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There must be some of you that have made the decision to dump all of your Jeeps standard gauges and headed out on your own. For me the decision was made last year to replace the individual stock CJ gauges with similar looking Auto Meter gauges. Now I'm looking hard at the main gauge cluster. My speedometer has NEVER been especially good. Now the fuel gauge and temp gauge aren't all that good. So, I've been looking to replace the whole bunch with something else, something better. I'm building a new dash but haven't cut the gauge holes yet, so size is no problem. So, talk to me/us about your replacement gauges. Are they better, are you happy, would you do it again......................
Hedgehog, wasn't easy the first time, but second time will be a cakewalk. A thousand percent better, more sensitive, more responsive. I love watching the coolant temp drop when the engine accelerates off idle. This time it is all in a box. Next time, only the LCD Display piece will appear in my dash.
The link appears on about page 3 of the REBUILDS section
I picked up my last Omix-Ada cluster on the cheap and installed it. The fuel and temp gauges didn't work. I picked up the Crown replacements for the temp and fuel gauge openings. They worked for several days. Then the 35 year old fuel level sending unit stopped reading sane resistance levels. At the time, I believed that was my fault because I didn't assure stellar ground.
At that point, I threw a temper-tantrum and ordered
- Autometer's fuel gauge (880428),
- Autometer's "water" gauge + temp sending unit kit (880241),
- Autometer's universal mounting bracket for two gauges (I think it was 2237) and finally
- MTS Company's CJSU-1 fuel level sending unit ("made in Iowa," the guy said over the phone).
I mounted the gauges under the dash not far from where my right leg rests while driving.
After the hardware arrived, I tested the fuel gauge + sending unit, making sure it read full, empty and something in between when connected as I moved the float back and forth.
I thought the sending unit's build quality was on par with my factory 35 year old fuel level sending unit, but I made my own ground wire out of a little thicker wire, but I forget the gauge... maybe 12, maybe 10 awg.
Why'd I make my own ground wire? I thought MTS' grounding wire was a little on the inadequate side; skinny and not as well-sealed as I'd prefer.
Then again, I blamed myself for having killed the Crown gauges, and factory fuel level sending unit so I was a true bigot about having beefy ground.
Anyway, I terminated my grounding wire at each end with a marine grade blade disconnect/connector on the sending unit side and a marine grade 1/4" ring terminal on the chassis side (or was it 5/16th? I forget).
I also used liquid tape + shrink wrap with adhesive to seal up the grounding wire ends.
How's it work?
Well, the fuel level readings aren't perfect, but they're close enough that I can trust that solution. What do I mean "not perfect?"
I mean when my 15 gallon tank is down 9 gallons from full, the fuel gauge reads closer to 1/2 full than 1/3 full.
The fuel gauge will "true up" when the level's down 11-12 gallons, but I rarely get that low.
The temp sending unit and gauge track with my expectations and didn't require an adapter for my AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l .
All in all, I'm happy with those the new hardware.
The Chinese speedometer's accurate enough. I checked it against a smart phone GPS app.
I'll eventually replace the Omix-Ada cluster, but for now I'm out of the dash board business until I'm actually inspired to improve things.
'85 CJ-7, 258/4.2L 6cyl. Bought new in 1985. Full cage, Warn 8274 winch, Ford 9" rear, front/rear Detroit Lockers w/4:88 R&P. T-5 tranny and 4:1 t'case. 33X12.50-15 BFG/AT, MSD ign, on board air---
Something seems to always be left out, I'm all about analog gauges. It is good to see what is happening at a glance, besides my eyes aren't what they should be, so a quick read on digital gauges isn't possible.
What about speedometers? Has anybody used the programmable units, they look interesting. With the Auto Meter gauges I'm confused about the need for a sending unit. The way the description reads you just drive a couple miles and it figures things out from there. No mention of a sending unit. Else where they mention a GPS sending unit. I find it to be confusing.
'85 CJ-7, 258/4.2L 6cyl. Bought new in 1985. Full cage, Warn 8274 winch, Ford 9" rear, front/rear Detroit Lockers w/4:88 R&P. T-5 tranny and 4:1 t'case. 33X12.50-15 BFG/AT, MSD ign, on board air---
What confuses me about the Auto Meter Programmable Speedometer is how it figures out how fast the vehicles is going. Okay, you attach a hall pulse sender to the Speedometer. Push a button a few times to make sure the speedometer is in the correct mode, then drive for at least 2 miles. But how does that calibrate anything without something to compare your speed to? The GPS unit make sense, but the programmable unit doesn't say anything about a GPS sender. I'm confused. And you are supposed to be able to reprogram at any time to allow for new tires and gears and such.
The more I look at the offerings from Speed Hut the better I like them. They have a really cool fuel pick up similar to the units we use on water wells (not for water, fuel only). A very good reliable and rugged product. It doesn't include a fuel pick up so that would have to be fabricated or the stock CJ one could be used and a new hole made for the poly gas tank. I know in my tank the existing hole is NOTHING for the manufacturer to brag about. They have a better explanation on how their Programmable Speedometer works. The 2 mile distance needs to be a very accurate 2 miles. During calibration the speedometer counts the pulses from the sender. I knew that SOMETHING had to be accurately measured in the system. The best part is, this isn't a GPS speedometer and I like that! I'm still debating on getting a CJ looking package or getting individual gauges.
