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Quality Replacement Fuel and Temp Gauges

18K views 85 replies 18 participants last post by  scottyDive 
#1 ·
My temp gauge is non-op, went through troubleshooting per John Strenk's guides (thanks for that) and have narrowed it down to a bad temp gauge.

I know I need to replace fuel and temp as a pair but I'm having trouble sourcing quality gauges.

Replacement options seem to be:
Crown - Many terrible reviews and complaints on the interwebz.

Omix Ada - Even more terrible reviews about calibration issues, dead gauges and failures after a short time.

Used OEM ebay - Potential for dead gauges. Most auctions say "worked when removed" or "temp and fuel not tested" Seems like a crap shoot to me.

MOPAR/NOS - Unicorns? Can't find these anywhere, and from posts I've seen they are several hundred dollars each if you can find one? Worth it over the hassle of Crown or Omix?

Fancy electronic digital or GPS driven cluster - not interested in non-OEM look so digital gauges are out, Speedhut makes a GPS driven OEM looking cluster. Kinda cool but spendy.

I was about to roll the dice and order a set of Omix-Ada gauges and test/calibrate them per John's guide before I put them in the cluster.

They seem to have the most complaints but they also seem to be the most popular gauge replacement sold so that makes sense. Happy people don't come to the internet to complain. I also wonder if it is people who don't know how to calibrate the gauges, people who burn them up by carelessly or incorrectly connecting them or having poor grounds to the gauges.

Anyway, I figured I'd ask here if there was an option I'm missing or misunderstanding before I pulled the trigger.

Thanks in advance!
 
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#2 ·
I think you have a pretty good handle on it.

Auto Meter gets decent reviews, and makes gauges with the Jeep logo, but they have a bit different look than OEM.

http://www.autometer.com/gauges/jeep.html

Edit: Sorry, I just realized you were looking for Temp and Fuel for the speedo cluster. The Auto Meter gauges don't apply.

Matt
 
#5 ·
So, there is another option but it would be more work than just about anything else. It would be possible (even realitivly simple for someone who knew what they were doing) to set up an arduino to detect the analog sensors of our fuel and temp senders. Then you could gut your old gauges use some small stepper motors to turn the needles. You could probably put the entire thing together for 50 bucks. The obvious downside is that you would have to take the time to find the pieces, learn how to use and program it, and put it together. Though, if you have a local college near you you could probably find some engineering student who would do it for cheap. The other downside is that you are adding something else could fail.

Though, if you did figure out how to do it, there may be a market for it. Might be able to make a little coin on the side.

something along these lines

 
#6 ·
Hey, I found stewart warner factory replacement fuel and temperature gauge on ebay new. So far no problems. Stewart warner is reputable
 
#10 ·
I like the Speedhut gauges. I agree that the price is steep. Plus the fact that the speedo only goes to 90MPH. I wouldn't want to drive around in 3rd and not have an accurate reading in 4th, when the needle is down in the gas gauge area..
 
#13 ·
I had the same issues as the O.P. several years ago, but I bought Crown and they were inoperable out of the box. I returned them and got another set of Crown gauges and, using John's setup information they've been working well for the past 8 or 10 years. I did however add mechanical temp and oil gauges to the dash on my '78.
 
#15 ·
These two pairs of Omix-Ada were reading inaccurate out of the box brand-new. I haven't attempted to calibrate them. $18 mailed if you or anyone else wants them to mess around with.

Lol, I just came across your ebay auction this morning. Damn timing...

If no one else scoops them up and I get DOA's tomorrow I might hit you up. How bad off were they?
 
#16 ·
You could always go with something like this if it does not have to be original.

http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=836/prd836.htm

I dumped the original gauges and installed Autometer Digital gauges. My speedometer is programmable so that I do not have to worry about changing gears on the transfer case end of the speedometer cable. In fact I no longer have a speedometer cable. If I decide to change tire size or gears, I can reprogram the speedometer. You can get the Autometer electronic speedometers with analog faces if you must have a more traditional look. The Autometer Digital fuel gauge is also programmable so that it works with any brand of fuel sender.
 
#19 ·
Well, they really are as frustrating as everyone says.

First set: Temp was non functional and fuel read full at 10Ω (perfect) and juuust under 1/4 at 73Ω

Second set: Temp reads perfect at C, BOB, EOB and H. YAY! Fuel needle was on 1/2 tank while it was in the box. On a lark I connected it and a spark shot out and it was D E D dead.

Third set is now on order, to arrive Sunday. Fingers crossed it will have a good fuel gauge.

So right now I have the first fuel and second temp gauge in my cluster. I attempted to do a 0 adjust on the non-op fuel gauge but you stick a screwdriver in there and the slot doesn't move at all. I can deflect the needle if I turn hard enough but it goes back when I release. I don't want to try this on the gauge that is working (but wrong) until I get clarification on the adjustment process.

