Well, I finally got around to installing some aftermarket gauges in my Invicta. I have a few questions as I finish out the installation. I've installed a tach, water temp, and oil pressure gauge. Water temp was a piece of cake, all taken care of. Haven't yet installed oil pressure as I didn't have a deep 1 1/16in socket to remove the original sending unit. When I do finally remove the factory piece, what should I use as a sealer for the new fittings? I've heard multiple things from white teflon (also heard you shouldn't), to yellow teflon, etc. What should I use? Also, as far as wiring power/lighting to the tach and gauges. What should I tap in to for a power source? I just wired the lights into the power so they'd be on all the time just to simplify things a bit. Then ran the negative to the negative battery cable. I just need to tap the positive into a switched 12v but dunno what to use. Thanks for the help :beer ! P.S. Please forgive my stupidity, never installed gauges before and want to do it right so I don't have oil spraying all over the place!
Hi Andy- you can tap into your fuse box for power, or you can use a solderless connector. The connector is blue (14-16 ga.)and has 2 holes, one to slip over the line you intend to tap from and one you would add the line to go to your gauges, it then has a spade you push through both wires with a little plastic cover on it. You can buy them at any auto parts store in the electrical section. You can then tap off one of the light wires to the guges in the dash the same way to work the lights of the new gauges so they are not on all the time. As for the ground you dont have to go all the way to the battery, any metal surface behind the dash is good, just make sure the screw and connector go to unpainted metal, if it's painted hit the area with a wire brush or emery cloth. - Good luck
My suggestion is to get the Painless Cirkit Boss kit with the 4 switched and 3 hots and use that for adding any additional electrical devices to the car. After 40+ years of wear and tear, the wiring is going to degraded and if you start upping the demands its only going to make potential problems worse. This way you get brand new wiring with a reliable and breaker protected power feed directly from the master power distrobution point under the hood. I'm running just about everything this way on my Riv and it cleared up a ton of questionable wiring that I had done with good solid connections and room to grow.
Andy, you did make sure to keep the warning lights functional, right? You can't watch gages while you're trying to drive. I learned the hard way...make sure the warning lights still do their job. Devon
DaWildmat, no the warning lights will not be functional. Actually, the original water temp sending unit cracked which is why I had to install aftermarkets in the first place. Plus, the water temp warning light doesn't actually turn on until the temp reaches +240* which I feel is to high. Also, I just figured while I was at it I'd install an oil pressure gauge. As far as my initial questions, what should I use to seal the threads on the oil pressure sending unit? White teflow, yellow teflon, etc? For the wiring is it really neccesary to have the Painless kit? It isn't like I'm powering some high amp things, it's 3 small light bulbs and a tach! Plus, it's an additional $40. I was planning on just using the blue connector to tap into something but was wondering what specific component to tap into. Thanks for all the help!
I use teflon on mechanical oil pressure lines. Tape or liquid is fine. If it's an electrical gauge, it can interfere with the grounding of the sending unit. Easiest place to tap into for the lights is an ash tray light. They have one on the GS's, not sure on the early Buicks. If not, get a test light, probe each wire at the switch while turning the light switch on and off. Find a wire that has 12 volts with the switch on, and nothing with it off. Tap into that wire.
i am with Larry on this one. You can hook the idjet light s up on the left side head by just putting the sending unit there and routing wires to it. keeping the mechanical guage where the original electric sinding unit was before you started. i like to tap into a dashlight wire because it will have a rheostat in the system to dim or brighten the lights. Works better if you solder the connections.
Ok, thanks for all the help. I'm gonna finish up wiring this weekend so I'll see how it goes. White or yellow teflon for the oil pressure sending unit? I've heard white deteriorates from the oil.
Andy, I would use good old permatex 300 [tobbaccer spit] It isnt white or yellow it is a brown and it never hardens so it will stay sealed. just brush it onto the threads and forget it. Permatex is old school, reliable and always works.
I like the Permatex teflon thread sealant. It brushes on the threads. I attached a picture of the "T" for my oil pressure gauge. You will need a 1/8" hex nipple and a 1/8" T. The oil pressure gauge will come with a converter that is 1/8" pipe on one side and has a 1/8" compression fitting on the other side for the line. Home Depot or a hardware store will have the T and nipple. The converter will be harder to find if your gauge kit does not have one. I used the plugged port on the other head for the temperature gauge. I included a picture of that as well. Then I put in a few pictures of the gauges for fun too! Cheryl
Nice work, Cheryl. Disabling the warning lights is a HUGE mistake. It cost me thousands of $$$. Had a cooling system failure and didn't know it until it was well above 260° and climbing fast. Overheated it so bad two of the hardened valve seats fell out of the heads and took out every piston. This is what you can look forward to when you're not watching the gages: I now use warning lights with sending units that let me set the point of indication. Already saved me once since then. Devon
Permatex it is! I'll definitely do the "T" for the oil pressure gauge. I hadn't realized that there was another port on the head. I'll have to check that out. Can you purchase another temperature sending unit? Mines complete garbage, this is why I had to get gauges in the first place. The unit itself cracked and sprayed coolant everywhere. Thanks for the help!
Andy try this link. See if it is the same as yours. The NOS sender I picked up (on Ebay) is TSU-42, but TSU-11 may be the new part number. They look the same. Cheryl
That looks totally identical to the factory part. Even if it isn't 100% the same I'm sure it will work/fit. Cheryl, thanks so much for the link!!!!! For the second port on the head, is it actually drilled and tapped or do I need to do this? I'd just go out and look at the motor but I won't be home until tomarrow night and kind of want an idea of what needs to be done. Again, thanks for all the help!
Andy, I am hiding from the heat inside today. The head has 3/8" pipe plug already installed. A 3/8" extension is close to the size of the recess in the plug. Wrap the end of the extension in paper/tape/sheet metal to make it fit snug. You do not want to round off the edges if it is ever to come out. It might pop right out, or it may take heat to get it. It just depends on your relationship with the car. I would spray it with penetrating oil and hit the extension with a hammer a few times a day before you try to budge it. Cheryl
I think it is Auto Meter that has an adapter that you wire in cinjunction with the gauges . It will turn on a warning light at a preset number just incase you are not watching the gauges . Real nice unit . I use it in my duallly which ahd factory gages but I added a small LED light at each gage to draw my attention just in case I did n't see the gauge go up or down .
