Boost Gauge

[horrace]

Hey fellas as per the title im installing a boost gauge in my sereies 1 stag, and its all pretty easy as far as the boost feed goes but im a bit stuck with the power supply. I did a search and found people have hooked theres up to the cigarette lighter socket as it has ignition, light feed for the dimmer, but does it have a constant 12+ and a ground? I dont know how to use a multimeter so if anyone has done it and can tell me the colours and where you got the constant 12+ and the ground (can i just go to the body?) from that would be sweet, otherwise i might try bluff my way through with a multimeter.

sorry for the noob question any help would be appriciated.

[kidafa]

What do you need a constant + for? Is it an electric or mechanical gauge just with a back light?

If its mechanical go to the body for the ground ... derrr and the positive for the back light pinch it from the light on your ciggy lighter, just look a the wiring and you will be able to work out whats the +

Where are you mounting it?

[horrace]

its electrical, i wondered about the constant too?

im mounting it on th stearing cloum

my instructions say

Red - Battery (+)

Black - engine ground

White - ignition switch 12v+

Orange - Dimmer/ +12v to dimmer connect to headlight to activate

any of that make sense?

and yeah it doesnt have recall or anything so its just for the backlight i guess

Edited November 10, 2009 by horrace

[ssshonky]

I would suggest buying a cheap multimeter., just for your own peace of mind,

All well and good getting suggestions from others but in the end of the day if anything blows then its going to be you paying for a new one

The only reason I can see for a constant 12 volt feed is if the boost guage has a peak hold /memory.

Edited November 10, 2009 by ssshonky

[SCHSLYF]

is it one of the boost gauges where you can change the colour of the back light? i had one in my old car (only so i could match its colour to the rest of the dash lights) the only reason it has constant is so that the colour come back to what you left it on. mine wasnt done correctly as a result reset back to colour a, which was annoying as it wasnt the colour i wanted.

another option is it has a constant back light that dims when you switch your lights on, rather than no light - light when you lights are on.

or if it is a black face one, then it will need constant power so you can see the gauge when you turn it on.

other than any of the other previously stated reason i have no idea

*******edit oh wait you said its electircal, needs power constantly to operate when lights are off, otherwise it will only work when you lights are on. the above reason were for if it was mechanical.

Edited November 10, 2009 by SCHSLYF

[horrace]

I can't see any buttons on it but I'm not sure ey, That sounds like it could be a possiblity. And yes it is a black face one.

Edited November 10, 2009 by horrace

[SCHSLYF]

I can't see any buttons on it but I'm not sure ey, That sounds like it could be a possiblity. And yes it is a black face one.

this is the reason for your constant power. the constant power will be your power source to turn the face from black to show all the gauge information, the ignition switch would be to tell it to turn on, kind of like an Amp for your stereo. the dim light would be when you turn your lights on the back light of the boost guage dims, so you dont get taht bright glare in your face.

[mattye]

Dude just do exactly what it says.

my instructions say

Red - Battery (+)

Black - engine ground

White - ignition switch 12v+

Orange - Dimmer/ +12v to dimmer connect to headlight to activate

Red - Get some wire bout same size (or one size up) run it from the +ve on ur battery. I would also put a fuse in line near the battery end just to be safe.

Black - Ground to shassy. Look under the dash n pick a screw/bolt that won't get taken off again n put it under the head. This is where the multimeter will come in handy cause it will alow u to find a good earth.

White - Ignition switch 12v

Orange - Headlight power. Again a multimeter will help here.

[horrace]

Thanks for the help guys I'll let you know how I get on

[QWK32]

for a constant 12v +ve, instead of running a wire from the battery, just pick up off the constant at the ignition barrel wiring if you cant find one anywhere else e.g cd player. no point running another one from the battery. dimmer one, either dont connect it at all, or if you want it to slightly dim when you put you head lights on take the feed for this from the ciggie lighter light. earth/gnd easy. Ignition switched 12v +ve, from the igniton barrel wires or the cd player.

Edited November 10, 2009 by QWK32

[horrace]

ok so heres where im at, pull the cd player forward and easy its all labelled so i hooked up a ground with one of the body srews, ignition was easy so was constant, i thought i would leave the light one till later, so i turn the ignition on and nothing happens? then i look at my cd player and its not on either i was like shit a fuse, then i pulled the fuse and its blown so i look back at the cd player and the ground is just hanging mid air SHIT, i have no i dea where it was grounded so i put that under a screw to, new fuse in and still no power to either? fuse is good so i am stumped, any ideas man i wish i took it to an auto sparkie!

[QWK32]

Which fuse did you check? The one on the back of the cd player, or the one on the in-cabin fuse box, behind the little coin tray thing on the drivers side. And you still don't have power to the gauge or cd player, anything else not working? Clock? Do you have test light or multimeter to confirm you have 12v running up to the cd player?

[horrace]

the fuse in the engine bay blew, the fuse behind the cd player is all good, i didnt know about the one behind the coin tray ill have to look.

[horrace]

No fuses in the coin tray box a burnt, and the clock is not working aswell aircon is fine though

[kidafa]

A fuse can still be cooked even if it "appears" to be intact. Need to use a test light or volt meter

Edited November 11, 2009 by kidafa

[horrace]

ah well i dont really know how, ill get someone to look at it

[horrace]

ok so a 10 year old kid on youtube taught me how to use a multimeter haha yeah, anyway when i pull the audio fuse under the bonnet it says 12.7V on one side and none on the other side of the fuse connector so the power is getting to the fuse, iv tried a few fuses so the fuse if fine, still no power. i cant see anything in the drivers side fuse box to indicate it has a fuse for the audio system anybody know? i need to find the breakdown somewhere.

Edited November 11, 2009 by horrace