Gauges Replaced Today, My Experience

J

jonroe

Senior Member
Not bad, all in all.

Got my two new Autometer gauges from Wes Chain at Innovative Interceptors and put them in today. My highlights.

-- surprised at the size of the oil press sender compared to stock.
-- new sender fit in nicely even though looked too big early on.
-- added about 5 inches of new hook-up wire to end of sender wire to make it easier to do the under car wiring.
-- had to remove oil deflector to do the job, then put it back.
-- gauge pod inside came out of dash easily.
-- surprised to see the "special" Autometer gauges just had wires coming out the back and not the spade/stud connectors like the new gauges!
-- how much extra did these "special" gauges cost Ford??????? Good God.
-- surprised (and honked) to see that existing lights did not click nicely into the new gauge housings like the new lights but used the old ones anyway to simplify the re-wiring by using a dab of black tape to keep the old lights snug in the new gauge housings.
-- replaced the old blue light bulb socks with the new green socks.
-- was able to reuse the stock Mercury snap wire connectors in the gauge pod by clipping the wires halfway between the snap connectors and the old gauges then putting ring connectors on the wires to hook them to the new gauges via ring connectors on the studs.
-- installed new gauges exactly like the old ones were installed including the use of the snap wire connectors in the pod.
-- gauge pod snapped easily right back into place.
-- looks perfect, worked right away.
-- much better with the working oil gauge.
-- new volt meter runs a slight bit higher than the stock one.
-- I like the thinner, cleaner type font on the new gauge faces.
-- oil press went up near 100 on cold start, cruised about 50-60 on the highway, idled about 15 when warm.

Jon
 
Damn! Sorry, didn't think of the documentary evidence! It would have been helpful when I had the gauge pod apart on the kitchen table here.

Jon
 
If it's any help I can describe the wires for the gauges:

Volt Meter. This had 2 wires coming from the old gauge body and 2 wires coming from the light bulb. The 2 wires from the light were heavier gauge than the 2 wires from the meter. The 2 wires from the gauge body were black (ground) and red w/yellow stripe (12v ignition). The light bulb had a black (ground) and a white (12v interior lights). The 2 blacks were joined at the snap connector so the snap connector had 3 pins into the car wiring harness.

Oil Pressure Meter. This had 3 wires coming from the old gauge body and 2 wires coming from the light bulb. The 2 wires from the light were heavier gauge than the 3 wires from the meter. The 3 wires from the gauge body were black (ground), red w/yellow stripe (12v ignition), and white w/red stripe (sender signal). The light bulb had a black (ground) and a white (12v interior lights). The 2 blacks were joined at the snap connector so the snap connector had 4 pins into the car wiring harness.

The wire underneath the car at the oil sending unit was the same white w/red stripe seen in the dash.

So with this info it's easy to match up the car's wires by color to the new gauge terminals, GND, I, and S for ground, ignition, and sender. Of course only GND and I are used on the volt meter while all three are used on the oil gauge.

I also saved time by re-using the old lights that were already wired to the snap connector. Then, I only had to snip and put ring terminals on 2 wires to the volt meter and 3 wires to the oil gauge.

I hope this helps.

Jon
 
jonroe said:
-- surprised at the size of the oil press sender compared to stock.
-- surprised (and honked) to see that existing lights did not click nicely into the new gauge housings like the new lights but used the old ones anyway to simplify the re-wiring by using a dab of black tape to keep the old lights snug in the new gauge housings.
-- I like the thinner, cleaner type font on the new gauge faces.
-- oil press went up near 100 on cold start, cruised about 50-60 on the highway, idled about 15 when warm.
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Way to go, jon... :up: nice write up.

--The new sender is much bigger because it actually works...the stock unit is just an on-off switch.
--I had the same issue with the lights not fitting...that's strange.
--I, too, like the font on the replacement gauges better.
--And lastly, your oil pressure readings are the same as what everyone else who's done this mod gets.
 
You're welcome. Sorry about no pics.

I had a slight typo, warm (not hot) idle was just under 25 not 15 but, of course in this weather, the car was not hot.

The new volt meter appears about 0.6 volts higher reading than the stock unit topping out about 14.8 where the old one topped out about 14.2.

(P.S., I forgot to mention that when I finished hooking up the sender wire to the sender under the car using the ring connector, I added a dab of clear silicone caulk onto the end of the sender post, nut, and ring connector to try to protect against the elements. I thought that would lessen the chance of getting a short from sender post to ground.)

Jon
 
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Ross said:
Thanks for the report. What was your total time for the whole job?
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My conversion took about 45 - 60 minutes (I soldered & heat shrink tubed all the connections). Will take less time if you use the crimp connectors.
 
fastblackmerc said:
(I soldered & heat shrink tubed all the connections)
Click to expand...
That was good thinking...I did it, too, and used ring terminals (instead of spade)...don't need sumpthin comin' loose from vibration and causing a short ahind the dash...
 
I was slow and had to go to Radio Shack to get the connectors and hook-up wire. Also, I changed oil and filter while under the car. I wasn't in a hurry. Whole thing took about two hours.

Jon

Ross said:
Thanks for the report. What was your total time for the whole job?
Click to expand...
 
My choices are Motorcraft FL-820S filters and Mobil 1 5W-20 synthetic oil.

I've been using Mobil 1 for several years before getting the MM and have always used Motorcraft filters on my Fords. I also use Purolator filters on other cars. I have heard that the Motorcraft filters maybe are made by Purolator??? I don't know.

I was suspicious of the lightness of 5W-20 oil but seeing the strong oil pressure held by this engine and this oil, I have no further qualms.

Jon
 
jonroe said:
My choices are Motorcraft FL-820S filters and Mobil 1 5W-20 synthetic oil.

I've been using Mobil 1 for several years before getting the MM and have always used Motorcraft filters on my Fords. I also use Purolator filters on other cars. I have heard that the Motorcraft filters maybe are made by Purolator??? I don't know.

I was suspicious of the lightness of 5W-20 oil but seeing the strong oil pressure held by this engine and this oil, I have no further qualms.

Jon
Click to expand...
The oil is "light" weight and the oil pressure is high because of the higher tolerances inside the engine.
 
jonroe said:
I have heard that the Motorcraft filters maybe are made by Purolator???
Click to expand...
You are correct, sir. The OEM filters are made by Champion Laboratories, while the aftermarket Motorcraft filters are made by ArvinMeritor, the same people who make Purolator. The FL-820S is a PureOne filter in a PremiumPlus can.
 
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Thanks. Of course that makes sense. Growing up in the 60's (egad!) you could throw a cat (not that I'm advocating that, mind you) through the tolerances on those engines so I used to use Valvoline 20W-50 racing oil!

fastblackmerc said:
The oil is "light" weight and the oil pressure is high because of the higher tolerances inside the engine.
Click to expand...
 
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