gauges- what I did... (Jetta)
Not sure if the golf uses same steering column / instrument cluster clearance as the jetta ? I found a neat two-gauge pod that sits atop the steering column, perfect. Still gives visibility of the gauges and center cluster of "idiot lights". In my particular seating posture, I can directly still see the odo and trip odo, but have to move my head to the left a bit to get full view of the LCD clock (which is on left side). I'm perfectly willing to do that, for the presence of the easily mounted gauges. Now, if I could just remember where from did I get the gauge pod? Actually I think it might be a device marketed by auto-meter gauges, that I purchased through Summit racing. I'll do some digging and post back to this thread if I can find specifics (for the jetta, anyway- hope it may be same for Golf).
YES, I FOUND IT AT SUMMIT. SAYS GOLF AND JETTA, ~ $33, HERE's LINK
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ATM-20020/
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If your car has pillar air bags, then pillar mounted gauge is a no-no.
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The oil pressure sending switch, where you can tap into engine oil pressure is mounted: Look under hood at the oil filter. Base of that housing, on passenger side, you'll see something screwed in with single wire sticking out. That is the oil pressure switch. A Tee is installed there, into which the stock pressure sending switch + the new oil pressure sending unit is installed. Running the wires is very easy with a TDI of these years, because there is a plugged knockout hole in the firewall that would otherwise take the cable from the accelerator pedal. (TDIs are drive by wire and the wire is routed elsewhere).
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As for specific gauges, there are many choices. Here's what I did. Note it comes in two portions: The Good, and The Unresolved.
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The Good
I stumbled across a company McNally Instruments located in Florida. Looks like this might be a small off-chute company of an avionics company. They have a neat web site (google). (I am not affiliated with them, nor am I a bird-dog.)
Their gauges, each gauge has a needle and digital display. That is, a single gauge can display two different quantities at the same time. So, you could have one gauge that displays oil pressure and boost at the same time- saves space etc. BTW all the gauges have a function by which they will display the vehicle system Voltage for a few seconds on press of a button.
They offer some gauges aimed specifically at the VW TDIs
They offer gauges in different (backlight + digital display) colors. (so, I was able to get gauges that have the same blue lighting as rest of my jetta dash)
Specifically for the VW oil pressure, they offer a small machined metal manifold that you screw in where the stock oil pressure sender switch goes. The manifold has 3 ports: Stock switch + new oil pressure sender + new oil temp sender if you choose to do all three, else plug the unused port.
Expect to pay around $250 for a typical gauge. Agreed, that's quite a sum of $ for a single gauge, but then again it's a highly integrated unit that takes the place of two gauges.
For the record, I bought 2 gauges:
Oil pressure on needle, oil temp on digital
Boost on needle, EGT on digital.
I also bought the oil pressure sending manifold.
Items are of high quality, installed as described. They do not have a separate wire for gauge backlighting. (no tapping into vehicle dimmer ckt etc.) They use a light sensor within the gauge, that dims the gauge at night. I was concerned that I would not like this, wanting to have control over it myself. Now that I have them, I'm content with the auto dim operation.
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The Unresolved
Two issues:
[1] I mentioned earlier that the gauges have the ability to display vehicle Voltage for a few seconds. (you press one of the small buttons on the gauge twice quickly). Well, one of the gauges seems to be calibrated wrong, as it displays about one Volt higher than what the system Voltage actually is (and what the other gauge, and my DMM indicate...) I suspect this is just a simple factory cal "human error" issue. I contacted McNally and they told me no problem, return the gauge and they'll address it.
[2] One or both of the gauges I installed, is causing significant radio interference with the stock (monsoon) radio in my jetta. FM reception is greatly decreased, and AM reception is also affected. I have narrowed the source down to the gauges, no question. I have not narrowed it any further to determine if it is one gauge in particular, or both etc. Ball is in my court, I simply have not had the time to diagnose further. (I'm an electrical engineer....) I did contact McNally and ask them about this, they say they have not had any complaint about interference from the gauges. So, at this point, I know that I will be returning one gauge to have the VDC recalibrated. I have not returned that gauge yet, because I want to first diagnose the interference and see if it is coming from one gauge etc. I have specific steps / tests in mind to do, but life is busy in other areas at the moment and I simply have not had the time. I'm confident that I can address the interference issue. Note it may not be the gauges themselves, but could be how the wiring is installed (by me) in the car. I'm writing this in the interest of disclosure, not to beat up the gauge company. Again, ball is presently in my court. I am very happy with operation of the gauges.
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Why are Corsair's posts always so long??