wolfmanii

I am in Florida, so my typical offroad trip is like 3-4 hours playing in wet and muddy area
with other jeepers. During this trip, there will be several break time so people can chat, eat and drink.

It is a wet environment, I prefer to leave my engine running at the break time because
I am afraid that it will not start if I turn the engine off. Some friends do the same, but others
shut down their engine because they do not want the engine overheat (it is hot in Florida).

My JK is pretty new and I never saw the temperature reading beyond 1/2 of the full scale,
but other old jeeps can easily reach that point when stopped idling for more than 5 minutes.

So what is your recommendation at this situation

Also, same question for other enviroment

cold weather, wet muddy terrain

hot weather, rocky terrain
cold weather, rocky terrain

MOPWR2U

Cold weather (below zero F): keep it running
Everything else: shut it off

genesbro

If you have just been through deep water that could have gotten into or onto things that would be better off dry then leave it running to dry it off. Otherwise if you are going to be stopped for over a minute when it is hot then it would be best to shut it off and open the hood to let it cool down while you are taking a break let it breath.

Marauderer

In addition to what G said you can crack the hood to let the moisture out unless you have one of those million dollar heat reduction hoods on your Jeep.

sixty5vdub

x2 on what has been posted. If you go through water or mud, let it run. If it is dry and hot, and your stop is more than a minute or two, shut it off.

Also, the stock temp gauge is useless. It will show at the halfway mark, regardless of the actual temp. Maybe it will peg out when it really overheats, but mine never moved once it got warmed up and got to the halfway mark. Regardless of engine or outside temp.
An aftermarket gauge, or a Flashpaq, will give you accurate temp readings.


Anthony

EzK

Does the flashpaq show a variation? A properly working coolng system should be able to maintain a fairly(+\- 10*)steady operating temp despite outside conditions.

sixty5vdub

Yes, the Flashpaq has a digital readout of real-time temp. So, you can see it fluctuate with the rise/fall in temps. You can see the temp rise on a hot day, with the engine warmed up, and the stock gauge never moves. When the fan kicks in, you can see the temp drop on the Flashpaq, yet the needle on the stock gauge still just sits in the same spot.
It also has the ability to show several other readouts at the same time. Intake air temp, and a few others I can't think of right now.......... Only thing is, it has to stay plugged in to the OBDII port, and you have to find a place to keep it in your sight. Not an easy feat with the dash of a Jeep.

I don't have experience with other tuners out there (Diablo, Aeroforce), so can't comment on them as far as what they display.