Well I know the 2nd pyro gauge I got was working good before it got grounded out by the probe. I have 2 gauge kits so I tryed one yellow wire with one probe and switched it and so on. I know the first gauge was bad, ok not a big deal. Then the 2nd gauge works but the probe is no good, ok switch probes. But the 1rst gauge and probe are bad? and 2nd probe is bad. But now because of bad probes the 2nd gauge is not good. I start to think I did something wrong with the wiring, but then its so simple how could I, red to red yellow to yellow, 12v key on, dash ground. Well 3rd times the charm "right"? lol

 

My gauges were are not color coded to the leads, so it was helpful to know that yellow is (+) and red is (-).

 

Ok my replacement also did not work. Talked to Bill by phone this morning. He is very frustrated as you can imagine. He was told that the guages that were manufactured in May and June were all defective with an internal short. He is looking into trying to get an exact number that was affective so he can turn them back into the manufacturer. He said he's sitting on a bunch that he can't sell now and will have to wait till the manufacuturer finds the problem and gets caught up on the meters. We may have to wait for a little bit for a good replacement.
Just for anyones info, I think when measuring the probe with an ohm meter, you will read it as a direct short because I think they are using a thermister for the heat sensor. At no or low heat it's going to have very little resistance and will appear to be a short. As the temp goes up the resistance goes up and is read by the gauge. This is my guess anyhow.... You can still get a bad probe, but I agree that the meter is probably the culprit in this situation. I agree this is a pain in the butt, but I'm not going to start all over with a different brand. I still say that Autometer is as good or better than a lot of gauges out there. Hope this helps anyone that is frustrated and hopefully we won't have to wait too long.....

Marty

 

Im sorry to hear your going through the same problem as me, but I feel a little better that im not alone. Ive taken my gauges apart so many times im an expert gauge guru now. I wonder if Bill is the only distributor who got a bunch of bad gauges? I wouldnt change gauge brand either, but I cant believe autometers quality control didnt pick it up before it got to us.

 

I'm still bothered that the gauge works ok, or at least appears too, when the sensor is not grounded. But ground it to the truck ground, the same as the gauge is, and it doesn't work. Everything in me says it a sensor problem. Bill told me he eliminated the the sensor by trial and error, using a known working setup and switching out parts. I got to believe that would pin point it sufficiently to come to the conclusion that it's the meters. I suppose that it'll come out in the wash as to where the problem lies... I just want a working pyrometer....

 

Hang in there with me! We will get this resolved very soon. I have been dealing with Autometer for sometime now and have seen very little problems. I will be talking to them tomorrow to get this resolved.

PS: I used several sources to get replacements, but it seems I am not the only one having these problems. So far, and this is my findings (May and June batches) have this problem.

 

Everyone should have received an email today from Bill if you bought your gauges from him. It turned out to be the probe after all. I know I should have followed my gut feeling... Here is the email....

 

Whew, what a nightmare. Glad my DiProcols worked right out the gate. Happier still that you got taken care of. Good info for those debating brands and vendors.

 

Autometer are on top of it now. It was just a grounded type Probe that was shipped with a non-grounded type gauge.

 

Bill since this was a goof from Autometer, I hope they compensated you somehow for the heartache you received on their behalf. I know, I know....back to the real world now. I'm glad to know that there was not an actual problem with the equipment, just a screw up on the incorrect probes being packaged with the gauges. If you know Bill, just out of curiousity, why do they manufacture 2 different probes, and appearently 2 different gauges??

 

I hope the new probe sets my gauge back to zero, right now I have the truck off and the key out and its reading 75 deg.

 

My optix gauge reads 250 right now under the same conditions.?? When I put the key in and turn it on it goes to 0 then comes up with the temps and works fine. I don't think it bothers me enough to mess with since it's when the truck is running that I'm primarily concerned with.

 

Got the new probe from Autometer and everything works perfect now. I'm running anywhere from 400 to 750 when I'm in town or on the interstate without any load. Sounds about right. Thank goodness their finally in....

Marty

 

Glad it all worked out. Took a few days to isolate the problem, but sure enough Autometer came through as promised.