Are the slots supposed to move at all? Does something need to be loosened first?

Help me John Strenk, you're my only hope! :)
 
#20 ·
I remeber john's excellent page regarding these gauges, what your symptom may mean is classic "How long does it take to burn up a fuel level sender with a bad regulator or a bad ground? About 2 seconds! L " <~ from john's page

Check out John's links and they'll spell out the procedures.
A lift of the lynch lid to John for making this information clear and accessable!
 
#21 ·
I have been using John's page as my reference for testing. There is no chance of a bad ground, I am bench testing with a regulated 13.8v 15a power supply and 18" 14ga leads. I am using a resistor bank (1% tolerance) to provide variable resistances. The bad temp gauge wouldn't move under any circumstances. The good one tests perfect.

The working fuel gauge I messed with last night. By moving the needle position on the pin it's on I now have a fuel gauge that reads just above E at 10Ω and almost covers F at 73Ω so it will be my fallback if the next set is bad. The bad fuel gauge, well, this is what it looked like when I opened the box. Bent limit pins and needle at half a tank. As soon as it was powered up a spark shot out of the face and it was dead.




I want to adjust the zero point and the full travel but while John's page clearly lines out which slot is which and that you use a flat blade screwdriver, I can't seem to figure out how to make it adjust anything. The slots don't turn on the gauges I have, inside the gauge behind the slot it appears completely clear all the way to the gauge face.

I can get zero point adjustment by carefully twisting the needle on the pivot pin, I can't make a full range adjustment.

Based on the gauges he has open I get the concept he is conveying, you are moving the metal pin in the plastic slot either towards or away from the pivot point on the gauge to increase or decrease the full range but I'm lost at getting this to work through the slot and if I try to reposition it from the gauge face it just pops right back to where it was before I moved it. I know what I need to do but can't manage to figure out how.

I though briefly about bending the brass shaft the pivot pin is on towards the metal pin in the slot, which would accomplish the same thing, but i'm not sure how delicate they are.
 

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#22 ·
To be clear, the brass pin is the pivot pin, the needle can be moved on this pin for zero adjustment. The silver pin slides toward (more swing) or away from (less swing) the brass pin to adjust full range but if I move it from the front it doesn't stay where I put it and it doesn't seem to move no matter what I do inside the slots.
 

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#23 ·
Does the Back look like this?


They are kinda funky.
those you have to push on not twist like OEM

Moving the silver pin won't do anything. it will move the needle but then move back to it's original position.
Moving the needle should move the needle to anywere you put it but you have to be sure the brass pivot is not moving when you move the needle.

I'll have to look at mine again but I don't think that plastic slot is suppose to be above the dial face. It looks like it's stuck there.



What value resistor are you using to make the full range adjustment?
 
#24 ·
Yep, that's what the back looks like except the ground plate is slightly different. I did try pushing but it didn't move anything. Shining a bright LED in through the top and looking in the slot I can't see anything I could touch with a screwdriver from that slot. By holding the plastic tab stationary and twisting the needle I was able to get the other fuel gauge closer to right. It was just below 1/4 and just over F, now it is just above E and just below F at the appropriate resistances. It will be serviceable if the next one is crap but if I could do a full range adjustment and give it another 1/8" of swing this one could be made to be accurate.

The tab is actually below the faceplate, trick of the pic that it looks like it's above it. The gauge was shorted internally though, like I said, as soon as I powered it up it went POOF. Their QC sucks.

Edit: for clarity, the serviceable gauge is not the one in the pics. That is the shorted gauge. i have no pics of the serviceable gauge but it is the same part from Omix-Ada.
 
#25 ·
No, you just need to move the slot.
Here is a peak inside:


You can see that large head fastener fitting over a slot in the adjustment arm. If they got too much lock paint on it, it probably is hard to move.
The actual adjustment tool is a small rod offset inside a larger rod that fits in the round opening were the slots are located. This allows you to put considerable force on the adjustment arm.
 
#26 ·
Gooooot it! now I see how they are doing it and thus was born the custom Adix adjustment tool (aka the ground down Allen wrench and vice grips :)

Gauge is reading dead empty and with a hair of F showing but from the driver's perspective it will look just fine.

Thanks man!
 
#29 ·
I'm glad you're getting this thing down, gauges can be so dang frustrating when this happens.
 
#32 ·
Didn't open the tach, it works great. The speedo face was only crimped in 4 places, it was cake. The clock was about 20 mins of patient prying round and round with a screwdriver till it would come out. The back edge isn't pretty but it's the back edge so no one will see it. If I cared I would probably roll it smooth but I'm just going to crimp it back down anyway.

It's a precision machined and custom ground tool. I can provide dimensioned engineering drawings for $19.95 + shipping :)

 
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