Tach and speedometer repair experience


Joe Dozzo

Well-known member
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
May 22, 2006
763
Canon City, CO
Thought I share my recent experience with tach and speedometer repair options.

First, thanks to Kendall and CoolTech for taking on this interesting challenge, but I'm afraid that, for me, it misses the mark. I'll explain in a moment.

First, when I bought my 05 white / blue stripe in 2010, my second GT, it already had a full set of SpeedHut gauges installed. That speedometer failed after about 3 months of my ownership. "Failed" means that it began reading quite erratically, most often much slower than I was actually traveling. This actually happened on a very long road trip and I had several occasions to check the odometer - over 100 miles (as measured by highway mile markers) odometer is 99.7% accurate.

I was not a big fan of the SpeedHut gauges - I always preferred the look of the factory parts. And I really didn't like the obvious cutting / customization required to make the SpeedHut tach fit.

I bought a supposedly "known good" set of used factory gauges from a Forum member. Sadly, neither the tach or speedometer worked. In this case neither registered any movement at all. Lesson - know, 1000% - who you are buying from... 'nough said...

I ended up with replacement Autometer small gauges with used tach and speedometer from a dealer who made a big market in GT sales. All worked great for about 10,000 miles.

Coming back from the Petite Le Mans this year, the speedometer failed. In this case, "failed" means it began to register speeds not consistent with how fast I was actually traveling, typically 15 - 20 mph low when I was clipping along at much closer to 70 - 90 mph according to Garmin and traffic. (Battery is fresh, fully charged and ground strap is clean / sanded metal-to-metal contact.)

On advice, this time I've tried Kendall's repair options. Since I had spare non-functioning tach and speedo AND tach's are also know to occasionally fail, I opted to get repaired versions of both. Both work but each has issues we've not - to date - been able to resolve. The tach works but is quite slow to respond. Blip the throttle and the engine will return to idle before the tach responds (Kendall says he's now seen this in another car in his shop). Perhaps not critical in day-to-day driving but annoying all the same AND if I were ever to sell the car, there would be some 'splainin' to do... The repaired speedometer works but is about 10% fast - when it reads 90, Garmin reports 81 - at least this direction might save me a ticket, but again, annoying all the same. I've shared this with Kendall and he's in discussions with his supplier about potential solutions.

As I'm not the first person to use these repaired gauges, can anyone who also has the CoolTech repaired gauges chime in with their experience please?

I found a new Ford, in-the-box speedometer on eBay - turns out it was Scott Northwood - so I bought it.

New speedometer and my used tach both going back in the car as soon as the speedo arrives. If / when the tach ever goes out, it will only be a new gauge for me.
 

gtjoey

Keep Smiling - GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Oct 14, 2005
3,454
Joe, Old news but.....
Its a crap shoot, Ive seen new in the box no good as well.
Once a gage goes here are the steps....
1. New battery and clean the grounds and cables.
2. Make sure the new battery is fully charged.
3. Always wait for the chimes to finish when you turn the key on before hitting the button.
If the gages return ,it was a low voltage issue , which happens a lot with the shed down relays.
4. Low battery surges the gages with no DIODE protectors and BOOM.
Once in a million its the brain box, but unless someone goofs with it, Ive never seen that happen.
I have JAYS surge protector inline fuse for 10 years and never had one go...…..
Good luck.
GTJOEY1314
 

Chris A.

GT #32
Mark II Lifetime
Feb 6, 2007
1,233
Ortega Mountain, CA
Gage:sneaky:
 

PHXGT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 11, 2005
369
Phoenix, AZ
I have Kendall's alternative Tach and also see slow response. Would love to find an alternative that is as responsive at OEM.
 

Art138

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jan 4, 2011
624
Weston,FL
I have the in line surge protector fuse and have not had any issues.
 

