What’s In An Instrument Panel?

Most of us drive every day, but do not pay close attention to the gauges in our car. We all look at the speedometer in an attempt not to get pulled over, but sometimes even that is not enough to prevent a pretty pink ticket.

We should be paying more attention to some of the other gauges in our cars for very good reason. The reason is simple. They are there to alert us to the condition of the car as we drive down the road. The cars gauges can be our warning that something is wrong with the car before everything breaks.

With that said, most of us do not have much more in the way of gauges than a speedometer and gas gauge, which are the only ones most of us pay any attention to. Today’s cars typically have warning lights rather than gauges. When auto makers discovered that we were not paying attention to all of the gauges, they decided to do something that would get our attention. Warning lights replaced the traditional gauges and have been our warning when there was a problem, rather than gauges with a dial and numbers.

If you’re lucky enough and have a car that still has gauges, you should pay attention to them. The water temperature gauge is there so that you know when things are heating up. This way, you can make sure that the car is not getting too hot. A car overheating is a particular problem in the heat of the summer time. The average street car normally operates between 200-210 degrees Fahrenheit. If you see the water temperature creeping above that, you should pay close attention and stop the vehicle if it continues to climb, otherwise you will be on the side of the road with a bunch of steam coming out and you could possibly ruin some major parts of your car’s engine.

The oil pressure gauge is another gauge found in an instrument cluster. This gauge reads the pressure (or force) of the oil through the engine. This is important to know, because a loss of oil pressure usually means some big problems are imminent if you continue to drive the car. This loss of pressure, whatever the cause, means that the parts of the engine that need lubricating while running are likely not getting it. If you do not stop the car and turn it off, then you can break something inside and that can be real expensive to fix or replace.

RPM’s on the dash are in a gauge called a tachometer. RPM’s tell you the revolutions per minute that the crank of the engine is turning. This is important to know because the higher the RPM’s, the faster everything is turning. The faster the parts turn, the tougher it is for them to be lubricated enough to counteract the heat generated in the motion. That, in turn, can mean a broken engine or at very minimum, one that does not last for long. Street cars and trucks generally run between 2000-3000 RPM’s while driving down the road, and even less when they are idling in the driveway. For some reference point, compare that to a NASCAR race car, which runs around 8000-9000 RPM’s and Indy cars, which run between 12,000-13,000 RPM’s.

The oil temperature gauge is less common, even in cars that have lots of gauges. However, if you have one it is good to understand it. While oil pressure and water temperature are more important, oil temperature can also signal a potential problem. When the oil gets too hot in the engine, it breaks down and loses its ability to lubricate properly. The lubrication in the engine is crucial to the internal, moving parts. When those parts do not have sufficient lubrication, they heat up beyond the capacity of the part and break, destroying the engine. Most cars that have gauges still do not have an oil temperature gauge, but if they do pay attention to it.

If your car has gauges, you should learn what they each mean and why that is important to you. Pay attention to them to prolong the life of your car. However, most cars today have warning lights in place of gauges. It has been my experience that warning lights in your cars instrument panel usually comes on too late. If you have warning lights instead of gauges in your cart, understand that when a light comes on in your dash, you are already well into a problem and you should park the car very soon and have it looked at by your mechanic.