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Can I calibrate an Autometer Boost gauge? [Merged 8-9] adjust adjusting calibrating

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cfusionpm

20+ Year Contributor
315
0
Feb 14, 2003
San Diego, California
I put an Autometer boost gauge into my talon today, and when the car is off, the needle rests just a tad below the box by 0. it reads consistantly, so I dont think there is a leak or something. (Holds 10psi at WOT, about 26 vac in deceleration and about 21 vac at idle). I thought it should be a little higher with the BCS restricer taken out, and I need to be sure my gauge is accurate before I put on my boost controller. Is there a way to just manually move the 0 position of the needle? Thanks for any help!

(and I did do a search, and it came up with nothing useful. I blame the search coding :p )
 
Well first off if you try to do that you void any warrenty you have. Secondly I think you need some special tools to do that. Autometer will do it for you but you need to ship it in. I think its like $10 bucks if you are out of warrenty and last I knew free within warrenty.
 
You really didn't specify what kinda guage it is, i have the cobalt series with Vac and Boost and it has the map sensor , it will auto calibrate reguardless of weather or elevation...mine witht he car off is at the top portion of the box...it zero's out on start-up.
 
I had a boost gauge that did that and i just sent it back. I got another brand new one in the mail a few days later no questions asked. Autometer will always take care of there customer and make it right. Mine was off a good amount, 5inches of vacuum when the car is off but, if it is just a hair off I wouldnt worrk about it.

Michael
:talon: :laser:
 
I'm in the process of sending back a Defi d-series boost gauge cause it reads 4 psi of boost with the car off. :(

-Steve
 
-21 vac seems little high mine runs like 13-14 at idle you sure you dont have a leak?
 
boostedinaz said:
I had a boost gauge that did that and i just sent it back. I got another brand new one in the mail a few days later no questions asked. Autometer will always take care of there customer and make it right. Mine was off a good amount, 5inches of vacuum when the car is off but, if it is just a hair off I wouldnt worrk about it.

Michael
:talon: :laser:


i did the same. Mine read like 2 psi of boost with car off. I sent it back and got a brand new one like a week or so later. U just need to send a note with it telling what is wrong. I emailed them and this is what they told me to do.
 
its3much said:
-21 vac seems little high mine runs like 13-14 at idle you sure you dont have a leak?

Hehehe... His is better then yours. If you are running 13-14 you prolly have a leak. Its suppose to be like 17~18ish.. 21 is ok though. When mine dropped to 14 I tested and found some leaks.
 
its3much said:
-21 vac seems little high mine runs like 13-14 at idle you sure you dont have a leak?
Right around 18-19 is normal. 13-14 is really low and if you gauge is accurate means you have a problem. If it's low and steady your ignition timing might be retarded or cam off a tooth.

Steve
 
i was mis informed i thought the higher the vac = a leak......what if its really high like 25 =?
 
Ah lots of responces! The gauge I have is just the regular UltraLight gauge. Theres a pic in my gallery which shows it and shows the needle placement. So what I gather is that its just supposed to be sitting at the top of the box yes? It looks like the arc of the box is the size of about 2 psi tick marks on the gauge, so is it safe for me to assume 10 means 12, or 13 means 15, and such? With such a small offset, I could deal with having to add two to each reading. If not, im not sure how I would go about exchanging it. I got it from dsmotorsport.com, and they dont mention anything about exhanges on their terms page, but to mention that any returns must be new in the package (so they can re-sell it to someone else). But mine is already installed, so im not sure what to do about that. I am not aware of any warrenty through autometer either.
 
I get all my gauges from Jegs and have never had a problem returning anything. i would call them and let them know what the problem is and see id they will just take it back. Autometer will give them a credit for defective merchandise. If not them you will just have to live with it or get another. i would have sent it back before going through all the hassle of installing it.

Michael
:talon: :laser:
 
I've not had an Autometer in my hands, but most are built so that the guts holding the Bourdon tube are attached to the back of the cup with a couple of screws. If you loosen them, there's usually enough clearance that you can rotate the cup a bit and fudge the resting point of the needle. Otherwise, to truly calibrate it, you pull the cover off and loosen the screws that hold face and rotate it. More serious calibration involves bending the Bourdon tube, or even re-engaging the rack to the next tooth on the pinion.

You may be able to slip a screwdriver into the back of the gauge through the bulb hole, and by gently denting the Bourdon tube be able to adjust where the needle sees "zero". This will also change what your readings are, but you can figure on a consumer-priced gauge having fairly approximate accuracy anyway.
 
I have a autometer phantom boost gauge that I got used and when the car is off the needle sits about 1 1/2 below 0. Is there a way to calibrate the gauge so it sits at zero when its off that way when Im boosting it will read right
 
i had the same issue, thank you for the information defiant. i am recalibrating right now cause it fell and it's saying 1 psi
 
The ultralite gauge is crap. I went though 3 before buying a good one. All 3 of mine were off 5 lbs. The ultralite gauge is chep, like $40.00. I ended up spending $170.00 for an electronic gauge.
 
It's up to you, but it's all relative. If you have a logger and plan on increasing boost, you're going to push it as high as you can run and not knock or lean out. The number that ends up on the gauge when you do that doesn't really matter, and as you said, you can mentally correct for what it actually means...which doesn't really matter if your logger says all is well.

Mine's right in the middle of the box, but I also checked that before I bought it at Autozone for $40. Mine works great by he way.
 
Ok so yeha got 3 gauges but i am worried about teh boost gauge. I know its not hooked up to anything and i dont know if that matters but out of the box, the boost gauge needle is a little bit under the zero. Im worried because you know how you can adjust a weight scale to above or under zero, and then you weigh your self and its not accurate, could this be with the boost gauge?
 
There is a way to bent them into place (0). But, if its brand new send it back, or use it and remember that its a mm off. My autometer mech boost gauge was off by 3psi when the car was off. I looked it up on google for 'recalibrating boost gauge' . Its been spot on since.
 
yeah i was reading on someother car forums thatits nothing to worry about.
 
Boost gauges are approximate at best, and seldom within 5psig of accuracy. That's only the gauge itself. When you add-in two or three feet of sensing line and the compressibility of air, you're losing another 10%, before considering gauge response lag.
Depending on the construction of the specific gauge, it may be possible to loosen what holds the guts to the case and make minor adjustments by fiddling. If there is access, and if you can work with delicate parts, you can make adjustments to where the needle rests by denting the Bourdon tube- dent the inside to lower the reading, and the outside to raise it.

Don't try this if you've ever hit teh [sic] wrong key on a keyboard.
 
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