Dodge Gauges

[stodg73]

If you are looking for gauges for your Dodge Cummins truck, you need to decide what type that you want. Do you want mechanical or electronic. Both have their good and bad points. You are the one who needs to decide as to what type of gauges that you want. You can ask for opinions as to who likes theirs the best, yet you are the one purchasing the gauge set.

The necessary gauges needed for a stock truck are: Fuel Pressure, EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature), Boost, and for Automatic Transmission owners, Trans. Temp.

FUEL PRESSURE GAUGE

A gauge that goes from 0 – 30 psi will do fine. Is using an electronic gauge, you need either a snubber hose and or a needle valve. The snubber hose is just a grease gun extension to move the sender away from the vibrations of the engine, make sure that there is a 90* bend in the hose to help alleviate the ‘water hammer’ effect of the IP. A needle valve from NAPA, part number WH6820, will do, also with the needle valve you can shut off the diesel from coming into the cab. You will also need a tapped banjo bolt to attach to the post fuel filter for fuel pressure. You will also need a 1/8” – 27 pipe union. With an electronic gauge there is no diesel fuel in the cab. With a mechanical gauge, there is the possibility of fuel being introduced into the cab. Also, with the mechanical gauges, there are isolators that are filled with antifreeze to keep diesel away from the cab.

Parts list:

Fuel pressure gauge, mechanical or electronic, complete kit

Snubber hose, grease gun hose.

1/8” – 27 pipe union, preferably brass, steel will work.

Teflon tape

Tapped banjo bolt

Needle valve, NAPA part number WH6820

Multiple cable/zip ties

EGT GAUGE

A digital gauge will give you an almost instantaneous readout of the temperature, and a mechanical gauge will be a little slower. To put the probe into the exhaust manifold, mark the manifold into quarters, drill in the back 1/4 of the manifold. This will put the probe in the back cylinders, as these are the ones that generally run hotter. When tapping the exhaust manifold, go into the manifold about 4 threads on the tap, then take the tap out and check to see if you get a good seat for the probe. The reason that you do this is to prevent a blowout of the probe as the NPT threads are slightly angled to get a seal. When drilling and tapping, you can use multiple methods of cleaning out the shavings, you can use a shop vacuum while drilling and tapping, or use grease on the bit and tap to catch the shavings, changing the grease multiple times. When done drilling and tapping, use a magnet to get as much of the filings out of the manifold as possible, then you can start up the truck and blow the rest out the exhaust through the turbo. Another method is taking the exhaust manifold off the truck and drilling/tapping on a bench.

Parts List:

EGT gauge, mechanical or electronic, complete kit

Appropriate drills and taps, per kit

Multiple cable/zip ties

BOOST GAUGE

You can either tap the intake horn, or use a boost bolt. For tapping the intake horn, you need to take the horn off so that no shavings get into to engine. Using a boost bolt, you just replace one of the bolts holding on the intake manifold cover. The boost bolt is tapped inside so that you can easily place the sender. Be careful about over tightening the boost bolt as it is very thin metal.

Parts List:

Electronic or Mechanical gauge, complete kit

Boost Bolt or drill and tapping supplies

Teflon Tape

Multiple cable/zip ties

Possibly need a 2” 1/8” – 27 nipple and union to raise the sensor up to tighten

TRANS TEMP GAUGE

Depending you your transmission, and if you have put a different pan on, is where you will be able to put the sensor. When doing this, it would be appropriate to change you ATF and filter, and also possibly putting in a better valve body.

Parts List:

Electronic or Mechanical gauge, complete kit

Appropriate drill/tapping supplies

Teflon tape

Multiple cable/zip ties

Now, for the fuel pressure gauge on VP-44 trucks, you need to keep you lift pump pressure above 10 psi, most try to keep it above 14 psi at idle. By doing so, you are attempting to lengthen the life of the VP-44 injection pump. If you see a pressure of 10 psi or less, you need to replace the lift pump. There are many manufacturers of lift pumps available to choose from; i.e. Raptor, AirDog, FASS, etc. Be careful about purchasing any lift pump that mount to the block, as the vibrations from the engine are harmful.

The EGT gauge lets you see how hard you are working your engine. The higher the temperature, the more fuel you are using. When you are working the engine, you need to keep in mind that aluminum melts at about 1250*. This means that you can have an EGT of 1250* for short periods of time, less than 30 seconds, before damage may begin. When you get up to these temperatures, it is better to downshift and bring the RPMs of the engine up in order to dissipate the heat from the engine before any damage occurs.

For the Boost gauge, a stock truck may produce up to 20 lbs of boost. When you start getting higher than this, you need to have some type of fooler on the vehicle in order to not throw any DTC error codes.

For the transmission temperature gauge, cooler is better. What I mean by this is that a transmission that runs at 150* will last longer than one run at 220*, because heat reduces the longevity of the internal components.

When hooking up the power inside the truck, use a test light to see if you can find an ignition controlled fuse, either in the inside fuse panel or under the hood, same with constant power, try not to come straight from the battery. For the gauge illumination lights controlled by the headlight switch, this may be tough for the test light may be dim in direct sunlight and you may not be able to see it illuminate, and look in the interior fuse panel for this. If you use the interior fuse panel, get some add-a-fuses to make the job easier. For some vehicles, you may have to tap into the headlight wiring harness under the dash. When I mounted my gauges, I used a separate fuse block to run constant power, ignition, and headlight power to. This way I only had to run one wire from each to the new block, and fused them accordingly. When finding a ground for everything, find a likely spot and use a self tapping screw to hold the ground wires down.

Depending on where you mount the gauges, be it on the A pillar, a gauge cluster on the dash, or elsewhere, please take into consideration that you may need to lengthen the wiring accordingly. Be ready to use either solderless connectors or soldered connectors for the ends of the wires. Also, you can also use heat shrink tubing to control the wires and make them easier to run/place.

More information to be posted.

[Rogan]

good write-up!

[Calltrex]

i have the edge to monitor but i plan on adding 3 gauges in the pod that goes by the mirror. Fuel press, Rail press, Trans Temp