Do NOT trust the stock gauges....
11-10-2005, 02:40 AM
#1
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Do NOT trust the stock gauges....
I have learned a few things about the oil and temp gauges on the 05/06 Mustangs that I'd like to share.
If I had only one complaint about my 05 Mustang it would be the stock oil and temp gauges. I was very suspicious of the stock oil gauge as it always read the same regardless of engine temp, rpm, ect. Obviously this cannot be correct. Well, I have learned that the stock guage is not a pressure gauge at all. It only indicates that there is some pressure. I removed the stock sender and checked it with an ohm meter. It reads either open or closed. Nothing in between. The gauge is essentially an "idiot guage" as opposed to an "idiot light'.
I also didn't trust the stock temp gauge either for the following reasons. I noticed that if the engine is allowed to idle long enough for the electric fan to come on the stock temp gauge shows no increase in temp from normal. The 05/06 GT's have a 180 F thermostat, and the stock turn on point for the electric fan is 220 F. Therefore if the stock temp gauge actually worked right you would be able to see such a large difference on the gauge, but it doesn't show any difference. Now keeping in mind that just because an engine has a 180 degree thermostat does not mean it will run at exactly 180 degrees however it certainly runs a lot cooler than 220.
At any rate, since I did not trust the stock gauges I got an Autometer triple gauge pod and installed Autometer oil pressure, coolant temp, and voltage gauges. I can tell you that the Autometer gauges behave MUCH differently than the stock gauges. Oil pressure on cold start is 73 PSI. Once it's warm it is 27 PSI at idle and between 40 - 65 during normal driving depending on temp and rpm. Also on the temperature end of things the engine runs at 182 - 185 F during most normal driving. I used my Diablosport Predator to lower the fan's on/off points to more reasonable levels. So, in short DO NOT TRUST THE FACTORY GAUGES!!! The tach is fine. They way it measures RPM is accurate. So is the fuel gauge accurate, but the oil and temp gauges in my opinion are just about useless.
If I had only one complaint about my 05 Mustang it would be the stock oil and temp gauges. I was very suspicious of the stock oil gauge as it always read the same regardless of engine temp, rpm, ect. Obviously this cannot be correct. Well, I have learned that the stock guage is not a pressure gauge at all. It only indicates that there is some pressure. I removed the stock sender and checked it with an ohm meter. It reads either open or closed. Nothing in between. The gauge is essentially an "idiot guage" as opposed to an "idiot light'.
I also didn't trust the stock temp gauge either for the following reasons. I noticed that if the engine is allowed to idle long enough for the electric fan to come on the stock temp gauge shows no increase in temp from normal. The 05/06 GT's have a 180 F thermostat, and the stock turn on point for the electric fan is 220 F. Therefore if the stock temp gauge actually worked right you would be able to see such a large difference on the gauge, but it doesn't show any difference. Now keeping in mind that just because an engine has a 180 degree thermostat does not mean it will run at exactly 180 degrees however it certainly runs a lot cooler than 220.
At any rate, since I did not trust the stock gauges I got an Autometer triple gauge pod and installed Autometer oil pressure, coolant temp, and voltage gauges. I can tell you that the Autometer gauges behave MUCH differently than the stock gauges. Oil pressure on cold start is 73 PSI. Once it's warm it is 27 PSI at idle and between 40 - 65 during normal driving depending on temp and rpm. Also on the temperature end of things the engine runs at 182 - 185 F during most normal driving. I used my Diablosport Predator to lower the fan's on/off points to more reasonable levels. So, in short DO NOT TRUST THE FACTORY GAUGES!!! The tach is fine. They way it measures RPM is accurate. So is the fuel gauge accurate, but the oil and temp gauges in my opinion are just about useless.
11-10-2005, 11:01 AM
#2
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Join Date: Mar 2005
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RE: Do NOT trust the stock gauges....
281GT...
THANKS for sharing... I had read in another thread a buy that replaced the phony gauges with real ones.
YET another cost cutting effort from Ford - - Personally I think they shouldn't have gone cheap with the gauges. But they didn't let me contribute to the design team
.
THANKS for sharing... I had read in another thread a buy that replaced the phony gauges with real ones.
YET another cost cutting effort from Ford - - Personally I think they shouldn't have gone cheap with the gauges. But they didn't let me contribute to the design team
.
11-10-2005, 12:50 PM
#3
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Join Date: Mar 2005
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RE: Do NOT trust the stock gauges....
Prof: Yes I agree. Personally I would rather have seen decent gauges than power adjustable mirrors. So if Ford was going to save costs they could have omitted the power adjustable mirrors in favor of gauges that worked right. It is my opinion that accurate instrumentation is more important in a performance car than a frivolous thing like remote adjustable mirrors.
I would imagine though that most of Ford's decisions are driven by what "Joe Average" consumer wants. The average consumer would rather have frivolous things instead of accurate instrumentation. So when they design a car they do have to stay within a budget. If they want it to appeal to as many people as possible they need to include silly things like the remote mirrors and cut corners on the gauges.
At least that's my theory.
Then again I'm an old fart (44) an my priorities are a little different than those of Joe Average consumer.
I would imagine though that most of Ford's decisions are driven by what "Joe Average" consumer wants. The average consumer would rather have frivolous things instead of accurate instrumentation. So when they design a car they do have to stay within a budget. If they want it to appeal to as many people as possible they need to include silly things like the remote mirrors and cut corners on the gauges.
At least that's my theory.
Then again I'm an old fart (44) an my priorities are a little different than those of Joe Average consumer.
11-10-2005, 02:23 PM
#5
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Join Date: Apr 2005
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Posts: 193
RE: Do NOT trust the stock gauges....
The volt gauge works like a real gauge...
After a trip to the dealer, they left the little wire to the positive battery cable loose. So the alt wasn't properly charging the battery. I got the waring to check the charging system one night while driving home. It was about a 30 minute drive and I could see the volts gauge getting lower and lower until when I got home it was almost at the bottom.
So Ford spent the $$$ to install a functional volts guage, but not an oil pressure or temp gauge.... good choice. I guess they figure people are more likely to have trouble with the battery or alt than with the cooling system or oiling system...
After a trip to the dealer, they left the little wire to the positive battery cable loose. So the alt wasn't properly charging the battery. I got the waring to check the charging system one night while driving home. It was about a 30 minute drive and I could see the volts gauge getting lower and lower until when I got home it was almost at the bottom.
So Ford spent the $$$ to install a functional volts guage, but not an oil pressure or temp gauge.... good choice. I guess they figure people are more likely to have trouble with the battery or alt than with the cooling system or oiling system...
11-10-2005, 02:30 PM
#6
MF Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Missouri
Posts: 3,441
RE: Do NOT trust the stock gauges....
Honestly... Ford probably figured they could get away with fake engine gauges bacause the PCM does indeed monitor accuratly all engine parameters and if any measurement goes above/below a set standard it would trigger a code and the check engine light.
There are a couple of aftermarket guys building modules you leave plugged into your OBDII port which display what ever guages you want to see on a constant basis.
Personally - I wish I had both analog and digital information on my dash readouts.
There are a couple of aftermarket guys building modules you leave plugged into your OBDII port which display what ever guages you want to see on a constant basis.
Personally - I wish I had both analog and digital information on my dash readouts.
