airdam on my 97. Dunno if it'll fit as well on other generation runners or pickups. I actually had to remove it and replace the batterys this morning. Thats what I get for mentioning that I hadn't had any problems with it yet. :pat: Oh well, it was an easy fix.

If a few of you want the thermometers I could find out some more detials and get some sent over.

Let me know.

I'll post some pics of mt install soon.

Regards

Kerr

Kerr,

I sent you a PM.

Here are the two models available :-

http://www.helpfulhirings.co.uk/pics/thermo-1.jpg

http://www.helpfulhirings.co.uk/pics/thermo-2.jpg

Prices are in £ sterling and exclude VAT (17.5%)

Postage should be about £4 - £5

If you go to the RS website they might be able to send them direct to you.

hope this helps. I'll take a picture of my install later

Regards

Kerr

Thanks for the info Kerr. I think I would probably go with the one on the top - it looks just right. I look forward to seeing your install pictures later.

Re: Re: Re: Donnelly / CIPA
 

Hey Mark,

I just sent you an email about 15 minutes ago.