Autometer Gauges & Wire Bundle Fun Wednesday, October 7, 2009 I am not 100% sure what caused my previous engine to overheat (which warped the head), but I do know that the stock coolant temp gauge never caught my attention. With that expensive lesson learned, I’ve decided to install a few more gauges. I’d also like some warning lights too. Enter Autometer’s Competition Gauges. The Competition line of Autometer gauges are LED backlit with full-face warnings & status. The gauge faces can be programmed to illuminate in different colors at different stages. For example, the default settings of the water temp gauge are: Green - Below operating temp White - Operating temp range Red - Above operating temp range. In addition to the bright LED lighting and full-face I purchased oil temp and water temp gauges. I’ve had an Autometer oil pressure gauge in the car for some time, but it is from the Ultra-Lite II series, which means it does not have all of the extra features of the competition series. i’m considering swapping that gauge out for a competition series version. The gauges are expensive (~$200 each) but I figured avoiding the cost and complexity of separate gauges, warning lights, and sensors for each was worth it. The icing on the cake is that these gauges output a 0-5v signal for data loggers. I have connected both to my Race Technology DL-1 data logger. The more I think about it, the more I lean toward getting a Competition oil pressure gauge. It would be nice to datalog oil pressure and determine how the <a href="perma://BLPageReference/63581DC8-F2AD-42F2-8B92-8C169A8ABA2F">Maruha Oil Pan Baffle</a> is working! Before I dug into installation, I tried to clean up the wiring harnesses a bit. Between power, ground, illumination, sensor wires, Pro-Control wires, and data logging outputs, there are quite a lot of wires for each gauge. I figured some wire loom/sleeving would tidy things up nicely, and started my search at McMaster-Carr. <a href="http://www.mcmaster.com">McMaster-Carr</a>. I love this place. The selection of connectors, hardware, fasteners, and miscellaneous building materials is staggering. Prices are great, and the turn-around time is great. As long as I place an order by 4PM (that is the latest I’ve tried), my order arrives next day via ground shipping. Awesome! The flame retardant expandable sleeving I used did a great job of cleaning up the wires. I’ve been inspired clean up all of the wires in my engine bay. <a href="perma://BLPageReference/07028814-188F-4810-AFFC-C0E4D6E702CE">PICTURES: Autometer Gauges, wiring harnesses, sleeving, and info.</a>