'85 CJ-7, 258/4.2L 6cyl. Bought new in 1985. Full cage, Warn 8274 winch, Ford 9" rear, front/rear Detroit Lockers w/4:88 R&P. T-5 tranny and 4:1 t'case. 33X12.50-15 BFG/AT, MSD ign, on board air---
Lumpy - That's the thing, I don't know what I really want. There is the tradition of the original gauge cluster configuration which works well enough, but is quirky to deal with, ie the transformer dealing with the temp and fuel gauges. Then there is the convenience of having separate gauges for each function. When a bad reading comes in there is no wondering if the gauge has gone bad for any number of reasons other than what the gauge is there to monitor. An added bonus is the Speed Hut Gauges are made in the USA. It would be nice if the GPS function could be married to a mechanical function. IE the GPS is used for periodic calibration, but most other functions are more or less electro-mechanical. I also just noticed that the CJ gauge cluster is not available with the programmable gauges. Well that sucks and reduces our choices.
Also, I'd keep my existing gauges, but they are a little wanky and no matter what will cost money to make right. The fuel gauge is not working, the speedometer is now ~14 mph off not to mention the odometer, the temp gauge is, well it works.. if you can trust it. The lighting sucks, with light and dark spots (the bulbs are good) can't read it at night. It has been taken apart and cleaned, helped some, not enough.
'85 CJ-7, 258/4.2L 6cyl. Bought new in 1985. Full cage, Warn 8274 winch, Ford 9" rear, front/rear Detroit Lockers w/4:88 R&P. T-5 tranny and 4:1 t'case. 33X12.50-15 BFG/AT, MSD ign, on board air---
The only gauges I still have that were OEM, is the speedo cluster, tach, volts and the clock. When I changed my R&P to 4:88 all I had to do was regear the speedo drive in my Dana 300 T/C, which is very easy to do compared to the Dana 20 .
The other gauges I have are SW(before they sold the name and start'd make'n them in China)These are a mech water temp and oil psi, along with amps.
LG
This is simple enough, what would you like to know and what are the options to get the information. Example: No way I would give up dash space for a clock, especially if I can have a Vacuum gauge in the same hole. Tachometers are cool but I don't get a chance to look at it in the situations I would like to know engine revs. If you are going to build your own dash don.t forget about the clearance behind it, I had a heck of a time getting clearance for the oil pressure gauge that conflicted with the defrost duct.I could see replacing the spedo cluster in a heart beat. As far as I can see the hard part of this project is paying for it.
Lumpy - That's the thing, I don't know what I really want. There is the tradition of the original gauge cluster configuration which works well enough, but is quirky to deal with, ie the transformer dealing with the temp and fuel gauges. Then there is the convenience of having separate gauges for each function. When a bad reading comes in there is no wondering if the gauge has gone bad for any number of reasons other than what the gauge is there to monitor. An added bonus is the Speed Hut Gauges are made in the USA. It would be nice if the GPS function could be married to a mechanical function. IE the GPS is used for periodic calibration, but most other functions are more or less electro-mechanical. I also just noticed that the CJ gauge cluster is not available with the programmable gauges. Well that sucks and reduces our choices.
Also, I'd keep my existing gauges, but they are a little wanky and no matter what will cost money to make right. The fuel gauge is not working, the speedometer is now ~14 mph off not to mention the odometer, the temp gauge is, well it works.. if you can trust it. The lighting sucks, with light and dark spots (the bulbs are good) can't read it at night. It has been taken apart and cleaned, helped some, not enough.
I haven't got to use them yet (still now done with the refurb). I ordered the Speedhut gauges. I like the idea of the GPS speedometer and not having to worry about tire sizes or gear ratios changing things. The GPS antenna is fairly small and magnetic. I put it up along the defrost vent . Wiring I ran with the wires for the washer motor. The programmable fuel gauge is also nice. The factory sending unit (or whatever is in it) is still working good so I did not replace that. They are not "water proof" but will seal them with silicone to help with that for free if you ask when ordering.
'85 CJ-7, 258/4.2L 6cyl. Bought new in 1985. Full cage, Warn 8274 winch, Ford 9" rear, front/rear Detroit Lockers w/4:88 R&P. T-5 tranny and 4:1 t'case. 33X12.50-15 BFG/AT, MSD ign, on board air---
I debated the whole OEM gauge issue for years. Finally I decided that it would be in my best interest (and the interest of my loved ones), to eighty-six the OEM junk and go custom.
Which meant a custom dash (from DD Fab):
Custom gauges from the Autometer Custom Shop:
And a bunch of custom rocker switches from OTRATTW:
IOport51 - Well yeah, paying for the new gauges is the tricky part. I'm not a gauge nut so the stock number of gauges will suite me just fine. I've already got a Tach. on my steering column that works well so I don't need one of those. Right now I'm becoming serious about the Speed Hut 4" programmable Speedometer with the other usual gauges to go along with it. My new dash has a pop out section for the gauges, largely where they were in a stock application but out away from the flat part of the dash, behind space is something to consider, but won't be a problem for this set up.
Colo Dean - Nice color and dash style. Where are you going to put the rest of your pull out switches i.e. Head light, wiper, hazard?
Hack - I'm doing something similar with a replacement dash. Mine is the old style like Deans. I've added a tilted pop out like yours for all my gauges. The actual gauge panel is set up with military style quick release attachment screws so it will be much easier to do gauge maintenance and work behind the dash in general. The pop out is pretty much done, but I haven't put the gauge holes in yet, so this is the time to make decisions before moving forward.
Has anyone added a signal generator to a Dana 20Transfer Case ? If so which one did you use? From what I can see it won't take a Ford style. The idea of adding a unit that mounts on the exterior of the Transfer Case , specifically along the drive shaft with magnets doesn't appeal to me at all.
)These are a mech water temp and oil psi, along with amps.
