BX1500 and temperature gauge

[nessmuk53]

Over the past month we have had a few hot days here in central Virginia. It occurred to me while working the 1500 on one of these days that in the 4 years I have owned this little tractor I have never seen the temperature gauge do more than budge slightly "off the pin".

I checked under the dash and all wires seem to be connected. Not sure where the sensor is on the engine and it is hard to see as thight as things are in there.

Is this typical of the small 2 cylinder engines? Is the mass just so small that it doesn't take much to cool them? Defective gauge or sensor (If so it has been bad since day 1)?

I have never had a bit of trouble with it and am simply curious.

 

[coveredbridge]

The temp gauge on my bx1500 will rise to about 1/3 to 1/2 way up the dial when operating in really warm weather.

 

[scotty088]

Where your upper radiator hose connects to engine there should be a screw in fitting with a wire connected.This is your coolant temp sensor.It senses coolant temp and sends data to the gauge.These engines usually run fairly cool however if your Radiator precleaner screen get plugged up it will decrease airflow and cause coolant temp.to rise.As long as you Have coolant in your surge tank and see some movement of your gauge you should be ok.It is VERY IMPORTANT to make sure your precleaner screen and your radiator are not plugged up with dirt and debris.I generally take my gas leaf blower and blow everything off real good after each use.Including under the hood.On a hot day while running my BX 2230 hard my gauge will reach the halfway mark on my gauge. Normally it hangs around the 1/4 mark.....Hope This Helps,
Scotty

 

[Ron D.]

I do not have a BX, but my L2600 barely moves off the cold peg, even in the hot Texas summer. My tractor only had 201 hrs on it when I bought this March, and I haven't used it that much or work it very hard (213 hrs now). Usually just use the loader to move stuff around and load my trailer with compost/mulch for my ongoing large yard rennovation.

I've read where they typically run very cool unless the screen/radiator get dirty.

 

[BXRICK]

My BX1500's temp gauge essentially never moves either.
I have seen it move up a lot, twice I think, when the intake screen got clogged up on a hot day.
And, I know it shot up in a hurry when, very early in its life, the fan belt jumped the pulley.
So, I'm pretty sure it works.
But other than that, it reads pretty much the same, with the key on or off.
It's possible, I suppose, that the scale used by the gauge doesn't match that of the sending unit well, so the resoltution of the meter is very good.

 

[nessmuk53]

Well since my screen and radiator are clean as a whistle I guess I will not worry. If you guys are seeing the same thing on other tractors I feel it falls within the "normal" range of things. It did seem to me that the cooling system was pretty robust for a small engine. Thanks for the input.