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dgeissberger
Samba Member
Joined: April 09, 2015
Posts: 5
Location: San Jose, California
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 Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2020 9:45 pm Post subject: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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What gauges have you used to replace the speedo and tach? Photos please!
I have an 87 Syncro and broke my tach and the 2 replacements I got do not work and now the speedo wines (after replacing the cable). I am tired of dealing with this.
I did see someone on the VOG replaced theirs with a speedhut gps speedo and tach and made a new cluster faceplate. Any others out there?
I was wondering if anyone has a digital system that they installed.
Thanks!!
-Dave
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Dave
87 Syncro |
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leecat
Samba Member
Joined: September 13, 2012
Posts: 773
Location: Regina
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 12:41 am Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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While I certainly haven't gone digital, I removed the clock and installed an '86 Jetta tach in my last Vanagon - was not difficult to do and the price was right, $10 for the old Jetta cluster from a local wrecker. I did it very 'solid state' by running wires with eyelets right to the circuit board. A little ad-hoc to engineer but worked great and was about as close to a 'bolt-in' as you can get.
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valvecovergasket
Samba Member
Joined: October 10, 2018
Posts: 1491
Location: pnw
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 1:55 am Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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Speedhut for me...
Really happy with the whole setup after some initial tweaking
I made some new inserts for the gauges but wanted to keep the stoxk center light setup
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MegaSquirt resource - SpitfireEFI.com
gone, but not forgotten: '83 tdi westy - swap thread |
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DuncanS
Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2013
Posts: 4583
Location: New Hampshire
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:48 am Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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| valvecovergasket wrote: |
Speedhut for me...
Really happy with the whole setup after some initial tweaking
I made some new inserts for the gauges but wanted to keep the stoxk center light setup
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Never mind the gauges. Where did you get that really nice fawn colored dash cover? I need to get a letter off to Santa stat.
Duncan |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32574
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32574
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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mikemtnbike
Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2015
Posts: 2795
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 8:05 am Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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I love the looks and total functionality of the speedhut kit but had never looked at the price before, just did, 
(Moderator edit: $564 plus sending units)
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled  https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual |
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jimf909 
Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 7462
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 9:37 am Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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| djkeev wrote: |
Valvecovergasket,
The GPS speedometer, what are its limitations?
Satellite based.....
Who pays for the GPS service?
Dave |
As I understand it, the US taxpayers paid for the GPS service by putting the 26 (that could be a circa 1995 figure stores in my brain) satellites in orbit. The US govt then made the signal available and control it's accuracy. Back in the olden days they wouldn't allow consumer devices to be closer than 100 - 300 yards for security reasons. Since then consumer devices get pretty close.
I have no idea if mfrs. need to pay a licensing fee that is incorporated as part of the original purchase price but there are plenty of gps devices that are free after the original cost of the product.
_________________
- Jim
| Abscate wrote: |
Do not get killed, do not kill others.
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Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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valvecovergasket
Samba Member
Joined: October 10, 2018
Posts: 1491
Location: pnw
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 9:41 am Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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| DuncanS wrote: |
Never mind the gauges. Where did you get that really nice fawn colored dash cover? I need to get a letter off to Santa stat.
Duncan |
haha its just the cloth cover GW sells, pretty happy with it and it covers the sorta crusty dash just fine. also allows for the speedhut gps puck to stick to the dash top without standing out as its covered by the cloth
| djkeev wrote: |
Valvecovergasket,
My kudos on a VERY nice retrofit of gauges!
The GPS speedometer, what are its limitations?
Satellite based.....
Who pays for the GPS service?
Any concerns in years ahead if the satellite provider goes belly up or the satellite dies?
The engine gauges, do they function off the stock VW sending units?
Does The stock fuel gauge sender work with the gauge?
Dave |
hey, thanks!
the satellite speedo is pretty good but definitely has little burbles when you go through tunnels or between some larger buildings. its not the end of the world but sometimes noticeable. it boots up quickly though, so by the time im ready to drive off it has a signal.
no idea on who pays, not me!  i hadnt considered it going forward but i assume its the same satellites your phone uses - it needs a lock on quite a few to get accurate speed, so its not just one unit.
the other gauges need their own speedhut specific senders - coolant and oil pressure. easy enough to package though. i used an inline coolant hose splice for the coolant sending off the head outlet on the tdi, theres a few pics in the build thread.
stock van sender for the fuel gauge though, as the speedhut is calibratable for full/empty.
