the voltemeter guauge is the most useless guage ever

[DarkoStoj]

honestly how many times has having a voltmeter been actually USEFUL other then times you have a dead battery or alternator? I definately don't need a guage to help me diagnose either of those problems. I need to pick what guages I'm going to run. I have 2 spots for 5" guages (speedo & tach), and 5 spots for 2 1/16" guages. I wanted to run a a/f guage, but had to give up another guage to run it, when it suddenly dawned the voltmeter is as useless as a package set of the fast and the furious movies.

here is what i'm running for my 2 1/16 guages as of right now

oil pressure
water temp
fuel guage
nitrous pressure
a/f ratio

 

[2bav8]

I've always thought that the original ammeter was less useful than a voltmeter.

 

[THX 138]

um if you listen to your radio when the engine isn't on, its pretty useful. the oil pressure gauge i think is pretty useless. you can be way low on oil and still have pressure

 

[ForceFed70]

I've always thought that the original ammeter was less useful than a voltmeter.

I agree.

The voltmeter is a great guage if you know how to interprite what it's telling you. Very handy for telling you your alternator is failing BEFORE you get stranded with a dead battery. Or for indicating that your load demands are more than what your alternator is able to handle. OR that you have a voltage regulation problem before it boils the crap out of the battery.

Make sure the A/F guage you get is of a wideband design (costly) or else it's definately less useful than your voltage guage.

 

[ForceFed70]

um if you listen to your radio when the engine isn't on, its pretty useful. the oil pressure gauge i think is pretty useless. you can be way low on oil and still have pressure

Voltmeter is not a good indicator for battery charge. I've seen completely dead batteries read 12V on a meter yet not even a click out of the solenoid when you go to start. And I've seen a battery show 11V yet still have 5 minutes of solid engine cranking left in it. The only reliable way to measure battery charge is to measure voltage WITH a known load applied.

 

[Max Power]

Any electrical diagnosis you need you can tell by activating a turn signal. If you drive the car wuth any frequency, you can tell the difference. This is of course for stock applications.

I put a vacuum gauge instead.

 

[Edbert]

I'll second the vacuum gauge opinion, they are at least fun to watch. Also, if you are low on oil to an extent to be worried about you'll see the oil pressure dip when cornering/accelerating hard.

 

[ozstang65]

honestly how many times has having a voltmeter been actually USEFUL ...

One on the way back from the coast one day (2hr trip) I noticed the volmeter dropped back to 12V. I stopped to check things out, nothing else was amiss so I made sure I turned off everything non-essential and made it home. If I didn't have a v/m I probably would have shut down on the side of the road somewhere.

Another time driving, same again, 12V on the dial, stopped straight away to check it out - fanbelt had disintegrated (my bad for not replacing it sooner). However, if I had no indication, I would have kept driving and in no time my engine would have fried.

I think the voltmeter is essential. As the ad says - "Won't leave home without one".

My header tank level switch has saved my engine from a burst water pipe.


My feeling is that immediately visible gauges/lights should be there to warn against imminent engine damage. Depends on the style of your driving (and the depth of your wallet) as to which one you feel is more important than the other..

-Voltmeter
-Oil Pressure Gauge (and a warning light for low pressure also)
-Tacho/shift light (really, are you looking at the tacho or the road when you're driving hard??)
-Water Level warning light
-Oil Temperature
-Water Temp
-Fuel pressure
-A/F


I don't think you need a vacuum gauge unless you're tuning a car or want exceptional mileage
I don't find ammeters really practical as you need to have them in your main feed power line.

 

[ozstang65]

...Also, if you are low on oil to an extent to be worried about you'll see the oil pressure dip when cornering/accelerating hard.

If you can see that happening then your engine's as good as dead anyway!

 

[Edbert]

I don't find ammeters really practical as you need to have them in your main feed power line.

Also you can't use them with a high output alternator.

 

[jerry S]

In my own uninformed opinion

The voltemeter's informational value is not much better than the weatherman telling you that it is currently raining in your city. You can stick your head out the window and glean the same information. So too is it with a dead battery

 

[66HertzClone]

A voltmeter gauge is far more useful than the amp gauge, it will tell you accurately the operation of the charging system. The battery voltage is of course 12 volts, however when the engine is running and the charging system is working correctly the voltage in the electrical system is 14 to 14.5 volts. When the engine is running and the gauge indicates 12 volts or less, the charging system is not working, alt. problem, regulator problem, or as stated above a belt problem.

Far more useful than a vacuum gauge or even a A/F gauge in every day use. Not like you are able to adjust the A/F ratio while driving down the road.

 

[Old Blue]

the oil pressure gauge i think is pretty useless. you can be way low on oil and still have pressure

i agree,

the only thing it is going to be good for, is if your oil pump, takes a dump. But then, you would have to be looking right at the gauge when that happens, and catch it fast!

back when i first bought my 69 mustang in 1990, i started driving home from school. i checked all my gauges as i left the parking lot, all were fine. 2.5 miles away from school my engine blew because the oil pump had crapped out. that means within less than 3 minutes from my last gauge check, my oil pump went out and my engine seized.

so really. unless your eyeball is glued to it at all times, or you happen to glance down the INSTANT your pump gives out, this gauge is NOT going to help you.

