[axaviere]

looking at gauges. what all do you have one for?

ok i have seen voltmeters and ammeters, whats up with that? oil pressure, oil temp, water temp, tranny temp and vacuum. then theres mechanical and electric/electronic and even liquid filled. they come in all sizes between like 1.5" and 2 5/8" and range from cheap to a big chunk of change. sun pro seems affordable. i have three in my truck now but only one is hooked up. its the battery one. i dont know if its volts or ams... what so you all have and why do you think each is important? like oil pressure and temp? or ammeter and voltmeter? i have a huge cooler so i dont know if i need a temp number really, but it would be nice. post up, show pics. come on Ryan, lets see more of that dash. AXE

 

[Chris85xlt]

i have a trans temp, water temp and a voltimeter all from autometer and are mechanical. the reason i have a voltimeter is so i could check the if my alt is still working and the condition of my battery. i heard around 10.5 volts the EFI would fail :shrug

 

[Leonard]

got an oil pressure, water temp, and volt meter. all mechanical. the oil press. good to see the difference from switching filters does.

 

[Stokes]

Mechanical oil press and water temp, i got the water temp becasue my guage never worked right and the oil press becasue i like to know exactly where i am at with the engines lube. i plan on getting a trans temp gauge soon.

 

[Blaze]

I don't have any yet, I'm still in the build up stages of my trailrig, but I've been researching and I think I'm gonna go with Autometer (all mech) oil pressure, trans temp, water temp, volts :thumbup

 

[Fireguy50]

Amp meters suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
for an amp meter to wrk and be correct ALL the curent from the vehicle needs to flow threw it :shocked
So if you got a crapy stock 80's truck you might have one cause the truck doesn't need much.
I have a 160Amp 3G Alt and I can max it out if I try. I would need a 200Amp gauge, which is $$$$$$, and a fire hazard
So volt gauges are the way to go :thumbup

Speedo
Engine Tach
Temp
Oil PSI
Volts
Gas level
Trans temp

IF you think you need any other guage than those, and you can't think of a reason to, YOU DON'T NEED IT! I could see a boost and fuel pressure for the blower owners. vacuum, whats the point tune the truck once and your done. fuel ratio guages are for people that can't afford good tuning equiptment but are worried :banghead

 

[seboh]

My choices would go like this:

trans temp
vacuum
digital volts (to .1V)
maybe a/f

Then start duplicating gauges in the cluster, starting with oil psi and then coolant temp.

In other words, start off with stuff you don't already have, but is likely to provide useful information in case of breakage.

A vac gauge is the single most useful in the bunch. Just about any engine problem from leaky valves to clogged cats is immediately diagnosed with a vac gauge... and if you have one and you're used to looking at it while the truck is running, it'll often give you a head start on any potential problem.

The A/F gauge is okay... it does come in handy when you're trying to figure out WTF the ECM is doing.... or just to verify that it *is* doing what it's supposed to. Oddly, (because it's lit up??) I notice it first when something is wrong... every time the truck has ever gotten hot, I notice first because the ECM pushed the mix full rich. Maybe not necessary, but useful if you want one.

Don't spend money on liquid filled, you don't need them. Spend the extra on electric if you're worried about hot fluids leaking in the vehicle, get mechanical if you're cheap and are willing to take the time to route the hoses carefully.

 

[94 XLT BRONCO]

I have Oil Pressure and Water temp on A pillar pod.

 

[79broncn]

Oil Pressure and Engine Temperature.
Mechanical Autometer Gauges.

I have thought about installing a transmission temperature
gauge, but unfortunately like so many things, I have not gotten
around to it. :twak

 

[Gacknar]

I have 2 mechanicle gages, Oil pressure and Water temp. They are both Sunpro

I would have bout Autometer but at the time could not afford it.
The Sunpro's are 4 years old and still work perfactly so I cant complane.

In this picture you can see them in the little cubie hole to the right of the stering wheel

 

[Fireguy50]

I stuck my tranny temp gauge in that hole too.
Best place for a quick install in the 80-86 trucks.
Now you just need to fix that gumpy looking XLT in the center of the dash :goodfinge

 

[Gacknar]

Now you just need to fix that gumpy looking XLT in the center of the dash :goodfinge

Na, I'm use to it. I ben staring at it for 10 years.
It just wouldnt be the same without it.:toothless

Then agin a 1/2 DIN Graphic Equilizer might look good there.:goodfinge

But I'l probably just leave it.

 

[Fireguy50]

If you had the right stereo you wouldn't need a 1/2 DIN Graphic Equilizer :goodfinge

 

[SoftTopBronco]

how hard is it to hook up mechanical guages to an EFI??

been thinking of doing it.

 

[Fireguy50]

EFI doesn't control the gauges.
So it's just as hard as non-EFI

 

[Brieldo]

Fireguy,
Im going to be building a custom console during xmas break that will house my processors and a switch array. I'd also like to put in a gauge array. So far, here's what I have for wanted gauges:

1. Tranny temp
2. Voltmeter
3. ammmeter
4. Air Bag gauges for PSi


Now, I'm going to use all Dakota Digital gauges, even if they rip me a new financial asshole... Their ammmeter uses a sender that goes around the wire you're measuring. I'd put it on my 1/0 wire that goes to my power distribution block. Do you see any problems with that idea? Also, Do you have any other suggestions for wiring this whole setup up? I'm going to make a diagram and you can offer any suggestions.

 

[Fireguy50]

everything seems ok if your willing to pay the price.

I maxed out a 150amp guage once, it grounded out, and there was lots of smoke. I learned the hard way Amp meters aren't worth the risk. They can fail and damage everything else.

The stick on Ampmeter might solve that problem, but how accurate is it?

 

[Brieldo]

Fireguy,
If its from Dakota it's pretty darn accurate. Their ammeter goes up to 250 amps i believe. I wish they amde one that went higher.


I'll get you that diagram later.

 

[Fireguy50]

This one:
http://www.dakotadigital.com/Detail.cfm?Category=4&PartNumber=ODYR-20-5

?????????????????????????

 

[Brieldo]

Yessir. Any chance we oculd talk on AOL?

My name is the same as my FSB name.