If Ford Extended Their Dummy Oil Gauge Technology

[TallPaul]

Ford dummy oil gauges read on or off. If you have more than a set amount of oil pressure (think it's about 8 or 10 psi) the needle will sit nice and pretty in the middle of the "gauge" (so they call it), but if the oil pressure drops below that 8 or 10 psi, the needle will drop to the bottom of the gauge and indicate low (which means really low because 8 to 10 psi is not all that good).

So, let's extend this "technology" to the fuel gauge. So as long as you have more than say one gallon of fuel, the needle will sit in the middle of the "gauge" and look nice. Once your tank drops below one gallon the needle will fall to the bottom of the "gauge" indicating you need to stop for fuel. Nice, eh?

 

[Clevy]

Exactly why I bought a mechanical oil pressure gauge,and oil temp gauge.

 

[antiqueshell]

They should at least have it set up so that if a customer wants a actual reading from the gauge the Ford scan tool can change a setting to "actual" as opposed to "idiot".

 

[TallPaul]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
They should at least have it set up so that if a customer wants a actual reading from the gauge the Ford scan tool can change a setting to "actual" as opposed to "idiot".

Yeah, instead of the resistor being on the back of the gauge cluster so you have to pull the cluster to jump the resistor and make it so a real sender will give real needle movement (albeit still no numbers), they could have included the resistor in the stupid switch that screws into the block.

 

[Rick in PA]

My wife would be fine with that type of fuel gauge.

I think my '01 PT Cruiser has the same "technology" temperature gauge. At first I thought "wow, this engine really holds a steady temperature", then I found out it was more of an indicator.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

That same thing applies to their gas gauges. The gas gauge in my '01 Taurus would read full, 3/4, half and empty and that was it. You could drive 399 miles and it would read half, then the next, it would read empty with the gas light on.

Our 01F350 isn't that accurate either, as is my 2011 focus. The '13 escape is decent.

 

[The_Jeff]

I used to like renting GM cars. You could drive 80-100 miles after filling the tank and it'd still show "F".

 

[JHZR2]

That is the case on most cars. Our toyota was no different...

 

[Cujet]

Mazda got tired of customer complaints on the classic Miata. The switched from a gauge that moved within the limits, to a gauge that did not.

Customers drove this change. Don't blame Ford.

 

[sciphi]

This is why GM took away the actual temperature readout on the Cruze's gauge cluster LCD screen. Folks got freaked out when it changed 20-30*F. Nope, it's normal.

 

[SteveSRT8]

First run SRT8 models all got tons of customer feedback about high temperature readings when the actual temp was exactly where it was supposed to be.

Later versions were recalibrated to show a lower needle position on the gauge. SAME TEMP!

The complaints subsided.

I am sure many other mfgrs have made similar mistakes.

 

[antiqueshell]

The REAL problem is that manufacturers need to get people to READ their owner's manuals. Or have the sales staff explain how things work when the car is being delivered to the customer.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Ford dummy oil gauges read on or off. If you have more than a set amount of oil pressure (think it's about 8 or 10 psi) the needle will sit nice and pretty in the middle of the "gauge" (so they call it), but if the oil pressure drops below that 8 or 10 psi, the needle will drop to the bottom of the gauge and indicate low (which means really low because 8 to 10 psi is not all that good).

So, let's extend this "technology" to the fuel gauge. So as long as you have more than say one gallon of fuel, the needle will sit in the middle of the "gauge" and look nice. Once your tank drops below one gallon the needle will fall to the bottom of the "gauge" indicating you need to stop for fuel. Nice, eh?

So? Did my wife design these gauges?

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
Mazda got tired of customer complaints on the classic Miata. The switched from a gauge that moved within the limits, to a gauge that did not.

Customers drove this change. Don't blame Ford.


+1.
Way back in the early 80s, I worked at a small service station. A guy came in with a car that needed a new battery. Although I can't remember the exact make or model, it was an early to mid-70s Chrysler product with a working ammeter. I also remember that he was an elderly man who probably shouldn't have been driving any more. Anyway, we put in a new battery and he went on his merry way. A couple of days later, he came back because the amp meter showed that it was charging his battery and the amp meter "never used to move like that" with the old battery. We tested the charging system and it was fine, but the service station owner gave him a new battery and the car owner went on his way. He came back a few days later complaining about the battery, but was told that the battery was fine. The car owner then went to a shop down the road and bought another battery. A couple of days later, he went back to that place and complained about the new battery they had given him, but they didn't give him a new battery because they knew the history of the owner buying new batteries.
Do you now see what the uninformed car owner does with a genuine working set of gauges?

 

[TallPaul]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
Mazda got tired of customer complaints on the classic Miata. The switched from a gauge that moved within the limits, to a gauge that did not.

Customers drove this change. Don't blame Ford.
Why not blame Ford? GM didn't buckle under to ill-informed consumers. Why should Ford have?

I would rather have the idiot light and no dummy gauge. Why clutter the instrument panel with useless information.

 

[hardcore302]

I still don't like the fact that my Saturn doesn't have a tmep guage. A light will blink and a bell will chime and freak me out when ran too hot.

 

[Cujet]

People freak out when oil pressure drops. Last year it was 60, this year it's 30. Fix it!

That's why we don't get real gauges anymore. And GM's gauges are similar. They don't drop to 5PSI at idle, they lie too.

That's my theory...

 

[RobertISaar]

5 PSI is a bit extreme... but 15 is believable. 10 with a really worn-in engine. anything lower than that and i would be worried, the lifters would be making all kinds of racket.

 

[TallPaul]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
People freak out when oil pressure drops. Last year it was 60, this year it's 30. Fix it!

That's why we don't get real gauges anymore. And GM's gauges are similar. They don't drop to 5PSI at idle, they lie too.

That's my theory...

They'll freak out with a dummy gauge if the needle drops to the bottom too.

I would hope no GM engine would ever read 5 PSI while running, unless it is torn up and ready for the junk yard.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: RobertISaar
5 PSI is a bit extreme... but 15 is believable. 10 with a really worn-in engine. anything lower than that and i would be worried, the lifters would be making all kinds of racket.


I don't know why I remember stuff like this from many years ago, but at one time I was looking at NAPA's catalog for oil pressure switches. This switch catalog was for their line of switches for the idiot lights, in other words, either the light was on or it was off. I do remember some of them were set to 2 1/2 PSI. In other words, if you engine had 3 PSI, the idiot light would be off and the driver would think that all is fine.