subject: Auto Thermometer - Do You Have To Have One And Just How Hard Are These Devices To Set Up? [print this page] Auto Thermometer - Do You Have To Have One And Just How Hard Are These Devices To Set Up?
Was your car equipped with an auto thermometer? Vehicles these days are now built with factory installed ones. This certainly helps knowing the actual temperature outside your vehicle. If your car did not come with one, it is not to late to easily put one in.
Last summer all of us drove from Los Angeles to Palm Springs. The actual trip was around 125 miles or around 2 hours on the road without traffic. As we left Los Angeles, I checked the factory installed auto thermometer to get the outside temperature. It was in the mid 80's given that it was about 10 o'clock in the evening. I kept an eye on the temperature as we drove through Pasadena, Montclair, and Ontario as it still remained in the mid 80's. When we came to Yucaipa and began driving up the mountain, the temperature started going down in the low 80's. When we drove down the mountain into Banning, the temperature began going up quickly. It was now returning to mid 80's, then low 90's. At Cabezon, it was mid 90's and still going up. When we approached Palm Springs, it was at 97, 98, 99, and then 100 degrees. We drove into Palm Springs around midnight and it was still 100 degrees outside. All this was made possible with our auto thermometer.
That was fun monitoring the change in temperature as we had gone from one area to another. However an auto thermometer can be a safety feature if you live in a cool climate. Unfortunately, any time the temperature drops down around freezing, ice can easily form on the roads. This is certainly an unsafe driving condition and knowing the outside temperature can help you to drive more carefully to prevent a major accident.
If your vehicle does not have a factory installed auto thermometer, you really do not need to worry. There are quite a few available models that you can purchase to easily install yourself. Some sit on the dashboard and connect into the cigarette lighter. Some stick to your dash and use batteries. The most accurate ones work with an external sensor that sits inside your door jam. Don't worry, the external sensor is very easy to set up.
