T5 to Autometer UltraLite Speedo

I have the Ultralite gauges, T5, and Ron Francis wiring harness. I ran the wires from the VSS out on the tranny to the speedo signal input, and I don't think it's working. I'm not on the road yet, but moving the car doesn't do any movement of the gauge (in and out of the shop), and every time I turn the key on, the speedo jumps 1/2 way up, shows 16000 on the display and goes back to normal.

I'm not sure if that's the right behavior, but can someone tell me what the wiring is supposed to look like from the T5 VSS sender to the gauge? Power and ground is good, it's just the signal itself that might be missing.

Thanks.

My autometer speedo does the same thing upon start up, this is do to the speedo seeing 12v+, which is turning the speedo to the on position. Even without the vss, this will happen.
The trans. VSS has to wires. It does not matter which one goes to the speedo.

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Originally Posted by cobrathegreat

My autometer speedo does the same thing upon start up, this is do to the speedo seeing 12v+, which is turning the speedo to the on position. Even without the vss, this will happen.
The trans. VSS has to wires. It does not matter which one goes to the speedo.

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Cool, thanks. Maybe I need to just run up and down the street to see if it works. The snow stops at the end of my driveway! ;->

Until you do a calibration on it (over a measured 1 or 2 mile distance - read the instructions) it is going to give strange readings. I think the 16000 you see is how many pulses it expects over that distance. Mine reads 4986 and yours will change once it is calibrated.

Cheers, Rod

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Originally Posted by dv/dt

Until you do a calibration on it (over a measured 1 or 2 mile distance - read the instructions) it is going to give strange readings. I think the 16000 you see is how many pulses it expects over that distance. Mine reads 4986 and yours will change once it is calibrated.

Cheers, Rod

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Perfect, that's the info I was looking for.

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Originally Posted by beartoothweb

I every time I turn the key on, the speedo jumps 1/2 way up, shows 16000 on the display and goes back to normal.
.

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that's normal power-up for the gauge.

If you can't get the VSS to work there's an alternative - add-on GPS unit - that will work flawlessly.

Echo Alex's GPS input. I copied his and it works like a champ.

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Originally Posted by 03SC

Echo Alex's GPS input. I copied his and it works like a champ.

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Wait, what? I thought Alex was just being a smart arse. ;-> You mean there's a way to feed GPS data directly into an autometer gauge? I actually have an external GPS unit.

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Originally Posted by beartoothweb

Wait, what? I thought Alex was just being a smart arse. ;-> You mean there's a way to feed GPS data directly into an autometer gauge? I actually have an external GPS unit.

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Yes

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/hb2.jpg
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/hb3.jpg

1wire ground, 1 wire switch 12v, 1 wire to any speedo

then you put it in test mode and set the pulses/mile.

http://www.hummingbirdelectronics.com.au/senders.html
I believe I went w/ HMGS1A10P

Thats normal, mine did the same thing until I drove and calibrated it

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Originally Posted by efnfast

Yes

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/hb2.jpg
http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww89/efnfast/hb3.jpg

1wire ground, 1 wire switch 12v, 1 wire to any speedo

then you put it in test mode and set the pulses/mile.

http://www.hummingbirdelectronics.com.au/senders.html
I believe I went w/ HMGS1A10P

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Cool solution, thanks Alex!

Kevin,
I am not sure why folks are having issues with their speedos and go with the GPS units. Yes they do work good, but for me at least, it was a non issue.
Since you have the electric VSS and you have it hooked up, follow the instructions on the speedo. If you have an iphone you can download a free app that uses GPS to tell you how fast you are going. Then take it out for a 2 mile distance doing 60mph and do as the instructions say.
I was done with mine in about 5 minutes and it works flawlessly.

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Originally Posted by cobrathegreat

Kevin,
I am not sure why folks are having issues with their speedos and go with the GPS units. Yes they do work good, but for me at least, it was a non issue.
Since you have the electric VSS and you have it hooked up, follow the instructions on the speedo. If you have an iphone you can download a free app that uses GPS to tell you how fast you are going. Then take it out for a 2 mile distance doing 60mph and do as the instructions say.
I was done with mine in about 5 minutes and it works flawlessly.

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Oh I hear ya. I like the concept, but unlikely I'd drop $200+ for a solution like that anyway. I have a Tom Tom that'll give me correct speed, so calibrating shouldn't be a big deal anyway. Glad to know what it's doing is normal though.

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Originally Posted by beartoothweb

Oh I hear ya. I like the concept, but unlikely I'd drop $200+ for a solution like that anyway. I have a Tom Tom that'll give me correct speed, so calibrating shouldn't be a big deal anyway. Glad to know what it's doing is normal though.

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Except your Tom Tom won't feed data to the speedo, so if you can't get your speedo working with your tranny (as in my case), this is the best bet if you want to retain the autometer gauge :)

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Originally Posted by efnfast

Except your Tom Tom won't feed data to the speedo, so if you can't get your speedo working with your tranny (as in my case), this is the best bet if you want to retain the autometer gauge :)

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Ahh, that makes more sense. I didn't realize you did this as a means to actually get it to work, not just a secondary way.

This was the only way to make it work - nothing (e.g., coil&magnet) worked reliably other than this guy.

The speed on my FFR 33 won't enter calibration. I have the upgraded gauge set with the lighted needles, and the calibration is done by plugging in the supplied button in the back of the speedo. Then, you hold the button in for 10 seconds and it displays the image of a road (parallel lines tapering off in the distance. Mine does that fine, but when the road display comes up, you are supposed to push the button again for 2-3 seconds to get to the PPK setting, and mine displays the road image and a ? with 'help' next to it. At that point all it will do is revert to the odometer display without calibrating.
My speedo shows 15-20MPH at 65, and has registered 20+ miles, so it is getting a VSS signal it would seem.
Anyone out there have this problem?
Thx,
Bob