Autometer Gauges help
 

I have a little problem... I ordered the Autometer lunar gauges from MT and I installed them into my 2003 Mustang GT. Well whenever the car is idleing the needle shows 500 rpm but on the computer in the dash board it reads 750. I have sent back my gagues to autometer and got another set. Well i installed them again and same problem. Has anyone heard of this problem. They say they work with 2003 but do they? Has anyone installed them in a 2003? Thanks so much for you help.

Michael

What wire did you tap for the tach?

Shouldnt have to tap anything... the auto meter cluster is plug and play.

Have you spoken to an autometer tech yet about the issue?

I called them the first time and they said go ahead and send it in. So I did. They didnt say anything about what the problem is or what it could be. Also i put the factory gauges back in and it reads correctly... I will be calling them on Monday to talk to them, but i was just wondering if anyone here has had the same problem and knows what it could be. Also the Autometer Gauge Cluster uses factory board and plugs...

Well, the issue sounds as if the tach is not calibrated correctly. But since you have installed two with the same problem, I have no clue what it could be. I've got the Simco gauge cluster (which is affiliated in some way to Autometer) installed in my '04 and all is well. Did you make sure the factory circuit board was seated properly on the tach's actuator pins? And that the pins weren't damaged in some way?

yeah i made sure the board was secure. Well i dont know if this would cause it to mess up but when i recieve the gauges all the gauges are at different vaules like mph is at 73 or so and rpm is at 6 and so on. So when i turn the key to start the car. All the gagues go to 0 excep the rpm it goes to max This is only when i first installed them. So to reset them i have to go into the computer and run the gauge test and then they all reset back to 0. Could having the gauge go to 8 right at first cause it to lose its calibration?

My Simco gauges did the same thing when first starting after install. I'm no tech so I can't be sure about the problem but you could go the hard way and calibrate the tach manually like you would if you put gauge face overlays on. I don't like the idea of calibrating manually though. Talk to an autometer tech and let us know what they tell you tomorrow.

Well i talked to autometer today and they told me that they made sure it was calibrated correctly and sent my second one as a new one. Well they also told me that it wasnt meant for the 03 gt. It was only for 01-02. It says on autometer website that its only for 01-02... They said some do work for 03 but not all of them. So im going to return them back to MT :(.

Hey,
just to let you know, SimcoLTD has a fix out for the same issue in the newer mustangs 03-04. It's a workaround kit with instructions to recalibrate the tach. Some newer mustangs original instrument cluster is set at a different tolerance than the autometer/simco gauge cluster. So you may want to mention to Autometer that Simco is offering the kit to correct the issue and see what they say.

Same issue with my Simcos actually, and I just didn't bother to fix it and am not worried about it at all. =D

Simco makes the autometers, so the fix probably works for Autometer as well!

Mikey, do you have a link to this kit ive looked around cant find it. If the kit isnt too much i would be interested in getting it. I really dont want to send these back. Thanks.

The kit through Simcoltd is free. Just call and tell them you are having issues with your gauge cluster. They know all about the problem with the tolerance levels being off on the newer mustangs. They apparently made the autometer gauge cluster so they should be able to send one to you.

Mine too!!! and I thought I was the only one!!

I have the Lunar cluster for my 2001 GT and love it. I have noticed a slight variance with the rpm's when i connect my predator to it. I know that the predator actually has a program on it that will calibrate the speed and rpm's. It fixed my problem. You can go to a performance shop and get it calibrated. I have seen this issues time and time again with these aftermarket guage clusters.