gauges??

Does anyone know what the difference in mechanical and electrical gauges. Does it matter which you have, if you want to get new ones? Example - if I have electrical gauges, can I swap with mechanical? Help, I need new ones! Thanks...

 

You just need to change "senders" out of the block. Most water temp is electric, oil is either way. Your oil press should be mechanical.

IMO, electric oil pressure is less accurate. If you look at your newer cars and trucks, you'll notice there isn't much fluctuation in the oil pressure. That is because the reading you see is typically a "doctored up" reading to an average value with less movement. It is a glorified "idiot light" nowdays.

Our old ones tell it as it sees it!

 

Use mechanical if you can. Oil pressure for sure! Water temp electric will not read when engine is off. I like the ability to see the temp when engine is off. YMMV

 

I'd go with mechanical. They operate independant of anything on the jeep. Electrical guages are effected by your system voltage. If your voltage is high or low the guages will be wrong. Of course if you have no voltage at all no guages!

I just put in a underdash 3 gauge pod in my 67 :hurrican: . I love them! As mentioned by a prev poster do NOT cut the tube that feeds the temp guage. It is a sealed tubing that as some sort of a freon in it. If it gets cut you have to toss out the guage since there is no fix for it. Some people hate the nylon tube that comes with the mech oil guage and prefer coppper. I personally could care less. I've been running the nylon with great success for 15 years now with no problems. But don't let it get near a heat source!

 

The new ones are every bit as accurate if not more so than the older mechanical ones. The guages themselves are usually "buffered" (for lack of a better term) to keep guage movement steady. The typical consumer probably doesn't want their needle constantly jumping back and forth. More likely than not, that would cause people to think they have a problem that they don't. This makes me wonder if the Auto Meter guages I want are buffered. Hmmmm..... I'm going with all electrical when I get to guages because I don't want to risk springing an oil leak under the dash. And I just like lots of wires in general!!! :twisted:

 

I like seeing the oil pressure go up and down with engine RPM. Gives me a warm and cozy feeling - higher data density with negligible time averaging.

Reliability is probably not an issue if you buy quality. I'd go with electric temperature and mechanical oil pressure gauges.

 

How bout amps versus volts?

 

Related question, It just hit me I got to replace my gauge cluster on my 5 . What is the Oxiada replacment gauge , all electical? I have a mechanical oil gauge installed sepertly Im defantly going to use that , but i want A idiot light to, because truth be known when your riding down the road a idiot light will catch your attention before a gauge if something bad happens quik. Ask my friend and my dad who both lost a lot of oil quik , dad from racing damage on the track , friend forgot to tightin oil plug on pro street dragster "doh" . Thats why on the race cars we run both gauge and lights for oil and temp , Gauge for engine "health" and lights for Uh ohs. So is there another place to put a oil pressure sensor or should I just put in a divider block? Oh todd Ive always like volts because it gives you a better pic of battery health opposed to what it being drawn on the app side.

 

Certainly a voltmeter is easier to install, and you're less likely to have a devastating under-dash fire starting at a voltmeter. Ammeters require that large currents flow through them... voltmeters don't.

Search on "oxiada" comes up blank. You sure that's what you mean?

A tee works fine. If you're worried, you can add an audible signal in addition to the idiot light. That'll stop you from leaving the key on when the engine's not running too.

 

[ I've been running the nylon with great success for 15 years now with no problems. But don't let it get near a heat source![/QUOTE]

I have been running the nylon tube for years in just about all my vehicles and have never ha a problem, when installing I feed the tube through rubber vacum line to protect it from heat and from possibly vibrating up against sharp objects like where you run it through the firewall.

 

Since the can-o-worms has been opened.......those of you using an ammeter....what size (Gauge) wire are you using? I am using a voltmeter but would like to have an ammeter also....Bling i guess