Those who have Autometer electric FP gauge #2661

[Phil Stuart]

Maybe someone can figure this out.



I Have the Autometer #2661 electric FP gauge setup and installed according to directions with a 2' lenth of -4an braided hose coming off the Geno's tapped banjo on the VP44 over to the sender on the left fenderwell. This Gauge has only been on for about two months and a while back was getting fluctuations in the press. At idle it would go to anywhere from 11 to 13 and cruising at 62mph and 4 1/2 psi boost it read around 10 or so. Normally it reads 9 at the same speed and boost and idle a good steady 11 to maybe 12. Took sender off ,made sure nothing plugging sender hole,checked threaded connections,all looked OK, and re-connected. Ran fine and steady for about three weeks,now it's like the needle is nervous or something again. Not as bad as before,but still shakes a bit. Will relocating the pressure tap to the bottom of the fuel filter housing have any affect on the gauge readings???

Any suggestions folks



Phil

 

[Briar Hopper]

I've had two sending units blow out, on mine. It didn't fluctuate as you described, rather, it pegged at past 16psi, and stayed there for a few days, then sent diesel fuel through the orange sheath on the wires into the cab...

I just sent my second one back to AutoMeter. Waiting to hear from them.

I hooked up a Stewart-Warner fuel pressure gauge to use in the meantime, only to find out that the gauge is bad.

The alternatives I have available are not very attractive. All my options are expensive, if I want matching gauges.

 

[Phil Stuart]

Autometer FP gauge

Briar Hopper,



I hate to think that I spent over $200. 00 on this setup only to find out it don't last very long I wonder If anyone else has had their senders crap out like this?If it keeps up I may think about going to a mechanical type. This is a real bummer!I thought that by locating the sender away from the injection pump it would reduce the pressure pulsations on it?What gives

By the way, thanks for the reply.



Phil

 

[BBotte]

phil



i have the same gauge and my is starting to act up. i have mine hooked up at the bottom of the fuel filter housing with a tapped bango bolt and 4' of braided hose and the sending unit mounted on the fire wall with a bracket i made. the gauge work fine for about month and know it bounces all over the place while driving or at idle. i going to have check for loose wires or a bad ground . maybe its time for a new sending unit.

 

[Briar Hopper]

Well, Phil, I'm going to rock their boat a little. I want them to make one that will last. That is why I sent it to AutoMeter, and not to the vendor I purchased it from. Maybe they will do the right thing by us. They REPEATEDLY assured me and one other friend, over the phone last year, that the sending units WOULD stand up to diesel. I had my sending unit mounted remotely also, BOTH times.

The plumbing for mechanical fuel pressure will not fit in the A pillar gauge console, so I prefer the electric.

If they don't come through, I'll have to change brands yet again... .

 

[Bob Cochran]

I had mine mounted the same as you guys remotely using braided fuel line at injection pump. Was reading over 15 probably close to 16 estimating then went bad as you described. I went to Autometer and explained problem and they sent me a new sendor and send a snubber with it. I moved and connecte to bottom of fuel filter and it has been working good there. I do have small fluctuations but depending on instrument damping this could be normal. I intend to add the snubber and see if the small fluctuations stop. The fluctuations are not bad or large and don't really bother me if they don't get bigger but like to stop them if possible.

 

[jmaji]

Phil,



I know it's been a couple years since you posted this thread, but I was wondering if you found a solution to your AM 2661 problem? I was about to buy one from Bay Area Performance in Houston and was told by them that on my '02, there is a set bolt on the top area of the filter and the sending unit could be attached there. This would be away from the injector pump and should prevent any pulsating in the meter.



I'm really in a delema with this FP meter scenerio. Sure wwould like a hear from you or anyone else that has a solution. IS the Air Dog filter/pump the answer. I'm being pushed in that direction.



Capt. Jim

 

[Graphic man]

i have mine run the same way as above, but i run a mec. gage in the cab of the truck with 6' of braided line and have never had a problem! same as oil pressure!

never had a problem!



mount the gage somewhere so you have easy access to keep an eye on it!

mount a shut off valve under the hood so if it ever did leak you can stop and shut it off till you get home.

 

[Tcolesanti]

I've been using my auto meter gauge for almost a year and about 35,000 miles and I don't have any complaints other than it not going to 30psi. As soon as Auto Meter comes out with a 0-30psi F/P gauge I am buying one, because the FASS kind of pegs out the gauge past 15psi, but I know I have pressure!!!

