for the last three years of having this 300SDL,

starting with adjusting,and keeping an eye on the turbo,with a booster gage,

A year later got stuck with a dead alternator, 9 P.M 4000 feet high,(for me).

No warning light, spare voltage regulator did not help,

Battery pack saved the day,and a motel 2 miles away,


For three years driving with flares in the transmission,

So checking around, finding cracked vacuum line, and a bad VCV,

Changed VCV, adjusted,the transmission changes gears very smoothly,

so three funky gages on top of the dash,and electric fun switch,

Bought a project box, and while my wife had a business meeting,

made the wholes in the box, and here is the picture,

Attached Thumbnails

 

Nope, you're not the only one. I wanted to monitor various temps and pressures so added gauges for these functions.

My strategy was to capture the data using an Arduino microprocessor and transmit the data to a tablet across bluetooth. The current iteration has the tablet mounted in the steering wheel. I monitor oil, intake, transmission and engine bay temps as well as turbine inlet temp (EGT) and boost and vacuum pressure. I have a library of six different screens to present the data.



Since I'm using a tablet for display, I can also use it for navigation using stand-alone Android GPS apps.

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

Did you turned the 380SL into Diesel?

Yes - 380SL Diesel Conversion Project

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

Mach4:

How much battery life do you get out of your tablet? It would seem to be a PITA to charge it from the cig ligher on the steering wheel...

Dkr.

It's charged anytime the car is running. There is power inside the steering wheel that services the horn. I tapped into this to power a reconfigured USB charger which sits behind the horn pad. The tablet is attached to the horn pad with a ceramic magnet so it can be easily removed if desired when parked with the top down.

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

I hogged out my ash tray and installed a set. Oil pressure, boost and EGT. W210's don't have an oil pressure gauge for some reason.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Next gage EGT, and maybe transmission Temp gage,

Thank you very much for sharing,

All I have for now is the VDO boost gauge, matching EGT gauge is waiting for me to swap manifolds for a EGR less one from a W116. Not concerned with the trans temp, as a stick shift is replacing it this month.

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1981 300TD 4 speed manual
Euro bumpers, zender valance and skirts, H&R springs, billy HD's, leveled sls, real AMG Pentas 16x8 et11, vdo boost/egt gauges intergrated into ash tray, eurolights, led 3rd brake light

I added the economy gauge from a 190E to my 190DT. Not so easy, but a very nice result. Since it's a general purpose pressure gauge, it can be plumbed to measure VCV vacuum, EGR vacuum, tranmission modulator vacuum, or boost. I keep it plumbed to the VCV, which mimics the manifold vacuum on a gas car.

Attached Thumbnails

 

When I put the 617 engine into my 380SL, it already had the "economy" gauge in the cluster. Originally, I hooked it up to the main vacuum line as an early warning for pump failure but later re calibrated it (by adjusting the needle) to read boost and adding tick marks for each psi.

Just a suggestion for those using a boost gauge that also shows vacuum, it would be a very simple thing to add a switchover valve and a switch to monitor two pressures. It could be set for boost normally, but pressing the switch would read any vacuum source desired (VCV, Vac pump, Trans modulator, EGR or for real-time troubleshooting, locks or climate).

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

When I removed ALDA and added a manual boost controller, I added a digital boost gauge, mounted high like a radar detector near mirror.

Follow that story 87 300D had great power, today it's gone

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Cheers!
Scott McPhee

1987 300D

I have boost and EGT, been thinking about adding vaccum, volt meter, and maybe intake manifold temp or some along those lines

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1982 300D Turbodiesel, daily driver. Mods so far: Fram 8038 paper filter, 4 brake light mod, Gen II w126 (front) rotors/calipers, boost turned up to 12lbs, non-egr manifolds, water/methanol injection, 4-speed manual
1980 300SD Turbodiesel, project car, nearly ready to hit the street

1974 240D, New paint

I cannot fathom why they removed it in the W210s. It's not like there isn't any room in the stock cluster, they are only using 2 of the 4 quadrants on the left. The system does not monitor oil pressure at all, and to me that is a glaring oversight. The filter stand still has the port, it's just filled with a plug. So a 124 sensor should screw right in.

Another project for the when I get a round tuit. And not chasing break-fixes on the 124 wagon.

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Agreed. My aftermarket VDO oil pressure gauge has something like a 1/8" NPT but the fitting on the oil filter housing is a 12mm o-ring as I remember it.

I just bought a little adapter for a couple bucks.

This one: http://www.egauges.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=R7962

I actually dislike this fitting because there's no metal seat. It depends on the pressure on the o-ring to stop the piece from screwing in. Typically o-ring fittings deform the o-ring slightly and then come to rest and tighten against the metal seat. For this reason, I'm keeping an eye out for a better design. I'd rather the fitting not come loose obviously. At a minimum, I'm going to safety wire the sensor so it can't turn.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250