Pivot fan controller temp sensor

[Rittmeister]

My Pivot fan controller came with a temp sender. You could use it for water or oil. I'm using the factory sensor for water and put the sensor in the oil pan, to have a dual readout.

Anyway, the sender appears to have failed. Does anyone know where to get a replacement? There's a picture here:

Pivot Fan Controller with Water Temperature (http://www.intakeone.com/Pivot/Piv_FCG.html)

It's a two-wire sensor, and uses a 1/8 NPT port.

My only other thought is that it might have grounded out through the pan - I didn't wrap it in teflon the last time I took it out and re-installed. I don't know how these sensors work or if it needs to be insulated. I know my wiring is OK.

Any help appreciated.

[Brian]

Looks like the same one GReddy uses (as well as Yashio Factory for that matter)

[Rittmeister]

And who might sell a replacement? I'm not sure the Pivot controller is even still on the market, and I've been searching for a Pivot website without much success...

[Brian]

I would call GReddy and ask them.

Or if you want, call Yashio Factory.

[GSXRJJordan]

Shouldn't matter if it "grounded out" through the oil pan. Check the resistance between the two wires, if it's open (inf resistance) or zero the sensor's broken, if not, it's probably good.

[Rittmeister]

Well, I emailed Pivot, and got an email back from "McWell Ventures Pte Ltd", stating that they wouldn't sell me a new temp sensor and I'd have to buy a whole new unit. This is interesting, because I though I'd heard that the Pivot controller was discontinued.

Any other help would be appreciated.

[Brian]

did you call GReddy?

[Dousan_PG]

yea look like a defi/greddy/yashio type thing
pretty standard looking sensor
i wouldnt be surprised if any autometer unit worked too

[Rittmeister]

I looked at Auto Meter but they're all single-wire. I don't know enough about this to figure out how to make that work, if I'm honest.

Brian, I assume you mean Greddy USA? I'll give it a try.

[GSXRJJordan]

Single-wire grounds around the threads - if you're using this for an oil temp sensor, use a ring terminal on a oil pan bolt for the ground wire. That's almost certainly the cheapest fix.

[Rittmeister]

I'm a bit confused. I admit that I don't know how this kind of temp sensor works; are you telling me I could pretty much use any sensor, as long as it matches the temp range (which I'll have to try to find out)? I wouldn't have thought they were that generic.

[Rittmeister]

I've been reading up on thermistor curves as relates to these sensors. It seems they're not all created equal, so I'm not sure I can use just anything.

I'm going to try to get in touch with Greddy, see if theirs is the same. I did check the resistance on mine, it's coming back infinite, so I assume it's toast :(

[3AM]

if you can use the sender for either water or oil... and if the factory one works for water.. wouldnt that mean you could use a factor water sensor for oil also?

[Rittmeister]

Bringing this back up. I've been in touch with Greddy, who haven't gotten back to me to verify if the sensor's the same. I've sent several emails to Pivot, with no response.

Just trying one last time here to see if anyone has any info. I'm tempted to buy the Greddy sensor to see if it works, but I have to cut the plug off it to wire it in so if it doesn't work I'm out the cost of the sensor.

It's either that, or ditch the Pivot altogether, use my PFC Commander for water temp, get a new oil temp gauge (and figure out where the hell to put it), and get a Dif fan controller. Lots more money and work :(

[anotherblusi]

Ditch the pivot and buy my HKS fan controller... :D

[Rittmeister]

I would, but the HKS is also discontinued, and I don't want to move from one orphaned unit to another.

Anyone?

[anotherblusi]

well at least HKS is still owned by HKS... And as long as they keep making gauges, temp sensors will be plentiful

[Rittmeister]

Will the HKS read multiple sensors? My Pivot reads water temp from the factory sender, and oil temp from the supplied sender. You can even set the display to alternate between the two, and monitor both at once.

[anotherblusi]

The HKS Fan Controller has been developed to control factory or aftermarket electronic cooling fans. This unit can control one fan at two speeds or two fans at one speed, and can set the fan(s) to turn on or off at preset temperatures. The back-lit digital display provides real time water temperature (in Celsius or Fahrenheit) using the factory water temperature sensor. A peak hold function memorizes and displays the max temperature value.

The Fan Controller also features a water temperature warning function. If the preset temperature is exceeded the Fan Controller will make an audible alert and the back-lit digital display will blink. The rate of the blinking tells the user if the water temperature is raising or falling. On selected turbocharged vehicles the Fan Controller can also control the intercooler water spray function.

[anotherblusi]

I've compared and installed a lot of fan controllers, HKS, Pivot, dif, spal, etc... I chose the HKS because of its dual fan control (one at lower temp, one at higher temp), use of both factory and hks temp sensor, digital temp display, and warning feature.

pivot is similar, but I trust hks electronics more, especially since they are still around...

The dif controller is the cheapest controller out there, but you get what you pay for. Cheapy dials for temp control (a few degrees inaccurate btw), no temp display, single speed fan control. does not shut fans off with ignition. Basically a bare bones fan controller.

The spal unit is a few steps above the dif controller. Dual fan low and high settings, as well as variable fan speed(ramps fan speed from 50%-100% as temp increases). Error Diagnostics(Basically a safety measure so that a malfunctioning fan can't fry the controller) Uses stock temp sensor or aftermarket. The only real downside is that in order to setup the unit to use the factory temp sensor, you must have some type of water temp gauge.

I am only selling the hks unit, because I am going to be running an AEM EMS, which has extra outputs to control electric fans...