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Group Buy on SpeedHut Gauges


ihiryu

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10 hours ago, ihiryu said:

The issue is the OHM reading of the factory level isn't that wide.  If memory serves, the level reads in quarters (Full, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4), and so it's not super accurate.

 

What I have done in the was I used a 0-5v fuel level converter, and I used it for a digital fuel level inside the ECU for a customer.  He didn't use SpeedHut gauges, he had a full standalone with a matching cluster, but at that point it read relatively normal.

 

If people are interested in this, I can reach out to speedhut and see if they can make their gauges read a 0-5 instead of a OHM reading.

That would be beneficial for all....

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15 hours ago, Derek said:

+1 for this. I'm currently in therapy because of range anxiety. Looks like I have half a tank, great, looks down again, Empty???

I haven’t got this far to try and dial it in but the single button menu is enough to drive me nuts . 
This sucks about the fuel gauge . Hell- the stock gauge is bad enough , but to know my new gauge might be worse really sucks . 

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18 hours ago, jhm said:

Interesting reading on the fuel gauge issue -- thanks to those who have posted here.  I guess I know which aftermarket fuel gauge I will not be buying.  :-)

 

The gauges themselves are great as far as I'm concerned and I would search specifically for this ohm problem with any other set you look at. 

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5 hours ago, Derek said:

 

The gauges themselves are great as far as I'm concerned and I would search specifically for this ohm problem with any other set you look at. 

I would agree with Derek. These Speedhut gauges are very nice. The fuel is just a calibrated ohm meter. If you send it a bad resistance you get a bad reading. I'll be running Speedhut gauges just need to find time to get the old girl along further. 

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11 hours ago, Derek said:

The gauges themselves are great as far as I'm concerned and I would search specifically for this ohm problem with any other set you look at. 

 

Yes, I know Speedhut gauges are a fine product in general; however, it sounds like even if you can manage to get the fuel gauge calibrated correctly, it only reads in increments of 1/4 tank.  My stock fuel gauge reads accurately and consistently, so I'll be sticking with that for now. 

 

I very much appreciate everyone's inputs on these....always good to have first-hand feedback on a product.

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I've sold tons of these, and haven' had a ton of complaints on the fuel level, but then again, most of these guys are probably still in project car status lol. 

 

Personally though, I have had a handful of Zs here that I've installed the gauges for them, and they all seem to read in quarters.  The way I calibrate it is by removing the level all together, and just lifting it, and lowering it that way.  
 

If you move the level out of the tank, it reads relatively smoothly, but for some reason when it goes back into the tank, it only reads in 1/4's.  

 

On the flip side though, on my own personal Z, I was never able to actually fill it up to max capacity either (for some unknown reason).  If memory serves, the factory tank is supposed to be 15 gallons or so, I could only get 8 out of mine, and I've actually let the car run out of fuel idling at the shop, just to test it.  This was even when I first got the car, and it was relatively stock. 

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Just got back from a drive and the gauge was swinging form 3/4 to empty at what seemed to be random intervals. I got nervous and fueled up and it only took 4 gallons.   I read somewhere that the the voltage to the gauge can effect the reading but not sure if that is valid.

 

Any thoughts on this unit?

https://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=473/category_id=167/mode=prod/prd473.htm

 

Pricy but if it will solve my problems then I'm willing to go that direction.  They also have this:

https://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=748/category_id=167/mode=prod/prd748.htm

 

18 minutes ago, ihiryu said:

I've sold tons of these, and haven' had a ton of complaints on the fuel level, but then again, most of these guys are probably still in project car status lol. 

 

That is probably a very accurate assessment :)  

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@Derek, that second link for the MeterMatch looks promising, I've programed the Speedhut fuel gauge a couple of times and my gauge still swings like a wind vane.  I think I'll contact Tanks Inc. and describe the problem, I'm willing to part will $70 USD to have a working fuel gauge again, I'll post the results.

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I'd suspect the sending unit long before the gauge. I'm going to see if I can rig the one I have here up and see if it swings smoothly.

 

@ihiryu I need a couple of gauges for the pillar in my Jeep JK. I'll get specs together and shoot you a message. 

 

Dave

Edited by jpndave
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6 hours ago, jpndave said:

I'd suspect the sending unit long before the gauge. I'm going to see if I can rig the one I have here up and see if it swings smoothly.

 

@ihiryu I need a couple of gauges for the pillar in my Jeep JK. I'll get specs together and shoot you a message. 

 

Dave

I did as well so I put in a brand new sender. I think it made it worse:) 

 

10 hours ago, grannyknot said:

I think I'll contact Tanks Inc. and describe the problem, I'm willing to part will $70 USD to have a working fuel gauge again, I'll post the results.

That would be great.  I'm going to check the connections to the sender this morning and make sure nothing is loose. 

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13 hours ago, Derek said:

I did as well so I put in a brand new sender. I think it made it worse:) 

 

That would be great.  I'm going to check the connections to the sender this morning and make sure nothing is loose. 

