For ruining my evening.....

Changed the oil the other day, and my oil pressure gauge showed 100psi on start-up....Well, I called my engine builder to ask about the Wix filters I switched to, he said he would change it and fire it back up and see....

Well I got to thinking because now the gauge was no longer returning to zero and that was odd. Stayed at 38psi with the engine off....I doubted the reading and cracked a line open expecting to get sprayed, but nope....No oil came out under pressure and the gauge still did not return to zero....

Still thinking about it, when I fired the engine up this year, I noticed the oil pressure would flutter a lot, almost so fast it was tough to read it. Never seen one do that before either.

So not believeing the filter was bad, I went to Autobone and bought the cheapest three set gauge pack and spent the evening installing it, and ripping out my 5-gauge cluster of 2-5/8 Autometer gauges as they have been quiting on me one at a time over the past two years.

Sure as heck, I fire it up with the new cheapy, oil pressure is 78psi cold at idle like usual. Shut it off, zero....

Thank-you Autometer for the tach that won't read zero when the engine is off, the fuel pressure gauge that quit, and now the oil pressure gauge that quit.....And the injury to my shoulder working under the dash. I had to pull the seats to crawl under there, and I will probably have to see a doctor about the shoulder its really smarting...

We pay big money for your higher quality gauges, and don't receive what we pay for....They don't return to zero, they aren't calibrated, and they fail way too often....I am done.

And just to let you know, that gauge only had to make it thru 2-1/2 more months and I was going to put in a whole new cluster and dash:

Classic Industries dash- $249
http://www.classicindustries.com/mopar/parts/me1596.html

Ultra-lite Oil Pressure Gauge -$66.99

Ulrta -lite Fuel level - $55.99

Ultra-lite Voltmeter -$55.99

Fuel Pressure Isolator -$81.99

Ultra-lite Engine Temp -$63.99

Ultra-lite A/F wide band -$309.99

Oil Pressure Warn light -$27.99

Fuel Pressure ewarn light -$34.99

3-3/8 GPS Speedo -$374.99

But thanks to my shoulder injury and your crappy gauges, I just deleted all those items out of my wish list at Jegs....I will be going with Racepak....Rant Off

Just put my fifty dollar rebate from Autometer in the bank today. 479$ worth of new gauges for the Street/Strip 67 Belvedere. Not installed yet because I'm not thrilled about pulling the front seat...I hope I don't feel your pain, last time I screwed up a shoulder it took a year to feel normal again, although I never went to a doctor.

My cobalt volt meter reads ok at key on engine off, but when I fire it up goes to 16.5, inputs going to gauge are correct, good ground. Too bad I threw away the reciept. Feel your pain. I spent alot of money on good gauges so they wouldn't be a problem. Shows me too.

I`ve used different name gauges over the years and VDO have done well so far for me...............

Cyberdyne's were junk, and the Autometer's in my book are now off the list as well.

I just had to replace my sport comp oil pressure gauge just a few weeks back as well. IMO Autometer was always a quality piece and the standard of the market, seems lack of real competition has made them lazy to not keep improving

Autometer also makes lots of other brands that people may or may not realize. A friend of mine put a full set of Livorsi(SP?) guages in his boat(enough for two engines) and they are obviously autometer gauges.

I came to the same conclusion recently regarding Autometer. ~$230 for an electric gauge/transducer? By the time you add up all the gauges you are almost up to a RacePak, without any datalogging capabilities.

My volt meter has a 1/2 volt difference between what it is being fed, and what it reads...not a huge deal, but not what I paid for either.

I sure hope I do better than the OP... I put all
electric gauges in my Rampage all from Autometer

Weird, I have a tach and a oil pressure gauge from them that I bought 21 years ago...they still work great. Maybe their quality is not what it used to be...

Didn't they start having all their stuff manufactured offshore? Years ago they were made in Illinois, IIRC.

