is there something wrong with my gauge cluster?

[Night Shifter]

ok, i have my car stored for winter covered up with a car cover and under a carport.. it's not exactly inside but it stays out of the elements. the past couple of days it been around 17 degrees out.. 4 days ago i started my car and let it run for a little bit.. i usually do this at least once a week.. it started fine with no problems.

today it is about 49 degrees out and since it had been so cold the past couple nights i figured i'd start her up and let her run.. well i ended up having to jump it because the battery was dead... not totally dead but not enough juice to start the car.. when it started i noticed the tach jumped all the way to 10 grand and the speedometer went all the way 10 150 and all the other gauges pegged but they immediatly went back down then after like a split second the kicked back on to their normal position...

after letting it run a bit i shut it off, restarted it to see if it would do it again and it did...wtf?? i've been in cars that you start and they do this but my car it never did this before.. when i start it it would always just go to the idle rpm's and show the exact amount of fuel and oil pressure... never has it pegged all the guages then reset...

what is making it do this? did my computer screw up over the cold weather or something.... does this happen after our batteries go dead? i hate that it's doing this...any help would be appreciated.. thanks... sorry this was so long

 

[02nightmaregt]

Yea if your battery was dead it will do that. I think its like a "test" for the gauges to make sure they are all working. Mine does it when i disconnect/reconnect the batt. As long as they go back to normal reading, then you should be fine

 

[Big Show 96]

ok, i have my car stored for winter covered up with a car cover and under a carport.. it's not exactly inside but it stays out of the elements. the past couple of days it been around 17 degrees out.. 4 days ago i started my car and let it run for a little bit.. i usually do this at least once a week.. it started fine with no problems.

today it is about 49 degrees out and since it had been so cold the past couple nights i figured i'd start her up and let her run.. well i ended up having to jump it because the battery was dead... not totally dead but not enough juice to start the car.. when it started i noticed the tach jumped all the way to 10 grand and the speedometer went all the way 10 150 and all the other gauges pegged but they immediatly went back down then after like a split second the kicked back on to their normal position...

after letting it run a bit i shut it off, restarted it to see if it would do it again and it did...wtf?? i've been in cars that you start and they do this but my car it never did this before.. when i start it it would always just go to the idle rpm's and show the exact amount of fuel and oil pressure... never has it pegged all the guages then reset...

what is making it do this? did my computer screw up over the cold weather or something.... does this happen after our batteries go dead? i hate that it's doing this...any help would be appreciated.. thanks... sorry this was so long

There prob recalibrating themselves due to the voltage drop.

 

[Night Shifter]

thanks guys! makes me feel a little better... do you know how long this is going to go on? i don't know why but it bugs the crap out of me to see it doing that lol

 

[02nightmaregt]

Should only do it once after you re-connect or jump the car

 

[ItsStock02]

The gauge sweep is the ****!!

I wish it did it all the time.

 

[mustang50v8]

thanks guys! makes me feel a little better... do you know how long this is going to go on? i don't know why but it bugs the crap out of me to see it doing that lol

if your car looses power or doesnt have enough voltage it does this when there is power again.


as soon as you replace the battery it will stop happening.

 

[Mustang5L5]

If your car is stored, don't start it up and let it idle. It's better to just let it sit. Unless you can fully warm the vehicle up by way of a drive, starting an ice cold engine, letting it idle and turning it off can actually cause more harm than good.

 

[96SCstang]

If your car is stored, don't start it up and let it idle. It's better to just let it sit. Unless you can fully warm the vehicle up by way of a drive, starting an ice cold engine, letting it idle and turning it off can actually cause more harm than good.

Bingo....you will actually rust out your exhaust badly. starting it up and running it for short periods in the winter creates alot of condensation in the exhaust and when you shut it off it just sits in your pipes and eats em up! Just disconnect your battery and let your car sit till spring. it will be just fine. you wouldn't wake a bear up from hybernation every week now would you? lol

 

[02nightmaregt]

If your car is stored, don't start it up and let it idle. It's better to just let it sit. Unless you can fully warm the vehicle up by way of a drive, starting an ice cold engine, letting it idle and turning it off can actually cause more harm than good.

Huh, not arguing with you but, that isn't bad for it? I mean if you actually warm it up and drive it a little, is that ok? Just wondering for future reference when i get a winter ride

 

[Mustang5L5]

Huh, not arguing with you but, that isn't bad for it? I mean if you actually warm it up and drive it a little, is that ok? Just wondering for future reference when i get a winter ride

If you start it up, you need to get it warmed up fully. Only way to do that is to take it for a ride and get things nice and hot..especially in the exhaust. Just letting it idle and then shutting it off doesn't really get the moisture out. Plus your oil tends to go bad from sitting as well, so you don't want to circulate that around. I typically change my oil, drive it for a day and then store the car. Then in the spring, i change my oil before i fire up the car for the first time. I never start the car during the time it's stored.