AutoMeter/AutoGauge Quality: NOT!

[JimmieD]

Hey, I can cut you a real deal on some fine Autogage units I've got here, Norm....

[MoparNorm]

How come that offer doesn't excite me, are they slightly singed....= )

[JimmieD]

Hah! You'd be proud of me: this time I successfully fought back the urge to rack and whack with the big lead, cha-chink WHAMMO to a place called smithereens... :~ )

[MoparNorm]

Save the ammo for the Pack Rat that's been filling your boots.......= )

[JimmieD]

Gotta share that little inside joke Norm hints at, folks! I took my morning oblations following which I dressed and reached for the boots. When I went to pull on my right boot I felt something in there. Hmmm, turned it over and shook, and out came rotella noodles and Italian seasoned burger in tomato sauce with lots of Parmesan!!! Checked the other boot and same story. Went to another pair of boots and the same again!!?

Well, the night before it was late and I was tired, so after a quickie supper of rotella noodles & Italian spaghetti sauce surprise with mystery meat, I put the plate heaped with leftovers on the counter and flopped in bed. During the night I had a pack rat visitor with a soft spot for Italian victuals. Ate his fill, and stored up some for later. Can't imagine how long the poor little guy worked and how many trips he made to pack up those 3 boots ha hah!

Poor little guy? Ummm, yes. I stayed up the next night and punched him an Express ticket to that eternal pack rat place in the sky....

[JimmieD]

Autogage expose'

But back to the story: our Research and Development Department here at the Mountain Hideaway has been teeming with activity, ever sacrificing to bring you the real low down, the hot scoop, on things mechanical and various mysteries of life. Our latest research findings are published in the following, with pictures placed one each per post to give my dial-up friends a break. Probably want to save some to your image viewer and blow up to full size to see the miniscule photographic details.

First problem is design and thickness of the instrument case: both sorely lacking as seen in attachment. Case thickness measures a whopping .025" according to our KD Tools Digital Caliper. That is the total thickness of the steel case given to alignment and stabilization of gauge internals.

[JimmieD]

Second in order of importance of maintaining alignment of case and internal meter movement are the cast plastic bosses into which the + positive and - negative terminal studs are molded. This is the second half of the assembly fitment, that these little plastic nibs just below threaded portion of studs fit through case, and SUPPOSEDLY prevent sideways movement of HOT stud and negative stud. That's through the .025" thick case metal and is the only lateral stabilization of hot terminal stud! The plastic nibs measure .030" - .032" so at most .007" lateral interference retention.

The careful eye will note in addition that one stud, coincidentally the hot stud terminal, was molded off-angle, while the negative is perpendicular to meter movement and case as it should be. In short, pun intended, this means one side of the HOT terminal stud is closer to the edge of the aligment/retention hole in the metal case than it should be.

[JimmieD]

Not sure if this will show up on your monitor as it does with our sophisticated state of the art sub-micro-miniature imaging equipment here at the Mountain Hideaway Labs, but we'll give it a shot. Note the area of the plastic nib which is the lateral retainment of meter movement in metal case. Just below the threads you'll see it looks a bit gnarled up, and that's how it came from the factory! That is, it was improperly fitted in the hole in metal case and then torqued down off center, at the factory!

[JimmieD]

Moving ever onward in our relentless research into the intimate details of Autogage Instruments, we take a look at the final piece used to insure the safe operation of gauge's electrically charged meter movement. There is an insulator similar to hard cardboard, or maybe a phenolic, which slips down over studs and acts as the final insulator between terminal stud washer/nut retainer. In the attached you may note that the washer on both terminals was off center, which means the entire meter movement was off center in case when nuts were torqued! As there was only a maximum of .007" interference fit at plastic nibs to the case thickness of .025" this leaves nothing else to prevent meter movement from shifting in the meter case. Again, the electrically charged terminal stud, the positive one at that, was molded off center also so the safety deficits are seriously adding up here!

