[mmartin1872]

I've decided to pick up a set of Nordskog digital gauges for my 64 tbird..
4 gauges - voltmeter, oil pressure, water temp, and gas gauge.

1. my car originally had an ammeter gauge in it, not a voltmeter, so i need to figure out how to wire up the old ammeter wires so that the car will run ( i read a post a couple of days ago about ammeters causing cars not to run) i didn't realize there was a difference between ammeter and voltmeter when i bought the gauges a couple of weeks ago (well i knew there was a difference, but it didn't' register until i received the gauge in the mail.
2. my car has an in dash voltage regulator which regulates the voltage down to 5 volts in the dash. do i have to remove/bypass this in order to hook up the new digital gauges?
i ordered the new sender for the water temp (even though i think that it is exactly the same as the original sender) and oil pressure sender (which i'm not sure if it is the same or not).
3. I want to test my fuel level sending units ohms to make sure that it is right before i hook up my fuel gauge to the car because i don't want to fry this gauge.. i have a repair manual and couldn't find directions on testing the fuel sending unit other than "hook up a known good sending unit, and lower the float arm and raise it... if the gauge goes from empty to full it is the sending unit. my original fuel gauge works but it goes passed full when you fill the tank. and can i remove the fuel sending unit when the tank is full (i decided to park the car with a full tank of gas)
4. what are the ohms supposed to be from empty to full on my car (i couldn't find this info either)

basically the only original dashboard lighting is going to be the speedometer lights, and the lights that light up the center area of the dash (i can't remember if there are any there but i think there are) is this a different circuit than the "gauge circuit". this question i could actually probably answer myself by looking at my repair manual, i just thought the question while i was typing this out.

i bet there are a lot more questions that i will have tomorrow, when i actually go to work on the car after work (as long as the shop is warm enough to work in )

thank you for any help you can give me.

 

[[email protected]]

I'll hack on a few or your questions.

1. Just splice together the two big leads that come off the ammeter.

2. That regulator is specific to the Ford gages only. For some reason they used 5V to their gages so need the drop. Eliminate it for your new setup, it should take a straight 12V. Use the senders that came with the new gages. I really doubt they are the same as the originals.

3. Unfortunately, it is 99% sure you will need to use the gas tank sender that came whit the new gauge to have it function properly. You probably need to remove the tank to replace the sender and the tank has to be empty (very heavy when full!!). I am not familiar with '64 'Birds - you might get lucky and have a plate in the trunk floor that you can remove and access the sender but I doubt it. The tank has a drain plug on the bottom so you need to CAREFULLY drain the gas so you can get the tank out.

4. See 3.

Incidentally, what are you doing with the old gages and sending units? I may be interested in them!

 

[mmartin1872]

the fuel gauge that i got is adjustable by cutting different leads on it (ie if you don't cut the orange and blue its good for ford xx ohms empty-xxx ohms full, if you cut just the blue its good for gm X ohms empty - xx ohms full and dodge, etc) i couldn't find a sender for sale from nordskog for the fuel gauge (probably cause they'd have to make like 100 different ones to fit in 200 different gas tanks. but because of this i need to make sure that my sender is working properly

but i just went on there tech site and looked at the gauge tech page which has the colors to cut and it actually says what the ohms for ford, gm, chrysler and such are supposed to be now i just have to test my sender i guess.
Thanks for the help

As for the old gauges, what i'm actually doing is removing the guts of the old gauges and putting the new gauges behind the "facia" of the old gauges, so that when you look at the gauges from a distance it doesnt' stand out that there is anything different. but when i turn the car on the gauges light up and are digital. i'm probably going to hook them up with relays also so that when the ignition is turned on they light up left to right 1 2 3 4, that is if i can figure that one out, but that's down the road for when i get the dash back in anyways.

 

[[email protected]]

For sequential gage illumination try this circuit. It is a simple RC circuit to sequentially fire SCRs. Uses inexpensive Radio Shack components and can be daisy-chained to sequence as many components as desired. Can't get much simpler than this!

 

[mmartin1872]

your right about that... i saved that pic on my computer and book marked that page.. knowing my luck i wont' find the pic on my computer when i go to do this, but atleast i saved the bookmark..

or else it'll be the other way.. i'll go to the bookmark, and the posting will be gone, but atleast i saved the pic somewhere on my computer

thanks again for all the help

 

[Dave E Shank]

Hey Martin:

I installed Nordskog Performance digital gauge panel in my street rod a couple of years ago. I used all of their sensors and Volt Meter feed was right off Power Input. All I needed was a new fuel sender and bought one from Autometer www.autometer.com DAVE

 

[mmartin1872]

thanks for the tip on that... if my fuel sending unit is out of whack (which i'm not sure if it is or not yet, i'll defianetly look at getting one of those..