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Installing Accessory Guages

Alec

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2008 JK
Hey everyone,

I was thinking of installing some guages when I do my supercharger install. I was thinking of getting a boost guage and an air/fuel ratio guage. Autometer has an A-pillar guage pod that would fit them. The air/fuel ratio guage will be no big deal, just running some wires to the O2 sensor and PCM. However, the boost guage requires a tube to be run. My question is, how hard do you think it would be to run the tube from the firewall up behind the A-pillar. Is it doable? Thanks for the help.
 



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I have an A-pillar in my 97 Sport and I have an exhaust temp gauge and an Air/Fuel gauge in it. It was no problem running the very thick temperature cable through the firewall and up the A-pillar. You just need to take your time with the A-pillar install. Not that it’s hard, you just want to make sure it’s in the right location. You should have no problems running a hose through the firewall. I should take a picture of mine and post it. In fact, I’ll go take a photo of it right now.

Peace
 






Okay, that didn’t take long. Here is a picture of my gauge pod:

Dash2.jpg
 






Thanks a lot. I guess I'll run the ground from the gauge backlights to one of the fuses that comes on with the ignition. Just to make sure, do you remember the part number from the gauge pod, was it #15308? I'm just asking 'cause some places give that part number and say only 93-94 Explorers, some say Ranger, and some say 'til '99 Explorer. I thought they were all the same, I just want to make sure.
So do I just have to drill some holes in the A-pillar to run the wires and hose? How does the actual pod attach to the pillar? Also, was it easy to find the correct wires to connect the air/fuel gauge? Thanks Cameron.
 






i've been thinking about this also, but for a tranny temp gauge, real oil guage and whatever else might be useful. i could probably figure out where to get the gauges and wahtnot, but hooking it all up might just be beyond me, how hard was it to hook up your gauges?
 












Cameron,

Is your exhaust temp gauge backlit, or lit from around the edges?
 












Cameron,

Is that a G-Force meter you have installed above the spedometer? Did you hardwire it? If you did, how did you hook it up? Thanks
 






Finally got them

My Vac/Boost gauge finally arrived in the mail today. I'm planning on putting it and the Air/Fuel gauge in this weekend. Here are some pics of the gauges and how I want to mount them. The mounting mock-up was done with Photoshop in 5 minutes, I know it's crappy.

View


View
 






Originally posted by punisher
Cameron,

Is that a G-Force meter you have installed above the spedometer? Did you hardwire it? If you did, how did you hook it up? Thanks

Punisher,

Sorry I haven't answered your question earlier. I didn’t get an e-mail saying a new post was added to this thread until now!

The answer to your first question is yes. That is a G-Tech. I love it. It is the best (bang for the buck) test instrument money can buy.

The answer to your second question is no. It is not hard wired in. I want to but just haven't gotten around to it yet.
 






Alec,

Why no guage pod?
 






Cameron,

1) I didn't want the gauges in my face all the time
2) I got the A/F gauge for really cheap and really didn't want the shiny aluminum in my face all the time
3) I'm afraid the lights from the new gauges might get annoying, so I don't want to have to stare at them while I'm driving
4) I think this will provide a cleaner look and contribute to the overall character of my truck
5) so my passengers can stare at them
6) I like being different
7) I just got back from a lab and my brain is fried. I think some of that plant herbicide got to me ;) Also, I have a 3 hour class coming up that I'm not looking forward to. My brain is mush My brain is mush My brain is mush.

BTW: The forcast for the until the middle of next week is for rain and cold. I don't feel like working in this weather (not that I have the time). My mechanic is going to do it on Tuesday, so I'll update y'all then.
 






What is the difference between a gauge that measures volts and amps? Is volts the juice of the car battery and amps how much you are currently using?

And Cameron,
If you were to hardwire it, how would you do it? How would you add a 1 amp fuse to a wire? (I don't know much about wiring stuff) And doesn't the meter need to be in the exact middle of the car or else it won't read correctly?
 






The gauges are partially installed: the vac/boost gauge works but the A/F ratio gauge doesn't. It's either a bad gauge (got it from a friend) or it's hooked to the wrong O2 sensor. I think I might have tapped the #3 sensor instead of the #1 sensor. Gonna get fixed Friday. If the gauge still doesn't work, time to get a new one.

Anyway, the boost/vac gauge works perfectly. To get power for the light, I used the power leads that used to go to the ashtray light. I took that bulb out a long time ago because it always got in the way and just made the console hot. So the gauge looks really good, but it's not fully mounted yet. I will post pics when it's all done.

BTW, boost at WOT ranges from 4# to 7.5#. I might fiddle with the wastegate a little to raise boost at low RPMs.
 






Originally posted by punisher
What is the difference between a gauge that measures volts and amps? Is volts the juice of the car battery and amps how much you are currently using?

And Cameron,
If you were to hardwire it, how would you do it? How would you add a 1 amp fuse to a wire? (I don't know much about wiring stuff) And doesn't the meter need to be in the exact middle of the car or else it won't read correctly?

Volt = unit of electrical potential, potential difference and electromotive force in the meter-kilogram-second system (SI); it is equal to the difference in potential between two points in a conductor carrying one ampere current when the power dissipated between the points is one watt. An equivalent is the potential difference across a resistance of one ohm when one ampere is flowing through it. The volt is named in honor of the 18th-19th-century Italian physicist Alessandro Volta. These units are defined in accordance with Ohm’s law, that resistance equals the ratio of potential to current, and the respective units of ohm, volt, and ampere are used universally for expressing electrical quantities

Ampere = unit of electric current in the Système International d'Unités (SI), used by both scientists and technologists. Since 1948 the ampere has been defined as the constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length of negligible circular cross section and placed one metre apart in a vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 X 10-7 newton per meter of length. Named for the 19th-century French physicist André-Marie Ampère, it represents a flow of one coulomb of electricity per second. A flow of one ampere is produced in a resistance of one ohm by a potential difference of one volt

Hey, you asked! I got this stuff out of the encyclopedia. Damned if I know what they are talking about! (LOL)

There are “in line” fuses you can buy. You just buy an in-line fuse holder and a one-amp fuse and your set.

The G-Tech does not need to be in the middle of the car. It needs to be level. You can put it anywhere as long as it is secure (that is, it will not tilt one way or the other) and level.
 






Whats a gforce meter and where to I get one? how much? I have a geforce 2 in my puter.

nick
 












They're done!

Hey all, the gauges are installed and functioning normally. It turns out the first A/F gauge was bad and it was connected to the wrong O2 sensor. When we connected the bad gauge to the correct O2, it functioned normally but only half the lights lit up. So I got a new one and it works. Judging by the reading on the A/F gauge, though, it looks like the O2 sensor is getting a little lazy. I guess I'll change them soon. All I really care about is the the gauge pegs at rich when I floor it. The vac/boost gauge is still working well and looks great at night.

Here are some pics. Some are blurry but you can still see how good the gauges look :)

View

View

View


Yay!
 



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I had just finished ordering trolls oil pressure and fuel pressure gauge. we had planed on putting them in the same spot. he all ready has the boost gauge hidden in the ash tray. the gauges are no big deal to wire. I don't think a a/f gauge that great they don't work that well. I would go with boost, or fuel pressure, or EGT. boost is not that important either just go with fuel pressure and egt... oops to late I guess...
 






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