i have an auto meter pro comp boost gauge, and it appears that its de calibrating itself… over the last few months, its like its clocking itself backwards… “0” psi is what the gauge reads at full boost, which should be 7 psi… and it says its idleing at 20 in mg… is there a way i can re set this back? or is the gauge fucked?
Well i dont know about full boost being 0 but you should be pulling 19 in mg of vaccum while at idle, that is normal.
Autometer is shit. Don’t buy it.
yeah, you should be idling from 19 to 20 in hg. Are you sure you’re making boost?
Its better than Megan thats for sure.
autometer should be fine… i also noticed in another post your blades are hitting the turbo housing… could this be related? :?
Have the same thing happen to my autometer boost guage…2psi is actually 11psi…Its stupid.
Mine self calibrates on power up. You want to be on a circuit that powers down when the car is turned off, but stays on when you’re cranking. If you’re getting power from a circuit that shuts off when the starter motor cranks you’ll end up self-calibrating to a partial vacuum instead of atmospheric pressure.
Hope this helps.
Dan
when you say “powering” do you mean electraily, cus there is no electric curent going through the gauge… only the light has a voltage…
Mine self calibrates on power up. You want to be on a circuit that powers down when the car is turned off, but stays on when you’re cranking. If you’re getting power from a circuit that shuts off when the starter motor cranks you’ll end up self-calibrating to a partial vacuum instead of atmospheric pressure.
Hope this helps.
Dan[/quote]
Dan your guage must be an electrical, most of the high end varieties are. Most autometers out there will run a vacuum line driectly to the back of the guage, thus they are the mechanical variety.
Autometer = crap
Go electrical, a little more money but a more accurate and reliable guage.
Yah, my Autometer is an electrical one. No complaints so far… Except for self calibrating to a partial vacuum which doesn’t happen any more since I gave it the right power source. :?
Dan
hmm, interesting info… i went to mopac (tears) and asked them, they said as far as recalibrating it, it would have to come apart, and reset the needle… probably cost more then it would be to buy a new one… i think im going to have a go at it myself… if i break it, i have to buy a new one, if i fix it… well shit i fixed it!
Let me know how it goes, i would love to be able to actualy use my guage not just for a reference point.
how is an electrical boost gauge more accurate than a mechanical one? :?
i always thought mechanical gauges would be a more direct way of reading boost than an electrical one… i could be wrong, never had an electrical before.
Werd i always hear of people double checking with mechanical guages.
If you break it, let me know. I’ve got a mechanical gauge with about a week of use on it. (Went electric for data logging.) I’ll sell it to you cheap.
Electrical gauges are more complex than mechanical and therefore have more spots where things can go wrong. (Wrong sensor for diplay) A mechanical gauge is simpler and has fewer things to go wrong. If a mechanical gauge is cheaply made it will wear out faster than a good one.
Dan
also, if you want a cheap gauge princess auto has 22 dollar mechanical boost gauges 
haha, thats what i’m running now… :lol:
Correct me if i’m wrong but…
An electrical guage would be more accurate if the sensor they use to send the electrical signal is more accurate. But in general, an electrical guage would not have given any problems in this case. So you would have avoided this whole mess with a more expensive electric cause if the sensor went you’d just have to buy a new sensor and not a new guage.
Informative post BTW. I’m looking at getting some essential guagues for my 180SX. So if not autometer, which meters look 1/2 decent, are electrical, and don’t set you back mega $$$?