Please help - gauge install problem!

[LightmanE300]

Hey guys, I'm relatively inexperienced mechanically but have managed to get most of the way through the westach dual egt/boost combo gauge install. I'm hung up on the electrical portion. The egt part of the gauge is working well.



I am having problems with the wiring of the boost gauge and the light. I can't get the light to work under any circumstances. I tapped into the orange wire with the brown stripe per the instructions from Genos for the 04. I attached a wire from that wire up to the light bulb, the other half of the wire I attached to a ground. WHen I turn on the ignition and lights, the factory gauges light and dim properly, however I can' t get the westach bulb to light up at all. What am I missing here?



Second problem - I hooked up the boost portion of the gauge properly I believe - the hose from the back of the gauge to the boost bolt, positive to a hot power source, and grounded to some metal and a screw. The problem is that as soon as I hook up the ground wire, the boost gauge goes up to 6psi and will not drop below. Now I started the engine and made a little boost, and the gauge did respond, although slowly. I took off around my circular driveway and the boost got up above the 10psi marker. If I disconnect the ground wire to the boost portion of the gauge, the boost needle instantly drops to 0 and the gauge doesn't work.



I'm pretty inexperienced with electrical hookups, please help!

 

[SOLER]

#1--You need a test light. If you don't have one, go get a cheap one from Autozone or Walmart. Test the orange wire where you spliced into it. Make sure it isn't hot when the lights are off, and it's hot when the lights are on. By hot, I don't mean hot to the touch. I mean that your test light will light up. If it does, good. Now test the end of the wire you spliced to it. If it doesn't light up, then you don't have a good splice. I don't know what kind of splice connector you're using, but sometimes the jumper doesn't get a good bite into the insulation and to to the strands of the wire inside. Let me know what sort of connectors you're using.



#2--I don't have these gages, and this problem seems sort of wierd. Hopefully some others here that have them will chime in.



SOLER

 

[LightmanE300]

Thanks for the reply. I was able to finally get the light working and dimming.



I still have the issue with the boost portion of the gauge. The gauge always settles down to 5psi, as if there were always pressure in the manifold.



At 70mph I had 650degree egt and 16psi boost. Does that sound normal?

 

[SOLER]

16 sounds a bit high @ that speed, on a flat stretch. It seems to me that the gauge isn't working properly. You might have to call Geno's on Monday, unless someone here can chime in and help out. glad you got the lights working.



Electrical gremlins can be frustrating. I hope it all works out for ya



SOLER

 

[Joe G.]

You can always e-mail Westach. Check this page: http://www.westach.com/repair.htm and click on the e-mail link to Tachman. I've had real good service from them in selecting the proper gauges and solving problems.

 

[LightmanE300]

Thanks for the link Joe, I emailed tachman.

 

[rbattelle]

Is the Westach boost gauge mechanical or electrical?

 

[LightmanE300]

Apparently it's electrical. . I hook the boost hose up to the back of it and then a 12v and a ground hookup. The instructions say that the boost gauge won't work without power.



I've just come back from another test run. Apparently I am in the right boost range, at 70mph I am making 10psi boost, it just always settles down to 5-6psi at idle or right now, when the truck is off with no key in it. . I guess the trailer brake controller power source I tapped into is constant.

 

[rbattelle]

It sounds to me like either a calibration problem with the gauge, or a bad electrical source. If it were me, the first thing I'd do is try a different power source. If you have to, hook it directly to an independent 12v lantern battery just to experiment. If the behavior improves, then you've got a bad source for power... tap something else.



If it's a calibration problem, only Westach can fix it.



How are you making your electrical connections? If you're using scotch-lock type connectors, they are complete junk (my opinion). A better way is either to solder and use heat shrink, or use a crimp-and-seal butt connector (which includes the shrink tubing and doesn't require any soldering). The heat shrink should be polyolefin dual-wall, with an sealant-impregnated inner wall that's activated with heat application. Makes a water-tight bombproof connection.



Remember, you only want to do this job once, then never worry about it again. It makes good sense to use the highest quality components and techniques for electrical connections.



[Most of this post represents my opinion. ]



-Ryan

 

[LightmanE300]

My heat gun and soldering equipment are still in florida unforunately. (i'm in the process of moving). So at this point I'm using t-taps, but they seem to be solidly piercing each wire. Maybe I'll try a different power source, I'm sure the ground is good.

 

[rbattelle]

I'm sure the ground is good.

Famous last words! :-laf

 

[LightmanE300]

Well, just to humor everyone I moved the ground to three different locations, all on bare metal with solid connections. All yielded the same result. Since posting earlier, I went to the store and got crimp on connections, stripped and crimped all the connections so they are nice and clean. After experimenting with the different ground locations to no avail, I tried a different power source other than my trailer brake wire, I tried the cigarette lighter wire. Same result. The gauge sits at 5-6 psi whenever it's on. Arghhh

 

[rbattelle]

Gotta be an internal fault with the gauge...

 

[LightmanE300]

Gotta be an internal fault with the gauge...

Correct sir!I spoke with Genos and Westach today, and both agree the gauge is bad. Let me rephrase. It's gotta be an internal fault with the BACKORDERED gauge that I waited more than a month for, and Geno's is currently out of stock of



Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[rbattelle]

Correct sir!I spoke with Genos and Westach today, and both agree the gauge is bad. Let me rephrase. It's gotta be an internal fault with the BACKORDERED gauge that I waited more than a month for, and Geno's is currently out of stock of



Thanks for all the help guys.

Actually, I'm glad to hear it's a gauge problem. It means you're perfectly capable of doing a good job on your end... the problem is with the manufacturer. Let us know how things go when you get the new gauge (whenever that might be ).



-Ryan

 

[Horsepuller]

I have the same gauge. I have no boost at idle which is normal. Until you build up good compression, you will not see boost figures. Boost and EGT should roughly correspond to the position of the diesel pedal. The more you mash it the higher the numbers should show, up to thier limits. Which is 20lbs boost and about no more than 1200 EGTs, pre turbo, stock engine. If you ordered your gauge from Geno's they explain what normal readings should be. But, every truck is a little different, you will have to determine what the optimal numbers for your truck are since there are so many variables.



My problem is my EGT side isn't working. Getting my new gauge today, under warranty. Oo.