Has many people installed these as looking to buy one look a good piece of kit...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3008069155...84.m1423.l2649

 

Looks OK.
Voltmeter is useless.

 

Just seen the smoked looks like the same colour as my dash on night time so should look factory

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2908036281...84.m1423.l2649

 

How it LOOKS is secondary.

Does it/will it work properly, is the main question.

 

I've fitted 2 of these, mine and one for a mate. The readings are good and accurate and the sensors and fittings are good quality. Voltmeter is not useless as it tells you what voltage is being drawn so you know whether or not the battery is charging and you've got a good output from the alternator

 

Thanks for a positive reply mate

Yes looks do come second but just mentioned will look factory obviously function is more important but JonMc has made my mind up

 

That's good to know.

Voltage isn't drawn, that's current. Voltage is a pushing force, basically the difference in electrical potential between one place and another.
An AMMETER on a car would be useful, and WOULD tell you if the battery was being charged.

Neither: it just tells you want the PD is across whichever terminals you put it.

 

Ive heard good things about these and it has the main useful ones, Oil Pressure Oil Temp and Boost

 

Terchnically my language is incorrect, but the fact that you can see the PD increase from 12v to 13.5-14.5v when you start the engine provides you an indication that the electrical circuit is likely to be healthy. It's good enough for a quick roadside test rather than getting into the in depth diagnosis of disconnecting circuit to check current draw should a fault be identified or suspected. Unless you have circuits in the car that are using transformers to step the voltage up or down it shouldn't really matter what terminals you measure the PD across.

I suspect voltmeters are used as they are easier for the untrained DIYer to install. Putting an ammeter in-line would require a bit more knowledge than cutting a wire and planking it in without even checking the core size of the wire is the same - you wouldn't want to introduce additional resistance, and therefore heat, into the equation.

 

I fitted one for someone else at the time I was considering what gauges to get for myself. It was the quality of fit and the confirmation of the accuracy of the readings that helped me decide to go down that route.

 

Strictly speaking John, basic Ohm's Law tells us that the PD across different electrical items will be...different. And will depend on the resistance of the item.

As for ammeters, they are easy enough to instal and USED to be a must-have on rally cars.
It really is just a case of chopping the main feed from alternator and installing the ammeter.

Unfortunately, a decent ammeter is quite expensive, the cable size now needed on modern cars is awful to work with and the ammeter/cabling can also cause interference on some radios, and the scale of the ammeter now needed makes reading all but the most expensive ones almost impossible...so most folk no longer bother.

 

Given that most well designed items will want to minimise resistance (light bulbs and CR circuits aside) then you should be able to get a decent voltage reading from most lives available. I agree that the concept behind fitting an ammeter is fine, but from what I have seen with your average DIY electical installs often crimps are done with budget crimping tools and not decent ratchet ones - the tools I mean are the ones with yellow or red handles that come in a pack with a 1000 cheap crimps for a tenner the likelihood of a decent install is slim.

I'm content to use the voltmeter a gauge of serviceability but not as a means of fault finding. If the reading is in the ball park of what I am expecting, and I generally use the one from my PSI3 and not the gauge, then I am content. If the readings are not right then I get my multimeter out and start fault-finding

 

Fair enough. But I hold firm that fitted to a car, it's a waste of money. Sorry.

Only ever had one...on an Escort Mexico. I ignored it and concentrated on the ammeter.
And the ammeter it was told me when the alternator was on the way out, NOT the voltmeter.

Mind it did have four Cibie rally lights and a pair of Cibie Biode headlights, so a total of EIGHT 55W bulbs..this wass well before the easy availability of 100W bulbs, or 36A just on lighting....and the poor old alternator was only 45A.

 

But when you consider that the 4-in-1 gauge is cheaper than 2 gauges of similar quality in build terms then it's not like the OP ir I have spent money on a bespoke voltmeter - there's no option to get one with a ammeter instead...

 

Lol,get a room you 2

 

I have one and can't fault it, good little gauge with easy to read info. always good to have an indication of oil temp and pressure, especially if you've played with the car.
Fitted mine in the airvent by the steering wheel, it's in an easy to view location but doesn't stand out

 

No, no, of course not. The gauge itself looks OK, I'm sure it will be fine. I was just commenting on voltmeters. Sorry if you thought otherwise.

 

And having used mine today for the first time in a while the oil temp and pressure reading were as expected and the voltage and boost readings correlated with those on my PSI3

 

 

Can you post pics mate as planning on putting mine there....

Also did you use all fitting supplied to get oil pressure and temp or any extras needed....

Thanks Martin

 

not sure if i can post a pic using photobucket ???

I had to get a sandwich plate for the filter as well, the fittings are good and have decent runs of cable, you will need some ptfe tape though for the threads.

 

Ye no pic there mate...

Interesting been told sandwhich plates are a waste of time and use existing oil pressure point and cylinder 3 bung for temperature

 

Get the pic hosted in Photobucket.

Click on reply, then on the image icon. Paste the url of the pic in PB into the window that opens, close window. Click reply.

 

 

Considered that sort of fitting but found that the steering wheel obscured the view of the gauge...

 

I've never had a problem with the sandwich plate, if it was good enough for my supra it's sure good enough for a scooby. I believe people say you get a better reading in the engine locations, do a few searches on here about it and it'll make your head hurt

 

Sorry bud, but that first bit makes no sense whatsoever.

It's a bit like folk who come on here saying, "Do it, mate, it worked for my RS Turbo, and that's a turbo car, so it'll be good....."

The Supra and the Scooby are vastly different cars, as I'm sure you are aware.

Scoobs engines aren't anywhere near as strong, and have known faults, one of which is that cylinder No 3 is known to run hot.

For that reason, the BEST, in fact the only safe, place to put an oil temperature probe, is in the tappings on top of that very cylinder. To put one elsewhere is to negate the importance of oil temperature and to ignore the knowledge about cylinder No 3.

Likewise, the tapping on the top/front is where the oil pressure sender needs to be, since that's where the oil pressure is measured on the stock engine. Scoob designers put things in a certain place for a certain reason.
To ignore it and think you know best is a little unsafe at least, and possibly asking for trouble.

In the end, however, I can only tell you what I've learned on here through the years. it's your car, your money...your decision.

 

The LMA fitting kits for cylinder 3 and pressure sender T-ing are no dearer than a good sandwich plate, and by time you've dropped the oil once, and then again when the sandwich plate leaks, you'll have the TMIC and alternator off and the senders fitted anyway

 

Thats a very good point mate...

Really like were your gauge is so will look for a pod like that

 

Good luck with that, mine is home made

Nomad racing do one which is supposed to be quite good but 60mm pillar pods are few and few between, even rarer if you have a newage