I guess I'm not too far off then. I'm between 15-20vac while cruising, 0 while gently accelerating, and up to 18boost when getting on it. I'm at 5300', so the altitude may impact things.

Sorry to threadjack, now back to our original topic...

Cheers,
Tom

 

Just nice having a cool gauge at a great price showing us information previously unknown

 

I'm interested in a boost gauge and oil temp gauge (is this out on the market yet?) - do you ship internationally?

 

Are there any volt gauges available? I'm also interested in buying an oil pressure gauge (elec). I've decided against using the stepper motor gauge I bought as I don't want to use a separate dimmer for it. Will use it on my boat instead.

 

The volt gauge should be here soon. All the Marshall gauges have to be dimmed with a separate device according to Paul at Marshall. It has to do with the LED lighting so both the stepper and electric gauges need a dimmer of some sort.

Steve

 

The oil temp gauge should be here in the next couple of weeks. Yes, I ship internationally via the Post Office. The UK people have opted not to buy because of all the extra import, VAT and P.O. fees that have added up to more than the gauges. Hopefully, SA is better.

Steve

 

My stepper dimmer arrived okay (thanks). Interesting that the instructions say to wire it to the 12v switched input, and not the amber or white lighting wire. Must be the way those funky LEDs work...

 

I must be lucky then as both my electric water and mechanical boost/vac dim perfectly with the factory dimmers by using the DSC switch light circuit. Mine are both non stepper motors.

 

Next time you are here we should try a stepper gauge on that wire.

Steve

 

Sounds like a job for Saturday.

 

I got used to paying more for shipping and duties than what most my items are worth Just one of those things your get used to when living here

Is the oil temperature gauge electric or mechanical?

Will out miss out on the group buy due to the delay in the oil temperature gauge?

 

Oil temp will be electric or stepper. Anybody who contacts me about wanting to wait for the voltmeter or oil temp will get the group buy prices. I may extend another month anyway since there is still a lot of interest.

Steve

 

It's so nice to see someone that believes in customer service. Thanks Steve for making this gauge deal work for all of us.

 

Yes it does, but me first

 

Are you on the board yet? I honestly thought you would be out checking out your new tune

 

Board? I don't need no stinking board. I'm a drive in customer, since I work there.

 

Well, get to work!

Steve

 

I can tell you first hand (at least on a R56). The dimmer will not work with the stepper gauges (have both water temp and oil pressure). It does work fine with non stepper motor gauges (mechanical boost). When connecting the amber wire on the gauge up to the dimmer of the DSC the gauge lighting will be off unless you like your lighting at almost full bright (then it just switches on and does not dim). I've come up with a circuit that does allow you to use the factory dimmer to dim the stepper motor lighting (see post earlier in this thread). I sent one to Paul at Marshall to test on his bench setup. It works on my car although I have another lighting problem that I do not believe is related to the dimmer circuit I built, but am still trying to verify. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

The mechanical vac/boost may be different. Paul said he didn't think there should be a difference between the stepper and electric gauges and tried it out on the bench and confirmed it. They still may act differently in the MINI so I want to try it for myself.

Steve

 

So where were you at with the hammer the past couple of weeks. I suscribe to the Bigger hammer hits nail easier

 

I'm definitely interested in your mod, and apparently I'm not the only one. Would you please post schematic details? TIA.

On another note, I've been working on a mounting bracket for the Craven cups and my GPS. My first attempt at it is close to what I want, but there is room for refinement. The GPS needs to be a little higher and more to the right to clear the steering wheel (see photo), but it's still an improvement over the original position (far left of the tach, and low). The double gauge cup position on the left worked out perfectly, and I thought the single cup on the right would too - but it doesn't clear the A/C vent. I'd need to either carve a good size chunk out of the back of the cup or space it about 5/8" away from the bracket to make it clear. Carving out the cup would be OK, but it's a tricky operation to get right since it involves compound curves. I don't much like the spacer idea, so maybe a new bracket design is needed. We'll see.

Tom S

 

I'm definitely interested in purchasing the Volt (when available) and the (mechanical) Boost gauges as well as the mounting hardware for my R52. Let us know when the Volt gauge becomes available.

 

I sure will. The voltmeter should be here in the next couple of weeks.

Steve

 

For those of you with the mechanical vac/boost gauge with the needle flicker and buzzing, here is Paul at Marshall Instruments response:

This is a very common problem with mechanical boost gauges. Google “boost gauge buzzing” and you’ll get a plethora of information. At certain pressures the fast moving air is at the resonance frequency of the gauge which causes the gauge to buzz. All that is typically needed is a restrictor to dampen the air movement in the hose to the gauge. Our boost gauge includes a restrictor on the tee that helps prevent this. Other companies call it an “anti-buzz” or “no-buzz” fitting. Was the restrictor tee fitting used for install?

Please see the suggested solutions below. If the customer wants a new gauge I will be happy to accept the warranty replacement but implementing one of the suggestions below will most likely cure his buzzing issue.

People have used the following alternate/additional solutions to dampen the air movement:

1. put a wad of cotton from a q-tip or cotton ball where the hose goes into the gauge
2. install a small fuel filter (i.e. for a lawn mower) inline
3. install a plastic aquarium pressure regulator (see http://www.golfmk5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65061)

Some additional install tips:

1. use the restrictor fitting and/or additional vacuum restrictors in the tubing to the gauge
2. make sure your tubing is fastened at various points (so it is not loose)

 

Latest update on Dimmer, lighting problem. I had an issue with the stepper motor LEDs flashing on and off when I connected the "lighting" wire from the gauge to the parking light. Turns out to be something with the way MINI senses that a bulb is out, whatever signal they send down the wire cause the LEDS on the gauge to toggle on and off. Mine is a 2009 JCW, not sure if this is an issue with earlier cars or not, maybe someone can chime in. So I added another circuit to my dimmer module that uses the dimmer signal to turn on the LED lighting on the gauges. If nothing else it makes it a little more convenient to run the wires as you won't need to find a "hot" wire for the lighting on. I am currently working with Paul at Marshall to figure out the best way to build and market these dimmer switches as they will need PCB boards manufactured, and I will need to be able to do a minimum quantity to recoup the setup costs. I will keep everyone posted.