Electric fan install help.
Water temp "sensor"
Water temp sending unit
If you noticed they look exactly the same, you would be correct. Both measure temperature the exact same way. They receive a voltage input, put it across a material whose resistance changes with temperature, and output a voltage. The only difference between a "sending unit" and a "sensor" is that one is connected to an ECU, the other is connected to a gauge. The ECU tends to be more accurate because it can monitor the input voltage and make corrections based on its programming, while the gauge calibration just assumes you're sending the right voltage to the sender. But the hunk of metal sitting in the water jacket is pretty much the same.
So, if you hook a sending unit to an ECU (like the Dakota Digital controller), it works the same way a sensor does. The controller performs the computation on the return voltage. Which is why the temperature that my Dakota Digital controller displays doesn't always match the temperature shown by my cheap autometer temp gauge. The temp gauge has an error that increases as the temp climbs because it's calibration isn't perfect. The controller doesn't have that problem, and reads more accurately. They both work off of the same sending unit on my car.
I'm not knocking the other controller, but the temp sensor it supplies isn't some kind of magic. It's exactly the same thing as a sending unit. And in the case of the Entropy controller and the Dakota digital controller, neither are hooked to a full ECU, the controller is doing the computations. Same thing, different package.
Water temp "sensor"
Water temp sending unit
If you noticed they look exactly the same, you would be correct. Both measure temperature the exact same way. They receive a voltage input, put it across a material whose resistance changes with temperature, and output a voltage. The only difference between a "sending unit" and a "sensor" is that one is connected to an ECU, the other is connected to a gauge. The ECU tends to be more accurate because it can monitor the input voltage and make corrections based on its programming, while the gauge calibration just assumes you're sending the right voltage to the sender. But the hunk of metal sitting in the water jacket is pretty much the same.
So, if you hook a sending unit to an ECU (like the Dakota Digital controller), it works the same way a sensor does. The controller performs the computation on the return voltage. Which is why the temperature that my Dakota Digital controller displays doesn't always match the temperature shown by my cheap autometer temp gauge. The temp gauge has an error that increases as the temp climbs because it's calibration isn't perfect. The controller doesn't have that problem, and reads more accurately. They both work off of the same sending unit on my car.
I'm not knocking the other controller, but the temp sensor it supplies isn't some kind of magic. It's exactly the same thing as a sending unit. And in the case of the Entropy controller and the Dakota digital controller, neither are hooked to a full ECU, the controller is doing the computations. Same thing, different package.
