SPA SHOWS –22#'s fuel PSI?

[JES]

#@$%! My SPA fuel gauge is acting up. It will show negative numbers and the alarm light will start flashing. I can stop and reset it and it will show the correct positive fuel PSI for a while then the I get negative #’s again.

I have checked all the connections and they seem to be OK.

Has anyone else had this problem. Anybody got any ideas on how I trouble shoot this thing? How do I turn that little flashing red light OFF!

 

[JCockrell]

SPA prob

JES



I had a similar problem. I got 29. 9 lbs of boost, 30 lbs of FP and flahing light one day after I hit a bump getting on the highway. Like you, I had to reset everything. After the second time it happened, I called Patrick at SPA, great guy BTW. He thought I had a bad ground connection. So I moved my ground connection point and no more problem. Hope this helps.



Jeff



PS I have my SPA book in the truck, if you need to pick my brain.

 

[TomGolden]

I have had the same problem from my SPA series 2 fuel pressure, EGT, rear diff and transmission temp gauges. I finally ended up cutting off the factory connectors that connect the sending unit to the main wiring set that goes into the gauge, and just soldering the darn connections. So far, the only one of those that is still flaking on me is the rear diff temp gauge... Other than this nuicance, I LOVE my SPA gauges



Where exactly is the ground wire that you said you fixed and that solved your problem? I would surely give that a try myself.



Thanks,

Tom

 

[JCyrbok]

Same problem with SPA Boost/egt. Boost whould show HUGE negative numbers. Reset would work for a while then back to the same. Always seemed to happen after hitting a large bump or running through the car wash.



Alittle dielectric grease on all the plugs and some electrical tape to make the connections solid and it hasnt happened since ( about a year).



Hope this helps

J-

 

[TomGolden]

Yea, when I first started to have this happen, I asked and the dielectric grease was suggested. I tried it, and that usually worked for about a month or so. Except with the darn rear diff gauge... I finally soldered the connections solid last month and it *still* jumps all over the place, so maybe this grounding issue is what is plaguing me also. Will have to look into it this weekend.

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Something else to think about....

Two other factors to consider when using the SPA fuel pressure gauge (Mk. 1 or Mk. 2)



(1) Consider the proximity of where you pick up the actual fuel pressure reading. These gauges are extremely accurate but also extremely sensitive and if your fuel pressure pick-up point is located too near the fuel pump, you can experience surging resulting in both positive and negative fuel pressure readings.



(2) The SPA fuel pressure gauge can be configured for a variety of sampling times. IOW, the FP readings are taken as snapshots and then reported on the gauge. By increasing the sampling time to it's maximum, the gauge will give you a much steadier reading.



Good wiring connections are absolutely mandatory, otherwise you'll end up going around in circles. HTH.

 

[TomGolden]

Just an FYI on mine. As I said above, I have been having extremely wild readings on my rear diff gauge, so a couple months back I cut off the factory connectors and soldered the connections from gauge sending unit to gauge wire loom. Didn't solve the problem. I saw this thread, and this past weekend I dug out the owners manual for my gauges. They clearly state that the ground (pin #12 I think - or maybe it was 5 or 6... ) to the gauge should be routed as directly as possible to the chassis (earth ground) and not just into an existing vehicle loom to some other ground. Well, I grounded it directly to the battery, and that still didn't help! So, tomorrow I'm going to try calling SPA directly and ask what the heck I should try now.



Tom

 

[barryg41]

It's funny Tom that it is your rear diff that is acting up. On my truck it is the trans temp that keeps doing the red light dance. I have tried many things but it still does the red light fault blinking. On my senders one side of the coupler is epoxied to the sender. How did you get past that?



Thanks for any info!

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

FOC replacement under warranty?

Originally posted by TomGolden

So, tomorrow I'm going to try calling SPA directly and ask what the heck I should try now.



Tom

Sounds to mee that you may have a marginally dodgy sensor Tom and on past occasions when this has been the case, SPA usually step up to the plate and provide you with another FOC



JMc

 

[John]

Originally posted by barryg41

It's funny Tom that it is your rear diff that is acting up. On my truck it is the trans temp that keeps doing the red light dance. I have tried many things but it still does the red light fault blinking.

I concur! The only one (of 3) I have ever had problems with is the Trans. Temp. portion of that particular combination gauge. I have never had any problems with the Rear End Temp portion of that gauge. I should note that I currently have SPA Mark I gauges however, I will be upgrading to Mark IIs pretty soon!



I also agree with what John McIntyre stated earlier...



a quality wiring job is essential to these SPA gauges... moreso I believe than with the others gauges on the market. Face it, these SPA digital gauges are high quality instruments, far superior to their analog counterparts (IMO of course)... and therefore require all their connections to be perfect.

 

[barryg41]

What I have seen with my sensor on the trans temp is that for about the first 10 miles it wants to give me a fault while idling. After that it is all good. I can go 300 miles pulling a load and no red light dancing. As soon as I idle it wants to start drifting the temperature and some time is does give a fault. But as soon as I get back on the road it won't do it. Maybe it is the sender heating up and cooling off. Maybe a short in the sender.



Barry