EFI Fuel Pressure Gauge Inevitably Fails

[matthon]

My fuel pressure gauge is 1.5 diameter, liquid filled, with a 1/8 female NPT port.

Mounted on the throttle body, liquid filled so the needle is readable, not effected by underhood heat as it's far above the hood.

In 8+ years I've gone through multiple FiTech, Summit, and other brand gauges, too many to count.

They're always the same, no matter the brand, of course the design changes a bit over time, the price changes, sometimes one brand is more/less $, but the quality stays the same.

Surely they're all made by the same conglomerate.

They all last a decent amount of time, but all eventually fail.

Can anyone recommend a proven 1.5 diameter white liquid filled gauge?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/FIF-80117

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-800138

 

[rmchrgr]

I don't think anyone can answer the question about which gauge is better - they're all under $30 so I wouldn't expect much out of them no matter who makes it or where it might be made. But regardless, if they have all failed, maybe think about putting it somewhere other than right there? Perhaps the combination of vibration and wind force shortens the life of those little things more than you'd think?

As an alternative, there are "EFI" remote sensor blocks that are for transducer type sensors but could be used as a junction for a -3 line with a port for a gauge.

Like so. These come in a variety of configurations from various vendors. Some have one port, some have five... you get the idea. I'm just showing this to give you an idea of what's possible.

Or go old school and put a fuel pressure gauge on the cowl? Your car looks like a street machine so that would fit the motif.

This was my Duster when I bought it 100 years ago. You can see the fuel pressure gauge through the windshield. Can't miss it actually.

 

[matthon]

regardless, if they have all failed, maybe think about putting it somewhere other than right there?

It's right in the line of sight, perfect placement to see at all times, but if they fail it's not a win.

Or go old school and put a fuel pressure gauge on the cowl?

I'm game. Curious, how is/was your fuel line routed?

when I bought it 100 years ago.

Hey, that's my line, I say 100 years ago all the time!

 

[TT5.9mag]

I use exclusively aeromotives gauges. Never had a failure. But mine aren’t located where yours are.

Liquid Filled Fuel Pressure Gauges

1.5" Diameter 1/8" NPT Male Connection 0-100 or 0-15 PSI Pressure Range Liquid Filled For Durability Integral Equalizer Valve Ensures Accuracy Regardless of Operating Temperature Liquid Filled Gauges offer a better looking, more durable option for gauges that will live in a harsh environment...

aeromotiveinc.com

 

[plymouth4onthefloor]

makes no sense to me, use a sensor you also can datalog on the road or see inboard with yozr laptop.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Try an electrical gauge.

GAUGE

 

[rmchrgr]

I'm game. Curious, how is/was your fuel line routed?

The pressure gauge is long gone but this is how it was when I bought the car. As you can see, the P.O. drilled a hole at the base of the cowl and fished the line through the grate. The gauge was worm clamped to the grate fins. This was your classic '70's-'80s street machine move. You could tell that a car was "serious" when there was a fuel pressure gauge on the cowl. Someone in every town had a car like this.

This is my friend's car. We used to make fun of him for having this many gauges and how much all of it weighed. You can see the brackets he made for them. Again, this is old school stuff.

I do agree though that if you went through the exercise to install EFI, relying on a cheap 1.5" mechanical gauge mounted to the engine is probably not the best way to monitor fuel pressure.

 

[gdonovan]

The pressure gauge is long gone but this is how it was when I bought the car. As you can see, the P.O. drilled a hole at the base of the cowl and fished the line through the grate. The gauge was worm clamped to the grate fins. This was your classic '70's-'80s street machine move. You could tell that a car was "serious" when there was a fuel pressure gauge on the cowl. Someone in every town had a car like this.

View attachment 1716570216

This is my friend's car. We used to make fun of him for having this many gauges and how much all of it weighed. You can see the brackets he made for them. Again, this is old school stuff.
View attachment 1716570226

I do agree though that if you went through the exercise to install EFI, relying on a cheap 1.5" mechanical gauge mounted to the engine is probably not the best way to monitor fuel pressure.

