Quote:
Originally Posted by Second Series
The gauge hook up looks pretty straight forward, thanks for showing. I have been researching how to do that for my build. Your truck build inspires me.
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I'm happy to help. For my gauges, I ran a single keyed 12v power and a single ground and then used T-Tap splices to connect them to the individual gauges. The keyed 12v power was from the Dodge wire harness and is getting power through the fuse panel for the instrument cluster, however you could use any keyed 12v power source and add an inline fuse.
With the T-Taps, I just ran short individual jumpers to the gauges. The only other issue is matching your sending units to your gauges. The 1994-1997 Dodge Ram 1500 fuel level sending unit in nearly compatible with a GM 0-90 Ohm fuel gauge, so no need to make another hole in my gas tank for a separate fuel level sender, (Chrysler used a 5-83 Ohm sender, or something close to that. I forget the exact numbers, but close enough to work).
The only gauge I needed to run a separate wire for was the water temperature sender. The 1994-1997 Dodge had two temp sensors on the intake manifold, one for the computer to adjust fuel trim and one for the dash cluster. Both of these senders were smaller in diameter than the sending unit that came with the Autometer temperature gauge and the Dodge sender for the cluster wasn't compatible with the Autometer gauge. I could have drilled out and tapped the intake manifold where Chrysler installed the sender for their gauge and used the Dodge wiring, but since I already had an adapter with the correct port for the Autometer sender, it was the easy answer.
I'm split on the oil pressure gauge. The mismatched gauge is mechanical, however, I installed a t-fitting a the back of the motor to allow for the electric sending unit (Dodge) as well as an additional port for a mechanical gauge. Autometer offers both types of gauge in the Arctic White style with the mechanical gauge being about $13 more than the electric unit. While the electric unit will save a little money and will wire right in, the mechanical unit will never lie. There is no sender to go bad and in the event of impending engine failure, you can see there is a problem long before it becomes terminal, if you know what you are seeing. Fluctuations in pressure can indicate bearing wear, necessity for oil change, etc.
True story...years ago I had a Dodge Power Wagon that I equipped with a mechanical oil pressure gauge. At highway speed, oil pressure was a constant 60 psi unless it was getting to be time to change the oil. One night between Phoenix and Yuma, AZ, I noticed my oil pressure had dropped significantly (30 psi at 3000 rpm). I was still in the 10 psi per 1000 rule, so I was sure I wasn't doing damage. Later on during the trip, pressure went right back to normal. At first I though my mind was playing tricks on me and that I was just tired. It was very early in the morning and I have been up most of the night.
I kept an eye on things and saw no other indication of a problem. Occasionally, it would drop to 30 psi in the blink of an eye and just as quickly, it went back to normal. I continued driving this truck for months like this with absolutely no other indication that anything was wrong. Oil changes were normal, no signs of metal debris and no unusual noises. Then one afternoon, I was pulling a very heavy steel trailer and was trying to merge onto the interstate. I accelerated hard, much harder than normal and all of the sudden I lost power. I pushed in the clutch, the engine died immediately and I coasted to a stop.
I got a tow back to base, pulled the engine and removed the oil pan. The crankshaft had broken and separated at the counter balance weight. The break wasn't a clean break, it was angled and when I accelerated with the load the two pieces pushed against each other and began to wedge into the main bearing web. The crank had broken many months earlier, but when cruising at light loads, it would separate just a bit, causing the loss of oil pressure that I would randomly see. In the end, I replaced the crank, bearings and one connecting rod that was damaged when things tried to wedge.
The gauge was trying to tell me there was a problem. I just didn't know what I was seeing and didn't take the time to investigate further. Had it let go at higher speed, it could have been the entire block and a bunch of bent valves as well.
-Joe