A thermometer on the C1

When travelling by car, I got used to knowing the outside temperature… Now that I travel “outside”, I’m even more curious!

No sooner said than done!

Materials required

• An indoor/outdoor thermometer.
• The Torx key from the standard tool kit.

Back to the usual supermarket and accessories aisle: I found an illuminated indoor/outdoor thermometer (they were all that type) for just €7.70 (Fig. 1). There was another powered by 12V, but it cost over €20… No, this one will do! Now I had to work out how to get the outdoor sensor “outside”! I started by placing the thermometer on the front roof cross-member using the supplied self-adhesive Velcro pads (Fig. 2 — circled in blue), so that the display was clearly visible from the riding position. Then I used the C1’s Torx key to remove the trim piece (Fig. 2 — red arrows).

I almost drilled a hole for the wire (Fig. 2 — green arrow and mark), but decided that running it along the outside wasn’t too obtrusive. Incidentally, my C1 was already missing its Torx screw caps: I had lost them on the road! A couple of times I’d noticed something black falling from above, but assumed they were insects… until I made this modification! I continued dismantling, removing the caps and screws from the left-hand trim (still inside the roof — Fig. 3 — green arrows), so I could route the wire along the pillar and around the rear spoiler’s side mounting (Fig. 3 — red arrow).

As the mounting is rubber, the wire can pass beneath it (Fig. 4) and emerge outside, allowing the sensor to be stuck in a secure position on the roof (Fig. 5). Reassemble everything, stowing the wire in an elongated coil inside the cabin trim, and there you have it (Fig. 6). Interestingly, even though the cabin is not fully enclosed, I have noticed an inside/outside difference of up to 2 degrees in cold weather. The engine’s cooling system probably warms us up. We’ll see next summer…