I'd mount it in the bay remotely (on a fenderwell for example) with a AN line to soak up the vibration.

 

[rmchrgr]

I'd mount it in the bay remotely (on a fenderwell for example) with a AN line to soak up the vibration.

If you're referring to me, I don't have the cowl gauge anymore. That picture is from 15 years ago. The car is completely different now.

Currently, the car is equipped with a Holley Terminator X system and a fuel pressure gauge is optional. It's been my experience with EFI that fuel pressure is pretty steady so I don't need to see it constantly. If it's leaning out at the top end, I will see it in the data log. I'm also pretty sure there is a way to program a low-pressure cut off if need be. I know that can be done off the oil pressure so fuel pressure is probably similar.

In any event, I plumbed a pressure sensor transducer into the fuel log and it's wired directly to the ECU.

Yes, it's mounted to the engine like the O.P. but it's not a cheap gauge. Truth be told, I put a good bit of effort into trying to mount the fuel and oil pressure sensors remotely with a block but it proved to be a little too complex to follow through with.

Like, the O.P., I will have to see what happens with the sensor over time. If it starts reading erratically or cuts out or whatever it will get mounted and plumbed remotely. I have the stuff to do it but after wasting a bunch of time on figuring out the best place to put it, I decided to install it where it is and hope for the best.

Gotta roll the dice sometimes and live on the edge.

 

[gdonovan]

If you're referring to me, I don't have the cowl gauge anymore. That picture is from 15 years ago. The car is completely different now.

Nah; guy with the gauge mounted on TBI setup. Always bad mojo to mount it to the engine, it will just get beat to death by vibration. On my Reliant I had it mounted in the firewall with an AN teflon braided line running to the fuel rail.

 

[matthon]

Fitech does not display or directly record fuel pressure.

I was one of the first to get it 100 years ago, and had issues with fuel pressure from go.

FiTech was great, not their pump but they sent me 2 additional pumps to try.

They also sent a liquid filled gauge to replace the non-liquid filled so I could put the gauge where I could see it at all times and monitor it while driving, tunnel ram.

My brain just became used to it, even though now it never fluctuates.

I'm redoing/consolidating gauges now, so I'll take the suggestions and run.

 

[nm9stheham]

Your experience is not anything new. When tech inspecting in the rally car world, we never allowed this type of mount in the engine compartment anywhere, of any fuel pressure gauge. If some one rolled into tech with one, they had to remove it before passing tech. These failures were well known 20-30 years ago.

The type of measurement access you should use is a large sized metal Schrader valve type. If you want to read the fuel pressure, then you just thread on a pressure gauge temporarily with a matching fitting. That is the standard in production test port in autoland and is a known reliable and safe method.

Like this: Replacement Schrader Valve - Fuel Injection Rated 1/8" NPT

 

[matthon]

I had one on my 89 TTA.
Brain storage space gets full and sometimes older data gets filed away or deleted entirely.

 

[MobileCustoms]

The heat from the engine is what kills those. I found that info on of the manufacturer's site about a year ago but can't remember which one. I went through a few myself from various companies. They said you have to mount it away from direct engine heat.

 

[Demonx2]

C'mon...you KNOW every old Mopar HAS to have a fuel pressure gauge mounted to the cowl...

My 69 Charger back in the day:

(Car is being "restored" and will maintain the gauge.)

The avatar has one too!

p.s. I run non-liquid filled gauges. I've never had one fail nor is there any "bounce" to the readings.

 

[gdonovan]

Guilty as charged.

 

[Johnny Mac]

I have great luck with these, but like any liquid filled gauge, they are always affected by temps once warm. We sell all kinds of regulators and gauges. They are very reliable, and I have used all of them numerous times. I actually run 2 on the dart. One pre regulator, and one post regulator.

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