As far and the Datsun sending unit and the large jumps, how coarse is the resolution output? I wonder if those sending units are not a very fine resolution. It may not matter new or old if the steps are very large.

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4 hours ago, Derek said:

Just a heads up. Techo versions the company that offers the Ron Tyler mount also offers/makes the meter match.  The more I read about it the more I think that is probably what we are looking for.

 

Just read the meter match description. That same function is built into the speedhut fuel gauge. Meter match looks more like it's for adapting a different sender to an oem type gauge. 

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7 hours ago, Zetsaz said:

 

Just read the meter match description. That same function is built into the speedhut fuel gauge. Meter match looks more like it's for adapting a different sender to an oem type gauge. 

 

This part from the instructions got my attention.

 

Quote

In the default mode, the MeterMatch averages readings to make the needle move more slowly. This is not necessary on older, slower-responding gauges, but can come into play with more modern gauges that have less internal dampening.

 

That is exactly the issue I'm having. The slightest movement on the sender makes the gauge swing. This is also interesting as well.

 

Quote

Most gauges are connected to a voltage regulator in the instrument wiring so that they get a constant voltage whether the engine is running or not. However, if this is not the case, when you calibrate your gauge at one voltage (for example, engine not running, battery at +12.5V), then start the vehicle and the voltage rises (for example to +13.8V), the gauge reading might change significantly.

 

I have a lot of electrical items and I'm sure the voltage swings quite a bit depending on conditions. Not sure if this bothers Speed Hut gauges.

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I just posted this in Electrical but here it is as well.

 

Speedhut fuel gauge and MeterMatch

 

Like a lot of others I’ve had issues with the Speedhut fuel gauge playing nicely with the stock fuel tank sender. I would get wild swings and was never really sure how much fuel I had. After some discussions on the Speedhut group buy thread I decided to get a MeterMatch from Technoversions. It basically takes the ohm readings from the sender and converts them to a more stable range for the gauge.

 

So here is how I attacked this. I tried to install it without pulling the sender and it was just not working. And during the course of this I was getting some erroneous readings from the sender. So I drained the tank all the way and pulled the sender. I brought the sender into the car so I could manually move it to see what was going on.  I set the fuel gauge back to default of 240 empty and 33 full. I then used the MeterMatch to set full and empty calibration. To calibrate you used up and down buttons to move the gauge needle and then save it when you get it where you want it. I had a really hard time since a single button push moved the needle almost a 1/4 tank. I ended up getting it close with MM and then doing a final calibration with the gauge. This worked really well.  I reinstalled the sending unit and rewired it with a new good ground and a dedicated sender wire straight to the MM. I have a 16 gal tank.  I put in 2 gallons and the meter read 1/8 and was stable. So far so good. I put in two more and it was a little above 1/4. Still good but I wanted to try the lower mid point calibration.  As before the button presses moved the needle a ton. But I noticed the needle wasn’t stopping at the same place. I found I could walk the needle around by different combinations. I went to the gas station and put in four more gallons and the gauge read 1/2. Four more and I was a little above 3/4. Went for a drive and the needle was really steady compared to what I had before. Let’s face it a lever arm sender is going to have a lot of movement and if the gauge isn’t designed for that sender then it’s only going to be so good.  So I got back to the shop and contacted Brian at Technoversions with questions about the up down calibration. Here is his reply:

With regard to the MeterMatch, what you are seeing with the up/down resolution is on purpose.  Most gauges use a fair amount of current, so if we made the buttons work at full resolution, you could be pressing one of the up/down buttons a thousand times to go from end to end.  So we make the buttons move the amount in larger increments.  But to make the points in-between accessible, we make the increments between up and down slightly different, so that all values can be selected.

 

This is hardly noticeable on most gauges, but on some electronic gauges, such as the one you have, much less current is necessary so you are working within a small range of values, so the resolution appears to be much coarser.  But you should be able to get there.

 

So you can hit a specific target with the right combo but I will tell you it is a challenge. You can get the needle where you want it and after you take it out of program mode it changes. I set the upper mid point calibration the best I could considering the heat index in Florida right now and may revisit it in the future. From 3/4 tank and up I don’t care if it is accurate and truth be told as long as I can count on 1/4 tank being stable and accurate I’ll be happy.

 

So to sum up.

I would run a separate dedicated ground and signal wire first since in all reality that may have been the bulk of my issues. I already had the MM so I used it.  If That doesn’t work for you then:

Purchase MM from Technoversions

Set the fuel gauge to default ohms since that is where it was designed to work.

Use the MM calibration to get the needle to full and empty as best you can. I wouldn’t get too crazy with the button pushes since you are going to set the final calibration with the gauge.

Recalibrate the Speedhut fuel gauge.

Install the sender and use known amounts of fuel to check calibration.

 

I plan on draining the tank when it reads 1/4 and if I have 4 gallons then I’m golden. I’ll update this thread after I drive it a bit as well.

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