What gauge?

[gavin116]

    If you could install one gauge to monitor the engine, which would you choose and why?  How would the information displayed on the gauge be helpful?


A vacuum gauge?
Or


A wide-band air-fuel ratio gauge?
Or


A fuel pressure gauge?
Or


Any other gauge?
Where would one connect these gauges on a K-jet 450 V8 engine? Where would be the best place to plum in the vacuum line?  And if using the Lambda sensor, where would one weld in the bung to accommodate the Lambda sensor on the exhaust?  Where would one connect the fuel pressure gauge?


Thanks
Gavin

[ptashek]

I personally would take all of them, hook their sensors into an micro-controller, and then use a digital display to show all values.

[adamb]

I've always found dashboards more of a distraction than an aid. In addition to driving the 6.9 I'm also a biker. As a biker I don't spend much time looking at the dash as I need to look where I am going. The best clocks in my experience are a single dial showing the revs and a digital speedo. The latter is necessary in our speed camera crazy world. Everything else is off and gets illuminated only if there's a warning, e.g. low oil, no charge, low fuel. Having said that, beyond problem diagnosis, why would the 116 need more dials?

[gavin116]

Hi Adam

I agree that the 116 has a good deal of info from the current dial set-up.  That being said, I didn't want a whole bank of unsightly gauges spoiling the clean lines of the interior (I quite like Ptashek's idea, but I am not sure how to implement it?).  I am very interested to see what the vacuum, fuel pressure and fuel injection in general is getting up to when I get my surging idle - both hot and cold.  I was in a way hoping to try eliminate these problems with the help of the said gauge or gauges.

I would also like to use them to indicate when the car wasn't doing so well, perhaps running rich or whatever and needs a service. As the car stands for a good deal in storage, and is really only started and left to tick over from time to time, this probably leads to the plugs fouling and just generally the engine getting out of tune.

In general, i would also like to use one of the gauges to indicate economy.  MB did include a 'economy vacuum gauge' on the W126, and also the R107/C107's after 1979.  They added the gauge to the left hand bank of gauges.  So there must have been method to their madness.


Regards,


Gavin



BTW, next time you do a service, I'd like to come round to see how its done.  I'm good at necking a beer 'n passing a spanner...


An air/fuel ratio gauge mounted in a R107 (this space is sometimes occupied by an outside temperature gauge or a clock)



The latter R107 left bank of gauges with the economy (a vacuum?) gauge