 

[jmaji]

Thanks gents for your replies. I am leaning towards the mechanical as it seems that the electrical sender can be a problem. The mech. also has less parts to fail. I like the idea of the shut off valve. I would think that if the parts are quality parts, one shouldn't have problems with leaks if assembled correctly. Wished the LP wasn't so fickled... wouldn't have to even has a FPM. Any new word out on what is suggested to fix the pressure pump problem? A secondary in line pump between the tank and LP????? Thanks again.

 

[Beast2B]

Shut off valve may be overkill if you use the hose that attaches to the Schrader valve at the VP inlet (like the one from Geno's). Easy enough to unscrew the hose. FWIW

 

[24V-DSL]

I've been using my auto meter gauge for almost a year and about 35,000 miles and I don't have any complaints other than it not going to 30psi. As soon as Auto Meter comes out with a 0-30psi F/P gauge I am buying one, because the FASS kind of pegs out the gauge past 15psi, but I know I have pressure!!!

Autometer tech told me two weeks ago the 0-30 psi electric is now available. Think the PN for the Z series is 2660, but you can call and check.

 

[Phil Stuart]

Phil,



I know it's been a couple years since you posted this thread, but I was wondering if you found a solution to your AM 2661 problem? I was about to buy one from Bay Area Performance in Houston and was told by them that on my '02, there is a set bolt on the top area of the filter and the sending unit could be attached there. This would be away from the injector pump and should prevent any pulsating in the meter.



I'm really in a delema with this FP meter scenerio. Sure wwould like a hear from you or anyone else that has a solution. IS the Air Dog filter/pump the answer. I'm being pushed in that direction.



Capt. Jim

Jim, I ended up replacing the fuel lift pump shortly after this scenario and it seemed to take care of the problem. The fuel pressure ended up hitting about 2 or 3 psi and stayed there. . Then I traded this truck on a 2002 ETH/DEE. Sorry I couldn't help much further on your questions. On my new truck, I went with all ISSPRO gauges and used a mechanical FP gauge.



Phil S

 

[wtfd6]

i dont know autometers part number, but dieselperformanceparts.com has it for about $214. 0-30 psi.

 

[Parks]

You may want to check with Autometer before installing their electric fuel pressure gauge on a Cummins engine. They state they do not recommend using their electric fuel pressure gauge on the Cummins engine because of pressure surges will damage the sending unit. Also they would void the warranty on any of those particular gauges. This the reason that some shops stopped selling them. I spoke with their tech department this week to see if they have made any changes and they said they still have not. I know their are several out there still working but I would think twice.

 

[24V-DSL]

I've had several discussions over the past 3 yrs. with Autometer tech's at Mother Autometer. Very helpful, btw. Not one of them told me they don't recommend their electric 0-15 psi guage for diesel applications. In fact, one of them provided me with recommended snubber information, including company name and PN to mitigate sender failure. All of this in the context of diesel application. That's why I bought one three years ago.



Just two weeks ago they told me about their new electric 0-30 psi guage. This guy knew all about the Cummins crappy lift-pump reputation, aftermarket Fass,pusher's, etc, and said with the increased fuel pressure these systems put out they decided to make a 0-30 psi guage because of complaints of guys like me with pegged 0-15 psi guages.

 

[jmaji]

Thanks for the comment but are you saying that AutoMeter is now recommend their new electric 0-30psi for the diesel application?

 

[Parks]

jmaji, here is Autometer's phone number if this will help you out. (815)895-8141 They have agreat tech department. Or you can go to their website at www.autometer.com

 

[Warpig]

You need a snubber

I had the same problem. The vp44 pulsates, therefore causing the erratic reading. I used a snubber and it solved the problem for under ten bucks. You can do a search on here for "snubber" and find other threads detailing the npt and porosity of the snubber, I forgot the specs. I used a snubber made by "Chemiquip". The snubber is an inline dampener used in hydrolic applications for accurate guage reading due to pulsating fluid.



Tim W.

 

[jmaji]

I took your advise and called Auto Meter and talked to Jim, one of their techs. His comment was that because of the higher pressure these aftermarket pumps put out at startup, it "spikes" the sender and gauge which really screws them up. That's why they went to the 0-30 psi and with that meter, changed the sending unit to handle that initial higher psi. They feel confident that this new sender and highere psi meter will solve the problems experienced with the 0-15psi mechanical & electrical gages in the past. Time will tell... You can bet I'll be monitoring the threads on this subject