Volt gauge Problem

[03MERCMARAUDER]

I noticed when on my way to work this morning that my volt gauge was black but the OP gauge was lit,i tapped on it and it came on now the volt gauge is really dim and the op gauge is bright, any suggestions on what this could be. If I have to pull the gauge panel anyopne have a write up to give me some help?Thanks guys

Joe

[Bradley G]

Hey 03mercmarauder,The way you describe the problem,It makes me think there is a bad connection (loose wire)or somthing to that effect.No warranty left??
Bradley G

[03MERCMARAUDER]

no warranty left on the car, only thing I have a warranty left on is the mototr, it worked just fine last night and all the sudden this morning its starts acting up.

[jgc61sr2002]

no warranty left on the car, only thing I have a warranty left on is the mototr, it worked just fine last night and all the sudden this morning its starts acting up.


It sounds to me like a loose ground wire.

[Marauder8]

I noticed when on my way to work this morning that my volt gauge was black but the OP gauge was lit,i tapped on it and it came on now the volt gauge is really dim and the op gauge is bright, any suggestions on what this could be. If I have to pull the gauge panel anyopne have a write up to give me some help?Thanks guys

Joe
Possible Alternator

[jobrien8]

When you increase engine speed do all of the lights get brighter or is it just the oil pressure guage? If they do, you probably have the voltage regulator going bad. The worse part is that the regulator is internal to the alternator. So you have to get a new alternator.

[03MERCMARAUDER]

The rest of the gauges are fine just the volt gauge is dim now.

[FordNut]

loose ground, loose bulb, or bad bulb

[RF Overlord]

^^^what 'Nut said^^^

The gauge pod is relatively simple to remove. Just pull down firmly at the back of each "wing"...it's held in place by those "alligator" clips. Once loose, you'll need to put the shift lever in "D" to make enough room to rotate the pod up and out. Each gauge has its own connector, but don't worry about which is which; they're all different. Installation is just the reverse, it snaps in place...

[SouLRioT]

Is this a stock volt gauge?

[RoyLPita]

If your problem cannot be fixed, how about replacing both guages? The oil pressure guage is just an "on/off" deal (no real reading). The new guage comes with the sender for true pressure readings. The lights in the volt guage match the new oil pressure guage. Summit has these for a total of $100.00. Part #s are : volt meter: atm4391, oil: atm4327. Keep us posted.

Just my .02 and then some.

[03MERCMARAUDER]

If the gauge cant be fixed thats what I am gonna do, i am gonna swap out the op guge anyway, thanks for letting me know how the gouge panle comes out i looked at it today but didnt really try to get it off, I might just not put a volt gauge back in there maybe a tranny temp gauge. I am gonna tear into it tomarrow after work, thanks for the help guys, i will let you know what I find

[Zim Hosein]

If your problem cannot be fixed, how about replacing both guages? The oil pressure guage is just an "on/off" deal (no real reading). The new guage comes with the sender for true pressure readings. The lights in the volt guage match the new oil pressure guage. Summit has these for a total of $100.00. Part #s are : volt meter: atm4391, oil: atm4327. Keep us posted.

Just my .02 and then some.
Are you serious RoyLPita, or are you poking fun at it's accuracy? :confused:

[FordNut]

Are you serious RoyLPita, or are you poking fun at it's accuracy? :confused:
It's true. Notice the pressure is always the same, whether the car is hot or cold? Many old discussions can be found on this topic.

[Zim Hosein]

It's true. Notice the pressure is always the same, whether the car is hot or cold? Many old discussions can be found on this topic.
Thanks for the quick reply FordNut, the reason I asked was because on my old Camaro, the oil pressure guage stayed the same as long as it had the proper amount of oil in the engine :)

[martyo]

Are you serious RoyLPita...

Serious as a heart attack.

[RF Overlord]

Are you serious RoyLPita, or are you poking fun at it's accuracy? :confused:

Zim:

Yes, he's serious...the factory oil pressure gauge is a fake; it's nothing more than a glorified idiot light that will always give the same reading (approx 62 lbs) as long as you have more than about 6½ lbs actual pressure. Ford hasn't used a REAL oil pressure gauge in any of its vehicles since at least the early '90s.

AutoMeter p/n 4327 is an (almost) identical replacement that DOES work, but you must replace both the gauge unit and the sender (included in the kit). It's a pretty simple swap that needs only ordinary hand tools, although a little soldering experience would be handy for the wiring. The complete swap-out procedure is in the FAQ.

[Zim Hosein]

I'll have a read into the FAQ's on the subject, thanks for the informative responses everyone :beer: