One more question. If the gauge is electrical, and one wire is for power, and the other for the lighting, there must be a third signal wire from the MAP sensor, correct?

Todd
Aeroforce

 

Yeah its the grey wire I think...

 

You have absolutely got to fnd a pristine switched 12 V source from inside the car. It has to be as isolated as possible otherwise weird **** happens with the gauge.

When I got mine it would act fine but stop updating under heavy engine load, then I put it on on it's own voltage source and it works fine. Now it shares it with my nitrous system and when I hit the nitrous the gauge goes goofie and crashes. Voltage/load fluctuations mess with it bad.

I have the 1st edition. I pretty much have to unplug it when I hit the nitrous, but my WB02 and DTEC are fine (and share the same power source, directly from the battery, switched through a 40 amp relay). It's very tempramental.

 

I just ran it off its own add-a fuse from under the hood... thing works great

 

These gauges aren't simple mechanical devices, they are mini-computers. Would you connect your computer on the same outlet as a power drill? I would not have considered putting a nitrous solenoid on the same circuit as this microprocessor based gauge. Solenoids are inductive devices and create a lot of noise.

Todd
Aeroforce

 

Todd,

I would really like to know exactly how to sheild them. You have suggested add a cricuit which is esentially tapping off a circuit on the fuse box, I have the gauge on a seperate 2 amp fuse. Is there some sort of electrical gadget I can get to isolate it.

It's been flaky when it's add a circuited off the power supply the PCM uses and on a accessory panel with a direct feed from the battery (granted with nitrous on the same panel but a different fuse and ground).

I am just bafled on what I can use and have it work and not be suspectable to interferance.


BTW I really love the gauge and wouldn't give it back for anything and I would order it again. I am just trying to understand how I can protect it better.

 

He's got a point. I've had mine replaced three times and the same LCD failure symptoms are showing up again, only this time it's intermittent. It's such a pain sending this thing back over the border each time, not to mention expensive (which BTW I'm commenting in Aeroforce's defence since they have picked up the shipping tab each time). I guess I'll be sending mine in afterall Todd for both the slow scan rate AND LCD failure.

 

Also I would like to mention mine has never actually broke, every time it wiggs out I just unplug and replug it in the OBDII port.

 

To the people who are having their gauge mess up in the sun/heat: Where is your gauge mounted? Anyone using the autometer double/triple A-pillar?

 

If its a noisy line, perhaps stuff like these electrical noise filters would help...

http://www.autosound2000.com/filters.html

 

If it gets to be like 120 inside the car the gauge does seem to be kind of dim and hard to see, once it cools down it's fine.

 

I have mine on the C/A pillar and with it running on its own fuse from a ingnition controlled terminal/// I have no problems with the screen fading./.. no problems with it "wigging" out and it works damn fine... maybe after a full day in the sun its a little dim (not bad though) I through on the def vents on cold and she's fine in a minute or so

 

There must be differences between cars or circuits used. Most Cobalts are not having issues, but it seems from these posts that some are troublesome. The local '06 that we used for development has had his gauge for over a year without any problems.

I'm going to work on getting the 2005 Cobalts powered off of the OBD2 port, like the Redlines. The Cobalts have atypical GM bus traffic, so getting them to turn on/off is a challenge using an unswitched source like the OBD2 port. The 2006's will have to wait until next month when we get a CAN bus version done.

If you have either year and cannot find a circuit that will work, we can retrofit the gauge for OBD2 power at no charge once we have tested it fully. I'm also trying to find a common circuit that seems to work on everyone's Cobalt, if one exists.

Todd
Aeroforce

 

Todd. I sent you A PM. I don't have your number anymore, and My Gauge is Freaking out.