Gauges?

Discussion in 'Buick FAQ' started by LARRY70GS, Feb 1, 2010.

  1. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    Thanks Larry I can almost see them (sucks getting old)
    Someone said yesterday my problem was that I had the tach power wire going to the IGN terminal on my fuse box which i tee’d into the wire I have going to the HEI. Apparently I need a constant 12v to wire into that’s not that ignition terminal , Does that sound right?
     
  2. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    C7DB9E6D-3761-412F-BCD8-C1581C525B49.jpeg What I have now
     

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  3. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    You have it wired correctly, ignition on 12 volts, NOT constant 12 volts. Confirm you have ignition on 12 volts with a test light or meter.
     
  4. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    FE92C2B1-7F1A-4853-86A6-77D3056528E5.jpeg That’s what I thought and that’s how I read it in the directions .
     
  5. Footbag

    Footbag Well-Known Member

    I looked back a few pages and posts. Make sure i didnt miss something. So it seems you have a good ground. Check. 12v power when key is on. Check. Signal wire hooked up to proper HEI location...... Just so we can rule that out. Post us a picture where you have your signal wire for the tach hooked up. Try for a few views. If that checks out then we might have to think that the gauge itself is bad?????? Just something on my mind since a lot of the questions are coming up ok and correct.

    Also hope this gets figured out. Its friday and i usually dont log in and read things till monday morning. I try not to touch computers over the weekend. Not sure if you did this originally but when i got my gauges the first thing i did was hook everything up with jumpers under the hood to make sure the tach worked before installing in my car. A little late for that now i fear.
     
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  6. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    21AA198E-9CA8-4F83-99DA-3A0919A8EFAE.jpeg [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2019
  7. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    does it matter that the tach wire is close to the spark plug leads ? I could route it around the other side if I have to .
     
  8. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    C63D6332-54CB-4D81-94AD-DF356CFFC2DB.jpeg 76E0CECE-4A05-4212-96C9-95218EEFEEBD.jpeg [​IMG]





    [​IMG]






    power wire for ALL gauges is tee'd into this IGN terminal on fuse box which also goes to the 12v for the HEI . theres power going to the tach gauge because when I start the car the needle flickers a tiny bit but stays at 0
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2019
  9. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    1779B058-FCB5-4B90-8413-25F083BB3981.jpeg ok this is a little more detailed drawing

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2019
  10. Footbag

    Footbag Well-Known Member

    Well everything looks to be correct. If it still is not working, id remove it from the car. Take it into the engine bay and manually hook it up with jumper wires. Hook up the positive and negative directly to the battery. Green wire back to the Tach output on the HEI coil. Fire up the car and if it still is not moving then i would have to say that you have a bad gauge. Let us know what you try next and the results.

    Also just because it bounces a little when the car is turned on dose not mean that it is fully functional.
     
    magic marouke likes this.
  11. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

    ok heres an update that's kinda embarrassing . its working !!!! it was the spade connector to the tach . it wasn't even on the spade at all . the spade is not visible so I was pushing the connector between the spade and the plastic around it . seemed like it was in there good but wasn't . the actual connector was a bad one and wasn't open enough to slide over the spade . put another one on and popped straight on , DOH!
    Anyway I wanna thank you guys for the help and I all ready slapped myself on the back of my head from y'all
     
    Footbag likes this.
  12. magic marouke

    magic marouke Well-Known Member

  13. johnriv67

    johnriv67 Well-Known Member

    What are people's experiences with Bosch vs. Autometer gauges? My Bosch gauge has a needle that reads a bit slowly for my liking. Its a mechanical gauge and I have found a mechanical Autometer gauge that works not far from me for cheap. What is your experience with how fast each brand of gauge responds?
     
  14. Chuck Bridges

    Chuck Bridges Well-Known Member

    I have mechanical Autometer gauges in my '66 Wildcat and found them to be fairly responsive. I haven't noticed any lag or slowness with them, but they are my first gauges. I'm pretty new to the whole car culture. I had my gauges put in for me since I didn't trust myself to hang upside down under the dash (Have a severe headache, singular since July 15, 2015 due to post concussion from an accident as well as vertigo). I love the look of them as well.
     
  15. NZ GS 400

    NZ GS 400 Gold Level Contributor

    Hi Larry and others reading.
    I have been looking through this thread and I think my question is very basic. I can't find an answer though. I have an electric water temperature gauge that I want to install. Is it safe and correct to install an insulated spade connector to the cruise connection on my fuse block for ignition on power? Car is a 67 GS. I have included a picture of my fuse block. I don't have an ignition connection like the newer cars as far as i can tell. Thanks. 20201219_112527.jpg
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2020
  16. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Sure, as long as it is ignition on 12 volts and you use an inline fuse.
     
  17. NZ GS 400

    NZ GS 400 Gold Level Contributor

    Thanks Larry. How do I determine what size fuse to use?
     
  18. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    For a gauge, less than 5 amps should be plenty. I'd try 1 or 2 amps.
     
  19. NZ GS 400

    NZ GS 400 Gold Level Contributor

    Cool. Thanks again
     
  20. stump puller455

    stump puller455 1970 GS 455

    Jim Weise suggestion to me use AEM gauges so far I think they’re great definitely different from the left volts -air/fuel-temp-oil
     

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