Stewart Warner problems for me too

[jhaynie]

Another thing noticed during my dyno testing was that the water guage (yes mine also Clay), is reading about 30 degrees low. On top of that, as Gasman and I expected from a couple weeks ago, my Speedometer is reading 10mph low. Luckily the tachometer is right (may be the only thing, including the driver).

Anyway to calibrate these suckers, or do I just have to buy more inaccurate replacements?

John

Unique 289FIA #9367
351W Fuel Injected

[clayfoushee]

John,

From what I've heard from many people over the last 9 months since I picked up my car, all your gauges are within spec. That's about how they performed in the 60's, and it's the same technology. You should just be happy that they work!

Clay

'98 Unique #9299, 427FE side oiler, top-loader (close), 3.31 rear

Annapolis, MD

[jhaynie]

HMMM, Do I want authenticity, or do I want a burned up engine, or speeding tickets for going 10mph over the posted limit? I'll have to think about that one.

Unique 289FIA #9367
351W Fuel Injected

[clayfoushee]

Come on John...you seem like a bright guy....just do the math in your head, as long as they're consistent. Now that I've learned what the numbers really mean, it's not that hard to make that mental adjustment.[^]

In truth, I'd rather have accurate, more reliable gauges too, but I like the old school look.

Clay

'98 Unique #9299, 427FE side oiler, top-loader (close), 3.31 rear

Annapolis, MD

[dmiller]

i "tested" my speedo against a gps the other day, it seemed to indicate about 4-6 mph less than the gps indicated. i have a lot of experience with the gps, and trust its accuracy. so, if my observations are correct, the speedo will indicate 60 mph but i'm actually doing 64-66 mph down the road.

as far as water temp gage, i have a 190 degree thermostat, and that's what the water gage indicates when warm, also, the fuel injection computer's water temp are close in agreement.

[bittentoo]

John,

It's not hard to correct the speedo problem. Just replace the gear that is on the end of the speedo cable that inserts into the trans tailhousing. You will need to pull the cable out, count the "teeth" and go down 2. Each tooth is good for about 5 mph on the speedo. So if you have a 18, you need a 16 for example.

David Kee's in San Antonio can fix you up.

Heck, if you find out that you need a 16, let me know, I have one and will bring it with me to the Homecoming!

[jhaynie]

Thanks BT. I hope it is that easy of a fix. I'll see if I can get that gear out before homecoming and let you know.

John

Unique 289FIA #9367
351W Fuel Injected

[gasman]

John, See my comment on your Dyno thread.

Steve Foushee

[casaleenie]

OK, as long as you guys are discussing guages..

My tach meter works.. however, there is a heavy blue wire coming out of the back of the meter that is not connected to anything. It was stripped and hanging loose when I got the car.. The light works on the meter and, like I said, the tach works..
I taped the end of the wire and stuffed it back up under the dash.
"Out of sight, out of mind".
Any thoughts as to what I'm faced with?


AL

[Brent]

I am not so sure it is just a SW problem. From my experience, all electric gauges suck. I will be switching to mechanical gauges as soon as an authentic looking guage is found.

Brent

[JerryBP]

I agree with Brent, if an electical sender and gauge is within 20% it is a good one.

Work in Progress, Unique 427-9429 400+hp 351C Tremec 3550-2 5spd Coal Black
by Bruce, Greg & Jerry Porter Caldwell, Ohio

[excelguru]

My tach has never worked from day one (can't figure out how to wire it). I'm hoping that someone can help resolve this at homecoming.

Keith
Unique Motorcars
Southern Automotive
Bruce Bunn (the painter)

My Photo Album

[Brent]

Keith what ignition system are you using ? If your ign. box does not have a hook-up for the tach then you will need to hook the pick-up wire of the tach to the negative side of the coil.
red to 12V
Black to grnd.
and I think the pick up wire for a SW is grey or white


Brent

[davids2toys]

My tach is reading to high...about 900 rpm, if I hit the glass it comes down to where it suppose to be.
i was reading 3800 at 60 mph, a few hits on the glass and it is at 2800/2900 rpm, also, when car is shut off, it stays around 1500 rpm, then it drops to zero when you turn the key back on!
Does this make any sense?

[pgermond]

yep, the tach drops to '0' with the power on and sticks around 1.5k w/the power off. As an aside, and in the for what is worth category - I have Autometer gauges that have never given me a problem that others have experienced w/SW gauges (i.e amp-meter, etc) ......

[Aggressor]

John - I had a similar water temperature problem with my second build. The temp gauge was reading 25 degrees less than it should. The solution was to reinstall the sender using a liquid paste thread sealant instead of the pipe thread sealant tape. It seems that you can put down enough tape to insulate the sender from a solid ground to the engine block yielding lower readings. As stated above the speedo correction should be a 2 minute gear swap on the cable.

-Geary

[JeepSnake]

John's former car has been in our garage for more than a year now...

Both problems have been corrected - one call to Mike Forte got the correct speedometer gear. And, the water temperature gauge was actually reading correctly. The engine had a 160 degree thermostat in it - I discovered this after replacing both the sending unit and the gauge. When the temp still registered low, I pulled the t-stat and discovered the "160" stamped on it.

[davids2toys]

yep, the tach drops to '0' with the power on and sticks around 1.5k w/the power off. As an aside, and in the for what is worth category - I have Autometer gauges that have never given me a problem that others have experienced w/SW gauges (i.e amp-meter, etc) ......

So what is the fix for this?

[nolastyankee]

Most tach gauges need power to move. Cut the power to the dash with the key, you kill the gauge movement where it is. You'll either need to rewire the gauges to stay hot with the key off (not recommended since it will drain the battery) or learn to live with it. If it's a real concern you can try tape over the gauge when the car is off so you can't see it!

[clayfoushee]

You can take solace in the fact those mechanical gauges are reliably, predictably, fairly universally, often inaccurate, but they usually just keep working. Mine still performs the same way years later, and sometimes reads 1K too high under power. However, a simple little knuckle tap brings it back home.

My suggestion is to be satisfied that you're living the "real Cobra experience." Those gauges behaved the same way "back in the day."