HighHP

GT Owner
Jun 3, 2019
434
Spokane, WA
What is the "In Line Surge Protector Fuse"?
 

fjpikul

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jan 4, 2006
11,475
Belleville, IL
Analogdesigner, a long time member and inventor on this forum, designed a small fused adapter to hopefully protect the gauge cluster. You can search for it. The design is here as well so you can make your own. I have the first nuclear reactor light he sold and he has come up with other goodies, but no longer produces them.
 

2112

Blue/white 06'
Mark II Lifetime
Do we know that Autometer will never be making new and improved Tachs and Speedos available to us as they did for the smalls?
 

GT101

*UK Support*
Supporting Vendor
Jan 20, 2010
380
Colchester, Essex, UK
Do we know that Autometer will never be making new and improved Tachs and Speedos available to us as they did for the smalls?
I've had a few conversations with them over the years and they have no plans to do this.
 

Scooter

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 15, 2009
166
I spoke with Autometer 5 weeks ago the tech department told me if you buy a tachometer now it has different guts in it to correct the problem so he said..?? I think he said its a slightly different part number..? I was reluctant to buy a new one so I had Kendall rebuild it. I installed the rebuilt one 2 weeks ago worked great but is slow to respond I thought it was me and the 3 Floyds Zombie but no it is a bit slow maybe they will come up with a fix for this at least I know if it goes out again Kendall will take care of it.
 

Bill Briley

GT Owner
Aug 9, 2005
212
Valley Forge PA.
Hummmmmmno results for "Analogdesigner"..
I would like one of the "Fuse Protector units".
 

gtjoey

Keep Smiling - GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Oct 14, 2005
3,454
5 Ford GT 's ...all with analogdesigner "JAY'S" inline protector wire fuse and hundreds of thousands of miles.....
I never lost a gage.
He is retired and had a remake about 4 years ago.
Easy to do...…..
Just saying
GTJOEY1314
 

b_warner

New member
Sep 9, 2006
1
Jacksonville, FL
I spoke with Autometer 5 weeks ago the tech department told me if you buy a tachometer now it has different guts in it to correct the problem so he said..?? I think he said its a slightly different part number..? I was reluctant to buy a new one so I had Kendall rebuild it. I installed the rebuilt one 2 weeks ago worked great but is slow to respond I thought it was me and the 3 Floyds Zombie but no it is a bit slow maybe they will come up with a fix for this at least I know if it goes out again Kendall will take care of it.
I have been through two tachs. One from Bill Ford's car. You ,emtioonme Kendall. Can you share his phone contact? I bpought an Autometer replacement, but you have to rework the mounting hole to get it to fit. For a car of this cost, fopr Ford to run their back on the problemn is unprofessional.
 

Specracer

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 28, 2005
7,081
MA
^^^ Your 1st post when you joined in 2006?
 

SYCO GT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 9, 2006
4,974
California
Oh no....My gauges are finally acting sporadically...Would love to see pics of anyone's preferred gauge replacements...

I'd always been really good about keeping them on a charger when the car is not in use for any extended period.

How many have just replaced all of the gauges, and how many have only had to replace some of them, and are running a mix of OEM and aftermarket?
 
I have the full set of Speedhut gauges and the matching dash. It has been a few years, but I bought the entire set including the dashboard for less than a new stock speedo or tachometer. The Speedhut dash is slightly smaller than the stock one and so goes in and out more easily, plus it is sized to fit their gauges properly. I have never regretted making the swap. Plus, they are still in business, I believe they honor their warranty, and as a last resort you can buy replacements for reasonable prices. Finally, you can work with their designer to have gauge faces made as you desire.
 

2112

Blue/white 06'
Mark II Lifetime
I bought an entire Speedhut dash but elected to get the replacement Autometers (Small) when they became available.

I would not do one at a time. On my car, it was a serious PITA to get the dash panel out of the gauge pod. I would only want to do that once if possible.
.
 
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Joehand1

Tungsten GT Owner
Sep 20, 2007
599
Hattiesburg, MS, USA
Replace your battery before you do anything more. My gauges were acting sporadically even though battery would start the engine. Replaced it with new Optima and everything works now.