I have seen bits and pieces of info on this, and asked for advice from John at Union Jack 4x4 for the temp (180 degree thermostat installed, he says set alarm at 215). What about other alarms? I have ordered my Ultra Gauge, and I'd like to hear from other users, and get it set up properly for my cross country trip.

Thanks! I'll take break from posting for a while now. Have a good weekend!

 

That's the only alarm I can think of wanting to be warned with. As far as I know, it doesn't do oil pressure. I can maybe see a low voltage alarm being useful in case of an alternator failure. At the moment I don't use any alarms, but my Discovery loses no coolant (it's not cracked behind the liners, the liners aren't slipped, and it had new head gaskets about 25K ago), has a new water pump, has a new fan clutch, and has a free-flowing, un-corroded, factory brass radiator.

The main issue with my Ultra Gauge is it often doesn't turn on automatically when I start the car. I have to pull the cable at the OBD-II connector and re-connect it, then it turns on. That's a pity because it means I often don't remember to do it, and then it's not on.

EDIT: it looks like I can either lower the "Bat High Threshold" battery voltage parameter, or select Power On Detect Mode 1 instead of Mode 2. It looks like they set Mode 2 for greatest compatibility even though the manual suggests Mode 1 is more likely to be preferred.

I will also add that while I haven't found the alarms on the following parameters particularly useful, the Ultra Gauge has been useful for diagnosing engine trouble codes, O2 sensor output, throttle position sensor data, MAF sensor data, and while engine coolant temperature is the most useful, I also use intake air temperature and ambient temperature and voltage.

 

The key data fields for me are:

1. Coolant temp (alarm set at 220-deg for my 180-deg thermostat)
2. Voltage (alarm set at 12 volt minimum)
3. Miles since last oil change
4. Speed in kph (since I drive a US truck in Canada)

 

 

+ an alarm for metrics affected by any recent repairs

 

 

Noted. The wife will need the alarms.