I hate to jump in on this bash fest, but I had a pyrometer that I owned for 2 years that was fluttering like crazy. I called customer service they said send it in and they would look at it. 2 weeks later a new gauge kit arrived at the house.

So my question, did any of you call customer service and talk to a rep?


Joe

"But thanks to my shoulder injury and your crappy gauges, I just deleted all those items out of my wish list at Jegs....I will be going with Racepak....Rant Off "


If you are racing in a "no electronics class" you might want to check and see if what you want to buy is Ok for the class, before you spend the money.

Randy....how old were the gauges that went out?


And were they actual Autometer or Autogauge made by Autometer?

I've never had an Autometer tach read 0 with the engine not running. No biggie though, I know exactly how many rpms it turning. Never had any issues with any of their gauges that I'm aware of.

I have had Autometer, Stewart Warner, and a few others give me hell. I am moving over to a mechanical tach drive and check the accuracy of my gauges when I service the car. A little over the top however it provides piece of mind.

Over the years I have had some issues with Autometer gauges but they have ALWAYS stood behind them and taken care of any issues. SO they are still ok in my book. You may want to send it in they will take care of any issues you have.

Well crap. I just spent a ton on a set of Autometer Procomp gauges and tach for my Barracuda project. I'll be wary of them at first. I hope I have better luck than the OP.

That's why I like the old school Stewart Warner mechanical gauges....I've never had a problem with them.

Having worked with mechanical gauges in industrial settings for more than 30 years, I offer a few observations.

ANY mechanical gauge will be permanantly damaged if over pressured more than 10-15 % even ONE time. Because of the nature of the bourdon tube assembly inside, you simply CAN NOT hit them with pressure exceeding their range. Mopars are notorious for high oil pressure capability. I would say your gauge saw @ 138-150 pounds for a moment, and it's over. Which is why I have used 0-200 oil pressure gauges for many years, with great results.

In industry, I routinely have 0-300 gauges on service that runs 75-100 PSI. And they are still damaged sometimes by pressure spikes. So I go to 0-400.

I recently damaged an electric pressure sender on my racepak when I accidently installed the pill holder backwards in my injection pump. it only takes once!

If your pressure relief sticks for a moment, or you start a cold motor with thick oil, no gauge will survive. This is one of those issues that no one really analyzes.

Get an Autometer 0-200. You'll be happy. And you'll be surprised when you see pressures north of 100 some times!!

RIP

Also, just because your pressure relief spring is set at say..80 psi, under some conditions it will still build pressure much higher. Oil pumps are what we call positive displacement, meaning that pump WILL move liquid SOME WHERE, even places you won't like. Or break the shaft trying.If you have a combination of tight clearances, high RPM, and thick oil, you get swollen or burst filters, and premature drive gear wear.

I have used Autometer gages from day one in my street cars and race cars going back many years and a lot of cars. Never had one go bad. I have always used mechanical water temp and oil gages.

Not sure if I will keep any of these after I complete the Racepak installation

exactly that's how ALL electric tachs that I have seen work. I have had ton of Autometer gauges over the last 30 years and only had 1 stop working.

It was a electric fuel pressure gauge and the problem was the sender not the gauge and called Auotmeter and they sent a new one no charge.

The only problem I ever had with Autometer in 15+ years was with a low water temp gauge and its sending unit several years ago. They apparently had a bad batch. It was replaced with a revised version and no problems since.

Nothing lasts forever and there are "lemons" in every manufactured product. I can't explain issues that other people have, especially in batches. But my luck with Autometer has basically been "set & forget". I can't afford to use products that I have to worry about.

I have used Autometer for years with out any real issues, I had to replace a water temp. gauge once because the tube/ sensor broke. I have their cheaper brand Autogage tach and gauges in my D150 the only problem I had was an oil leak at the fitting in the block which wasn`t their fault.

I know this is a domestic site, but I quit using autometer years ago after I discovered Greddy and defi gauges. They might look out of place in older rides, but if accuracy and function counts, well....

So far so good here! I sure don't want to change them either!