aftermarket gauge installation & illumination


mardyn

GT Owner
Dec 20, 2005
490
Beautiful East Texas
I've had a few people contact me with questions about the new alternative SH gauge
package I recently installed in my FGT.

Mainly asking about the dash illumination and what exactly I had to do to make it work
and fit.

As I indicated in one of the other gauge threads, the new SH dash is about 99% Plug & Play.
meaning unplug the OEM Autometer gauges from the FGT dash harness, and simply plug
the new gauges into the same connector in the same location. Simple as that.

What about the other 1% seems to be the question. It involves the illumination of the gauge pointer
when the dash lights are turned on.
FGTdashilluminated08-14-2011010.jpg


(terrible pic I know, but it was dark out there I was unable to hold the camera steady enough).

It seems that the new SH gauges use an LED to make each pointer kinda' glow in addition to the normal
back-lighting like any normal gauge uses. The LEDs require AC power, so we used a small inverter
spliced into the gauge side harness. NO CUTTING of the original dash harness.

See picture below:

FGTgaugetestpics09-28-11028.jpg


The inverter is the small square module
that I located on the back of the tach with double sided tape
and picked up 12 volts from the light and ground on the adjacent temp gauge.
Two wires total to cut & splice.

Also, if you look closely, I had to modify the retaining ring on the tach slightly to clear the dash binacle in the car.
This operation took about 30 seconds on a small belt sander...or one could slightly relieve
the plastic around the dash, but I chose to sand on the easily replaceable ring as opposed to the car.

Over all, I am very pleased with the new SH dash as it's working perfectly. It great being able to get out and use my
car once again and actually be able to monitor my speed, boost and engine temperature... without having to worry
about the gauges failing with each turn of the ignition key.

As always, anyone with additional questions can contact me at [email protected]

Cheers!
mardyn
 
Excellent work !
 
Outstanding work, Mardyn!! Great product, great project and thanks for seeing it through! It's always great to have alternatives - and this looks like a good one!!
 
If you only replace two small gauges, will they blend in with the rest, or stand out?
 
Great work Mardyn.

Shame on those with the proper resources that leave loyal customers with no solution or alternatives.
 
Last edited:
Great work Mardyn.

Shame on those with the proper resources that leave loyal customers with no solution or alternatives.

+1000
 
Thanks Mardyn!

Looks great!
 
That's awesome:) Wonder if they can do a tach to 9000? Im going to need one shortly;)
 
That's awesome:) Wonder if they can do a tach to 9000? Im going to need one shortly;)

How is your Ferrariesque Turbo intake manifold coming along?
 
The LEDs require AC power, so we used a small inverter
spliced into the gauge side harness.

If you know, why the AC power? LEDs are DC powered (2-5V) and current driven (operating currents are <20mA levels). Best if constant current power source is used if the voltage might vary (like in cars), but that can be accomplished with a transistor and some resistors running on the vehicles 12VDC supply instead of converting to AC and back to DC.

But they look good.
 
How is your Ferrariesque Turbo intake manifold coming along?

Oh its a little Different now:) Its being cnc'd and will be done this next week. I'll post some pics of the final product soon. Single T.b now and no longer split. Its sick look'n
 
That's awesome:) Wonder if they can do a tach to 9000? Im going to need one shortly;)

Ahhhh. 9000 rpm. Looking forward to seeing the results of your build.
 
Oh its a little Different now:) Its being cnc'd and will be done this next week. I'll post some pics of the final product soon. Single T.b now and no longer split. Its sick look'n

Ah, too bad. Putting that big bland box on top of my motor is enough reason for me not to ever go TT. :frown

.
 

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Just saw the Speed-Hut gauge set up on Ebay, looks like a winner.
 
 
As a safety measure while all my gauges are functional and until Ford/Autometer decide how and when to resolve the issue(s) (if the problem exists of course), I'm thinking about taking my factory OEM setup out (shelving them) and replacing the entire assy. with the whole setup. Anyone else thinking the same?
 
As a safety measure while all my gauges are functional and until Ford/Autometer decide how and when to resolve the issue(s) (if the problem exists of course), I'm thinking about taking my factory OEM setup out (shelving them) and replacing the entire assy. with the whole setup. Anyone else thinking the same?

Yep, I'm thinking the exact same. "Great minds think alike", or "fools seldom differ", I'm not sure. But either way, I'm with you on this thinking.
 
Trying to find out about white face, chrome bezel, red pointer and 30lb.boost.
 
As a safety measure while all my gauges are functional and until Ford/Autometer decide how and when to resolve the issue(s) (if the problem exists of course), I'm thinking about taking my factory OEM setup out (shelving them) and replacing the entire assy. with the whole setup. Anyone else thinking the same?

Yep, I'm thinking the exact same. "Great minds think alike", or "fools seldom differ", I'm not sure. But either way, I'm with you on this thinking.

I'm noodling on this since it appears you can get the whole setup - bezel and gauges - for less than a Ford speedometer or tach...

I hope that whenever Ford does come up with the answer that it not only involves the gauges that have been lost but also does a preventive fix for the rest.
 
As a safety measure while all my gauges are functional and until Ford/Autometer decide how and when to resolve the issue(s) (if the problem exists of course), I'm thinking about taking my factory OEM setup out (shelving them) and replacing the entire assy. with the whole setup. Anyone else thinking the same?

First of all, the set in your Heritage will never break. Second, even if Ford comes out with a fix do you expect them to swap out new gauges for your working old ones. I don't see how this solves a problem.