Prep to Overland across west africa

Hey guys, I work for a company providing solar home system on credit to rural people across west africa - currently are evaluating our next market so I am jumping at this opportunity to get my Landy on the road ! I will be crossing from Ghana to a few of the other countries around west africa (skipping the war zones of Burkina and Mali), finishing the trip in Senegal - about 4000km.

Now need to get going with the prep.

The first thing I wanted to check with you guys is whether the standard water temperature gauge (is water temp the same as coolant temp???) and the warning oil pressure idiot light are sufficient/reliable or should get myself an EMS kit like the Madman one which would give me:

1- Oil pressure

2- Oil/transfer case temperature

3 - Coolant temp

4 - Coolant level

5 - EGT --> which I wouldn't fit as the 200TDI doesn't have the EGR plate and I am not comfortable in drilling the manifold here in GH

6 - Battery voltage



Everyone I asked is telling me to go with the EMS2 by Madman, I trust this being an ideal solution, my question is not whether that's a good piece of kit or not, but rather whether it's something I'd need or the standard set-up would be sufficient since point 5 is not fitted, point 6 is not going to make a world of difference, 1 and 3 should be sorted with the standard set-up, so the only real benefit I see (provided that indeed 1 and 3 are reliable from the standard set-up) is on point 2 (not very useful as the oil temp should always be around 5 degrees above the coolant temp) and 4 --> would this justify getting such a piece of kit worth about 300 quids?

Mind that my Landy is standard (no mechanical mods/upgrades ) though it has a 200 TDI despite it being a 3 axle Defender (the previous owner changed the 3.5 V8) so I'd think that it'd be a bit heavy to pull for this smaller engine - but I am no mechanic

Thanks so much for all your guys feedback,

Simone

The Madman EMS2 is a good bit of kit.

In your case I would suggest talking direct to Brian Cotton of Madman in South Africa. He will have a much clearer understanding of the conditions in Africa.

EGT probe and being unhappy about drilling the manifold? Not an ideal solution but with some K type thermocouple wire use a jubilee clip and clamped down as close to the manifold as possible. Hat you are interested in is change in temperature and not the exact temperature. Do plenty of runs and if the ,EGT’ sits consistently at say 250-260 C then it will be changes away from this temperature that would be of interest.

HTH

Brendan

Coolant level and temperature are important along with oil pressure and temperature.

Once in Australia the coolant temperature alarm went off as we had a small hole in radiator. We were lucky as we were in town so got it fixed before we went into the desert. So yes an important bit of kit


Brendan

From our experience in hot places, a coolant alarm is good insurance. The oil pressure sensor doesn't kick in until you've lost it all, so a pressure gauge will warn you of an impending problem and an oil temp gauge might be an advance warning of that. A turbo gauge will warn you of boost pressure problems (although you'll probably notice them before you look at the gauge) and EGT will suggest you back off the gas if you hit 700 degrees. Battery volts...a cheap monitor from Aldi will sort that with no wiring-in.
The above is based on a 300Tdi, but I'd guess there's little difference?

Thanks @Brendan for the tip- very interesting idea for measuring the EGT temperature without needing to drill the manifold - So i'd then connect the K type thermocouple wire ( like this one -->link) to the MadMan EMS?
I am in touch with Brian at madman - he can't really comment on Ghana, where the Landy is at the moment... he actually recommended to wait for the EMS3 to come around in a couple of months as:
'the input power section is much tougher - mainly done for extreme cases of jump starting or bad battery practice on trucks and industrial machines. The screen is higher resolution and brighter, so the EMS3 is the same or better'

Making a good thermocouple can be difficult. We used to spotweld the ends of the two wires together for best results. Just twisting ends of the wires together could produce erratic results. Soft solder could be used but potential problem there is it’s melting point of about 180C.

Using a thermal paste helps thermal conductivity.

Will not be measuring the exact EGT but an effect of it. As long as it is relatively stable temperatures being measured then you can set the alarm level as appropriate. Simple way of calibrate is iced water at 0C and boiling water at 100C

I am unsure when the EMS3 will be available, it has been a long time coming. However good things come to those who wait.

What I would suggest is you decide on your leaving date then decide how close to that date you can leave installing the EMS. Just remember the closer you get to the departure date the faster time goes by fitting in all those last minute preparations.

Brendan

leeds said:

Making a good thermocouple can be difficult. We used to spotweld the ends of the two wires together for best results. Just twisting ends of the wires together could produce erratic results. Soft solder could be used but potential problem there is it’s melting point of about 180C.

Using a thermal paste helps thermal conductivity.

Will not be measuring the exact EGT but an effect of it. As long as it is relatively stable temperatures being measured then you can set the alarm level as appropriate. Simple way of calibrate is iced water at 0C and boiling water at 100C

I am unsure when the EMS3 will be available, it has been a long time coming. However good things come to those who wait.

What I would suggest is you decide on your leaving date then decide how close to that date you can leave installing the EMS. Just remember the closer you get to the departure date the faster time goes by fitting in all those last minute preparations.

Brendan

Click to expand...

Thanks Brendan - yeah I have also been watching their posts on facebook and it's a long time that is almost time for the EMS3 to be out - honestly i'd just get the EMS2 with all the sensors but the EGT one since my Landy is standard (nothing upgraded) I wouldn't expect the EGT to go crazy high - safe assumption? your idea is very neat but I doubt I can replicate with the tools we have here..

So that I could use the car a big prior to the trip and see whether here in GH I can get the EMS properly installed since I saw that finding the good earth/settings/etc can be a bit of a pain... rather than waiting for the ems3 and get going on the trip immediately after in a rush with may be the wrong set-up that would be hard for me to change on the way (I have no understanding whatsoever of eletrics)..