fuel air gauge bad

[jeff1234]

All, Apparently my fuel air gauge has gone bad. I have a fuel pressure gauge as well, can I get by on just the fuel pressure gauge alone? jeff

[cordes]

You mean your O2 sensor has gone bad, or your wide/narrow band O2 sensor readout? If it's either one you'll need it for proper tuning IMO. You can't tune off of fuel pressure very well if at all.

[turbovanman²]

What gauge and how did it go bad? Agreed on the fuel pressure, not a valid way of logging AF ratio.

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums.archive/vbarticles.php?do=article&articleid=22

[Sundance 6g72]

you shold be able to drive on it becuase WOT is not tuned by the ecu. dont change anything until you have the wideband fixed.

it is a wideband, right?

[jeff1234]

Hey All, thanks for the replies. My O2 sensor was fine, .4 VDC at idle. I dont have wideband. The reason I asked is because the gauge worked a couple of weeks ago and I decided to move it from the A pillar to the console, I created a three gauge panel and installed everything. When I fired the car up the gauge didn't work. I came to the conclusion that the gauge was bad and so I pulled it out and tested it on the battery, with input. Nothing, so I looked at the cost of new gauges and didn't relish the idea of spending $80.00 on a new one. My gut feeling was that I needed to have that gauge but being the cheap bastard that I am I thought I would ask you guys for your opinion. It pretty much reflected my own suspicions. Never the less, yesterday I got the number for Autometer repair and shipped it to the Sycamore, Il. facility. The gauge is a #4375 Autometer Sport Comp. FYI the phone number at Autometer is 1-866-248-6357. They told me that inspection for troubleshooting was free and they would call me with the cost of repair. It should be reasonable, I will report back to you guys regardless.
jeff

[turbovanman²]

Sounds good.

[jeff1234]

Autometer got my gauge today, inspected and tested it and said that it had an unrepairable electronic failure. They wouldnt elaborate but Im guessing that the part of the device that converts analog to digital and operates the LED's failed. They offered me a reconditioned one for $49.00 and said that the shipping back would be only as much as UPS normally charges. I would rather that it had been an inexpensive repair but I guess I should be grateful that I didn't have to buy a new one at $73.95 from Jegs or Summit and pay about $15.00 shipping besides. jeff

[turbovanman²]

I would buy a Dawes, much easier to read and they don't break.

http://www.3barracing.com/product_3.htm

[jeff1234]

To late for this one, if it breaks I will follow your advice. Thanks,jeff

[jeff1234]

Got online and looked at the dawes device. Similar in operation to the Autometer 4375. I think I would probably like the Gauge better because it sweeps and shows more increments. It seems to me that if you are on the low edge of green dipping into orange danger territory, the gauge would be more definative. I must admit that it isn't really any good for anything except telling you when to lift. I'm fascinated by the wideband thing, I know Chris sells something like that. Is there somewhere that I can go to get complete information on these devices. Do they allow tuning from inside the car on the fly? What equipment do you need to add to your car to be able to use these devices? Etc. Etc.
jeff

[turbovanman²]

Actually, like the website says, the flashy autometer guage is hard to read when at wot, you need to be focused on it. The Dawes is calibrated so yellow is good, greed and blue are rich, that's all you need to know, if you see red-LIFT NOW, lol.

If you want more info, then you get a wideband, which have dropped in price big time over the last few years.

IF you want to tune, you need to socket your computer, load up a template from here and tune away and either burn chips or use an Ostrich to tune on the fly.

[jeff1234]

TVM, I did some research, and it would cost a lot for me to set up. About $400 for the Moates stuff plus I dont have a laptop and if I understand enough of what is going on it looks as though I would need to have a different 02 sensor. That is a fair sized investment! Can perfomance improvements justify the cost? Can you provide illumination on the type of O2 I would need? I already have a socketed L/M and use a chip from Shelgame. Would I continue to use that chip, does it piggyback onto the Ostrich setup? Relative to the Autometer gauge, which website were you referring to in your last post? Sorry for so many questions. Thanks, jeff

[turbovanman²]

You can't use a NB gauge for tuning as its only designed for WOT operation.

For tuning, you already have a socketed LM so your mostly there. You must get a wideband gauge if your going to tune, they can be had for $200 or less and they do come with another sensor, you simply need to put another bung in your exhaust system. I think Lengel has a wideband for sale for $160 right now.

For tuning, you don't need a laptop, but it makes it easier. The Ostrich is all you need plus free programs from here, so you do a cal, make notes, plug the Ostrich into your home computer, make changes and off you go, I did that for along time as I"d make notes driving home, use my home or work computers to change the program.