 

[Sicarius428]

The most useless gauge is a non wideband A/F gauge. It is about as usefull as Christmas lights in June. It always reads lean which the plugs say differently. All show no go...
Kevin

 

[84convertablegt]

The voltemeter's informational value is not much better than the weatherman telling you that it is currently raining in your city. You can stick your head out the window and glean the same information. So too is it with a dead battery

Well, id rather know that my alternator isnt working ahead of time so that i could get somewhere safe quickly, instead of all of a sudden the car just shuts down. if you see your voltage dropping from 14 volts, u know theres something wrong and you are running off of the battery. time to pull over someone.
as far as the oil pressure, i totally disagree with Old Blue. i just reinstalled my distributor, took the car for a drive, everything seemed fine. i noticed my oil pressure gauge was at zero. i figured the sender wire had come off considering i just installed the autometer electric gauge, but non the less i was worried and drove home quickly. still, nothing seemed wrong with the car. once in the garage i pulled the distributor and discovered the shaft broke off and fell down into the pan. now without that little oil pressure gauge, i never would have cared until my engine seized. if you are a good driver, you constantly scan the road, your mirrors, you gauges. you dont notice you are doing it, but u are subconciously always checking these things. if you own a classic car, you should always be checking all your gauges.

 

[Hack]

i agree,

the only thing it is going to be good for, is if your oil pump, takes a dump. But then, you would have to be looking right at the gauge when that happens, and catch it fast!

back when i first bought my 69 mustang in 1990, i started driving home from school. i checked all my gauges as i left the parking lot, all were fine. 2.5 miles away from school my engine blew because the oil pump had crapped out. that means within less than 3 minutes from my last gauge check, my oil pump went out and my engine seized.

so really. unless your eyeball is glued to it at all times, or you happen to glance down the INSTANT your pump gives out, this gauge is NOT going to help you.

My soon to be ex-wife ran my '92 F-150 completely out of oil TWICE while I was in the car. The first time, she came to get me for lunch. We were sitting in the drive through, and I say, "hey, what the $(% is that ticking noise?" I look over and the oil pressure gage says zero. Needless to say, I filled it right away. It took over 4 quarts.

Happened again a couple months later, we were getting on the freeway. I just happened to be looking at the oil pressure gage. I wonder why? The darn thing went to zero again.

Yes I had a heavy oil leak and I finally took care of it. However, my point is - that 302 still works fine. I'm very amazed, but this is 3 years later and I haven't had any problems (knock on wood). So, I'd agree that the oil pressure gage is useful.

 

[DarkoStoj]

My soon to be ex-wife ran my '92 F-150 completely out of oil TWICE while I was in the car. The first time, she came to get me for lunch. We were sitting in the drive through, and I say, "hey, what the $(% is that ticking noise?" I look over and the oil pressure gage says zero. Needless to say, I filled it right away. It took over 4 quarts.

Happened again a couple months later, we were getting on the freeway. I just happened to be looking at the oil pressure gage. I wonder why? The darn thing went to zero again.

Yes I had a heavy oil leak and I finally took care of it. However, my point is - that 302 still works fine. I'm very amazed, but this is 3 years later and I haven't had any problems (knock on wood). So, I'd agree that the oil pressure gage is useful.

useful? how is it useful considering you didn't notice it was at zero until you heard a ticking noise?

I still think the oil pressure guage is better then a voltemeter.

Honestly how complicated are these cars? Do I really need the help of a guage to help diagnose a bad alternator or low battery? Sure it might help to not get me stranded on the road.... but how often do we see alternator failures?

The way I see it, what would would I rather have... a vacum guage, or a voltmeter? Sounds like a simple question to me

 

[ForceFed70]

It's useful because he immediately knew what the problem was and to shut the engine down. Otherwise, he probably would have waited until he got home to take a look..IF he got home.

Having said that.. I think a oil pressure warning light/switch is a good compromise. Let's you know you have an oil pressure problem without taking up guage realestate. Cheap too..

 

[84convertablegt]

i dont see whats so cool about having a vacuum gauge????? its cool when you have a supercharger and a vacuum/boost combo gauge, but on a naturally aspirated engine, ummmm, why is it cool? i definately dont see why its better than a volt gauge. imo, theres a reason every car manufacturer who uses gauges has the same thing... um, a speedo, tach, fuel, oil pressure, water temp, and voltmeter. they all must be stupid. next thing, someone will post on here that you dont need a water temp gauge because you can tell when steam starts blowing out of your radiator that you are overheating. does this thread really have a point?

 

[Edbert]

Vacuum gauges aren't useful unless you are diagnosing a poor running engine. I only said they are fun to watch.

I would not consider driving mmy car without an water temp, oil pressure, and voltmeter in it. In fact I chose to not install a freaking fuel gauge in favor of those other three...and not bacuase I'll know I'm out of gas when it sputters to a stop either