ive written about the fuel gauge in other speedhut threads - they updated the filter constant to reduce noise on this significantly this past year. i sent mine in to get updated, and its been much better. otherwise it would move a bit more under a quarter or so tank than id like, and cause it to show false empty. fuel gauges need significant filtering - especially the odd location of the unit in the vans tank - and its tough to make a one size fits all here.
after the update im finally happy with it though.
also using a decade box to calibrate it is significantly more accurate in my experience that relying on the sender itself.
| mikemtnbike wrote: |
| I love the looks and total functionality of the speedhut kit but had never looked at the price before, just did, |
yeah, their only downside unfortunately
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MegaSquirt resource - SpitfireEFI.com
gone, but not forgotten: '83 tdi westy - swap thread |
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jimf909
Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 7462
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 9:48 am Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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OP, what engine do you have in your Syncro? If it's OBDII compliant (a sub, Bostig, 1.8, etc.) you can run any number of gauges that run off the OBDII port and other sensors. Scangauge and Ultragauge are two but there are many bluetooth devices as well.
Here's an Ultrtagauge. Definitely not Speedhut pretty but also not Speedhut spendy...
_________________
- Jim
| Abscate wrote: |
Do not get killed, do not kill others.
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Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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dlb154
Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2006
Posts: 359
Location: Reno, NV
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 1:23 pm Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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jimf909 - what drives the Ultragauge speedometer? GPS or the ECU (obdii)?
If it's the ECU, I assume that signal comes from the VSS correct? |
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kourt
Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2013
Posts: 1937
Location: Austin, TX
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 2:46 pm Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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Speedhut gauges. So much better.
The OEM gauges suck when you get modern stuff (that is accurate and objective) on board.
kourt |
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jimf909
Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 7462
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:46 pm Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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| dlb154 wrote: |
jimf909 - what drives the Ultragauge speedometer? GPS or the ECU (obdii)?
If it's the ECU, I assume that signal comes from the VSS correct? |
Yes, this is a Bostig and the Ultragauge is hooked up through the OBDII port so the VSS mounted on the driver's side axle would be what drives it.
The sensor can be seen in this photo on the right with the green and black wires running to it (not in the red circle - that's circling the broken tab on the transmission).
_________________
- Jim
| Abscate wrote: |
Do not get killed, do not kill others.
|
Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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izzydog
Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005
Posts: 665
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 6:46 pm Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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dgeissberger
Samba Member
Joined: April 09, 2015
Posts: 5
Location: San Jose, California
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 10:56 pm Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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| valvecovergasket wrote: |
Speedhut for me...
Really happy with the whole setup after some initial tweaking
I made some new inserts for the gauges but wanted to keep the stoxk center light setup
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Those look great! Is the tach easy to read even though it is so small and there are no markings to show redline? Is there a shift light and is it easy to set?
I believe it was you that said you are running a TDI. Would the coolant gauge wiring that is stock (stock engine too) operate the temp gauge?
Thanks!
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Dave
87 Syncro |
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dgeissberger
Samba Member
Joined: April 09, 2015
Posts: 5
Location: San Jose, California
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 10:58 pm Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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I suspect you need OBDII for this or can you run it off of stock? Would a similar setup work if I put a phone or small tablet in place of the dash cluster? Do you need to power it on every time you get in the van?
Thanks!
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Dave
87 Syncro |
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izzydog
Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005
Posts: 665
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| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 11:04 pm Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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| Yes, OBDII. 1.8T conversion. A wifi dongle connects the OBDII port to the iPad and I run an app called OBD Fusion. The dongle and app are less than $30. |
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Vanagon914
Samba Member
Joined: April 22, 2019
Posts: 139
Location: FL
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| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:03 am Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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glow shift |
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dgeissberger
Samba Member
Joined: April 09, 2015
Posts: 5
Location: San Jose, California
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| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:16 pm Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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| Vanagon914 wrote: |
glow shift |
Vanagon914- Was the wiring straight forward? Is coolant temp and fuel one of the smaller gauges? Any problems with these?
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Dave
87 Syncro |
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Vanagon914
Samba Member
Joined: April 22, 2019
Posts: 139
Location: FL
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| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 12:52 pm Post subject: Re: Gauges- What have you replaced the stock gauges with? |
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| still waiting on the fuel gauge. the smaller gauges are voltage, coolant temp, and oil pressure. the coolant temp utilized a radiator hose union with a pipe tap. and the oil pressure used a sandwich adapter under the oil filter. very easy install and comes with instructions. good quality and not to bad price wise. |
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