Guage questions.

[tyger25]

I just installed new Autometer Phantom guages, and have a couple of questions.
What should I put in the hole the factory tach came out of?
What is a good engine ground for the voltmeter?
How do you ground the Fuel Guage?
Where is the coil to connect the Tach?

Thanks for any help!

[CPNE]

What should I put in the hole the factory tach came out of

Radar, sonar, or depth finder? How about a game of "Pong"? (If you don't know what this is you're too young, so don't ask)?

[racedvl]

Here's my set up.

[Longhorn Man]

What should I put in the hole the factory tach came out of?
What is a good engine ground for the voltmeter?
Where is the coil to connect the Tach?

Tach hole...good place for a tach. No need for a huge monster one to fill one of the big holes IMO, the best location is where the stock one was, direct line of sight.

'Engine ground' is a BS term for ground. Your dash should be grounded, as is your inst panel. If the inst panel isn't grounded well, run a wire from the backing plate of the inst panel and secure it to the dash. (I recomend doing that even if you DO have a good ground)

Coil to tach... If you have the original points set up, run a wire from the neg terminal on the coil and hook it to the green wire on you (asumed) aftermarket tach. If you have the HEI upgrade, then run a wire from the TACH terminal (next to the 12 volt input) and run it to said green wire.

Fuel guage...I can't help you on that...onless it is an OEM guage.

[oldtrucknut]

I did the exact same thing with my instrument panel. I took a piece of plexi glass and scuffed it with 1400 grit sand paper, then painted it with white spray paint to match the guage faces. Don't laugh, it looks good... I used super glue sparingly to fasten it to the back side of the bezel. I mounted it with the smooth, non painted side out. It doesn't have to be cut perfect, as you have a little room to play with. I also used small colored light assemblies for turn signal indicators that slid through the factory bezel and hold the plexi glass in place. If I had a digital camera I would be happy to take a picture for you. The fuel level guage can be grounded anywhere.

[Michael12]

Were the stock tac was you should replace it with a clock and have your tac were the gas guage was and have one of the small gauges on the bottom be the gas guage. and you still have 3 guages for your volts, oil temp, and water temp.

Good luck with everything...
-Michael

[tyger25]

Originally posted by Michael12
Were the stock tac was you should replace it with a clock and have your tac were the gas guage was and have one of the small gauges on the bottom be the gas guage. and you still have 3 guages for your volts, oil temp, and water temp.

Good luck with everything...
-Michael

That's pretty much what I did. Big Speedo, and big Tach. Small fuel, water temp, oil pressure, and voltmeter. I just got to get them all to work now! Thanks for the info!

[hjalbert]

well, anythign the other guys said would go great, but if you decide to sell your factory tach and harness and all (if you had one) let me know thanks

[Ackattack]

Here's a pic of my guage setup. I'm using the center area for my dummy lights and high beam indicator (since I'll be getting the matching speedo soon).



I used a terminal block (I think that's what they call it) to wire from the guages to the cluster, and then from the terminal block to two 6 wire trailer harnesses so that if I have to remove the guages, I just unplug the harnesses and it pops out (have to disconnect headlight, wiper switches and speedo cable too). I used the opposite ends of the trailer harness so that I can't mix them up and run everything messed up.

[tyger25]

Trailer harness! I never thought of that! I did think of some type of connector, but couldn't find one that helped any.

[Longhorn Man]

That is a pretty good idea.