It's a royal pain having to take the IC off to check for a loose connection. I recommend you check out the install instructions on Alta's website for their new R53 gauge set up. They show a much more accessable hose to T into.

 

yeah, IC sucks to keep taking off but i fixed the problem

 

Don't know if this has been mentioned but....

I am a tall guy and climbing under the dash of my MINI was very hard. But I found the grey/red wire down by the drivers seat. I pulled the plastic panel that goes from the fuse box down the side of the drivers seat on the inside of the car. There is a junction where alot of the grey/red wires come together coming out of the harness just in front of the drivers seat under the plastic cover. I just taped for power there and it works with the dimmer.

 

same. there is no good position between kneeling on the floor or laying on my back across the door sill that makes it easy for my 6'3" frame to work on that area of my car lol. And man... do i feel stiff the next day.

At any rate I did the same. picked the wire tried it with a multitester with the dimmer and use an inline wire splicer from harbor frieght. No wire caps, no soldering and a boost gauge that dims. over all im pleased.

 

ok i have a few questions....
1. the back of the guage has two long screws coming out of it....i noticed when i put the guage in the cup the screws make the guage stick out....where these grounded down or is there a way to move them?
2.the light socket with the power and ground wires is awfully short...did any of you butt connect longer wire to be able to find the proper wire spots for tapping?
3. is it less of a hassle to remove the intercooler and tap into the FPR or the alta way?

 

1) I cut them off with a dremel. No idea what exactly those are for so i left enough thread on them to still be useful but not get in the way of the mounting cup.
2) Yeah I just crimped some wire connectors in there that I had from my old RC car racing days. I think either butt join the wires or just using some connectors from radio shack or something would be the ticket. I like the connector Idea so it's easy to remove and put back... although for what reason i don't know.
3) Way tells me that the way alta states it is easier. I think that way might be better because you can spot check the connections and see if they are loose. I actually had mine come loose once so i took it all apart and zip tied the 3 sides of the T connection. Since then it is rock solid. I think if you remove the IC and T at the fpv... def use the smallest size zip ties to secure the lines.

hope this helped.

 

so can the T that comes with the AM kit work or do i need to get a different one?

 

I believe that's the one I used. I got some 5/8'ths vac line at autozone as well.

Actually I'm sure I used the T with the AM kit because the clear plastic hose that went to the gauge just fit right in there.

 

do you have a pic of how you routed the lines?sry if im askin alot of questions i just want to be dead sure before i start messing with the vac system...i have the guage mounted and powered and the small hose routed through the firewall....just need to be sure of the port and route for the hose

 

woot...i figured it out! got the sucker up and running...though i found if i didnt cut the clear tube and just coiled up the slack and hid it under the dash that tube has the flexibility to be moved around and not break!...plus i set everything up with the steering wheel all the way up! ill post a pic in a bit...gotta go for a shake down run

 

here ya go

i used a spare LED until i can get over to autozone to get a amber bulb

 

Looks great Yellowbritishrocket! Now you need another gauge for the other side of the tach!

Jeremy

 

im thinking bout it...this project was more of a test to see how well i can figure out the set up...now that i have tested that it isnt all that hard im thinking of trying another one but we will see...now i think i may add one or maybe two other things and then get it tuned

 

here is the best T for hooking up a boost gauge. Its not a hard plastic T but RUBBER and you simply insert the lines about 1/2 inch. I've had mine on for 2 years with no issues. Makes the whole install easier.

http://www.minspeed.net/BGT.htm

 

actually i used a standard 3/16" T fitting for the intake manifold hose modification and 5/32" hose....routed the 5/32" hose all the way up near the rubber gasket punch point and used a 3/16"-1/4" adapter(so i can attach the 1/4-1/8" reducer)...since i dont have that plastic 1/8 vac hose strung out so far there isnt any strain on it and so far even with adjusting the steering wheel ive had no kinks or breaks...

 

That will certainly work and it looks great. I ran the 1/8 vac line in one piece the whole way and in two years no issue.

heres are some pics - I opted for using the Minspeed extended bracket. This little bracket is something I worked up w/ Peter (minspeed) to give a little more adjustability.



Of course once you add one gauge, it becomes addictive

 

For those of us using the M7 DFIC, is there any problem with connecting the vacuum line directly to the driver side port? Should I use the passenger side port instead?

 

Its a matter of do you want pre or post IC boost readings. You can even add a y and take an avg. from both sources.

Hook it to one side and then try the other - its simple enough.

 

I might have my gauge for sale soon. Would anybody be interested ? Comes with everything you need to install.

 

I just installed the Autometer Ultra-Lite II boost/vac gauge (reverse through the dial lighting) over the weekend and noticed while the needle is on the vacuum side, the needle will vibrate when I encounter any uneven pavement. Are any of you guys with the standard Ultra-Lite's encountering the same thing? I emailed Autometer today but haven't received a reply. I probably will just call them tomorrow.

 

No such problem with mine.

 

I have a buzz noise from mine when going from vac to boost, anyone else have this issue?

If so what have people done to correct it?

 

I rec'd my boost gauge today! I must have done 5-7 mods this week. I think I'm in a cult. You guys don't sell soap? Do you? JK-LOL

I removed the IC and the FPV looks like it is connected to the bottm by a wire, not a vacuum hose. Any ideas on this? I have a 05 MCS with a JCW kit and Dinan throttle body.

Thank you all for your help!

 

I am making this mod next weekend and after reading all the threads here on NAM and MINI2 about this i have one single doubt about the VGS : the tube that goes into to bypass valve is already installed in the car or i need to squeeze one down there ?

 

when mounting the cup on the tach which hole did you use? because i can't see it cleary enough. did you drill it into the pre-hole one or the one that is covered??