[JimmieD]

We would be lax in our duties to bring you the inside knowledge of this gauge without showing the precision of the meter movement itself. In the following picture you will see the meter's needle at it's farthest rearward movement towards gauge face, at which point it can drag on same, a real drag as a matter of fact.

[JimmieD]

Finally, at the other end of the limits of needle's flopping on pivot shaft we see enough clearance to question how it could function accurately at all!?? Question not, oh patient one, as it entirely failed in that task. At 15.26VDC as measured with the Hideaway Labs Fluke 8026B [with full semi-conductor measurement capability as far as accuracy] the Autogage #2319 Voltage gauge displayed a bit over 11 volts, except when it didn't and refused to display anything but a pegged needle. At other times it seemed to prefer a consistently incorrect reading of 10 volts, regardless of true system voltage output. Sometimes tapping the case with fingernail would help to bring it back up to 11+VDC reading of a true 15.25VDC.

[JimmieD]

Our final test was to carefully insert the entire AutoMeter / Autogage voltage gauge #2319 into the hyperbolic test chamber of our Mountain Hideaway Labs' sophisticated 'Astromagneto-thermodynamic Olfactory Sensor'. We had little doubt of the results but after performing the most intricate of test procedures the truth was known, and now for all to see. Due to the proprietary nature of this equipment we cannot reveal the exact data in its native media, but suffice to say, the intrumentation immediately confirmed, amidst flashing lights and sirens wailing: this piece of junk stinks to high heaven, through and through.

At the conclusion of this exhaustive test procedure and data analysis the writer reassembled the failed gauge and will soon test it for serviceability once more, with a fused connection to the gauge's positive terminal. The addition of a salubrious quantity of that well known marvel in a tube, good old JB Weld, insures that no part of the meter movement will ever have even the slightest chance to start another vehicle fire. That's another. Like again. Like after it almost burned my truck down to the axles the last time.

So there you have it, folks, the insider's picture and real truth about the Autogage #2319 voltage gauge, brought to you by Mountain Hideaway Labs, your faithful provider of cutting edge research! Our entire research staff, me, thanks your for reviewing our latest test case and its miserable and sorry results. Caveat emptor.

[Charles Talbert]

Gauges of good quality

S-W offers 9 different lines. They are classified as follows: Standard & standard plus, Deluxe, Heavy Duty, Heavy Duty Plus, Seaworthy (marine type), Wings (classic style), Track Force (competition type), World Wide (dual scale english & metric).

The line best suited in appearance & performance in our trucks is the Heavy Duty Plus line. If you will let me know which gauges you need, I'll send you some part #'s so you can check out pricing on your end. I need to know voltage (12 or 24), whether you perfer electric or mechanical, etc.

Datcon offers 9 different lines. They are classified as follows: Heavy Duty Automotive, Heavy Duty Industrial, Illumaseal (fully sealed anti-fog), Heavy Duty & Deluxe Marine type, Streamline (large 4 5/8" diameter), Smart Instrument Series 2000, 2001, 2002 (include led warning lights & auto shut down systems).

We have used the heavy duty automotive line with very good results. If you perfer the Datcon, let me know what you need along with specs, I'll send some #'s your way.

[JimmieD]

Thanks very much, Charles! I just picked up an Isspro boost gauge [not quite the one I wanted] and pyrometer but in the future I'd like to swap out all but the pyro. Pretty sure Norm's going to be looking soon if not right now?

Also, I just checked JEGS tonite on a fuel gauge sender for a member here and NO Stewart Warner are now listed at all. They at least stuck them down dead last in the corner of the page a few months ago, but now gone entirely. Of course they list every Autometer gauge except dashboard temperature....

[M5tankdriver]

Stewart Warner fuel level gauge, PN SWW-114227. 90 ohms full, 0 ohms empty. $45. Summit catalog.
Of course if a superior series of gauges is availiable, save up.
I really like the ISSPRO in my diesel *not a Dodge!*

Sucks that you found out about a cheap gauge the hard way. Autometer gauges have always been very good to me, the cheaper autogauge brand - well - you get what you pay for, eh? Congrats on getting it fixed and not having to call the tow truck!