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Smith Gauge Condensation
Hello,
Have you ever had any problems with Smith gauges having condensation in them. Mine are a new set and I notice that it seems to happen at night when the lights are on. Is there anything I can do to get rid of it? It's not such a big deal....it just makes it difficult to read the guage and it looks kinda cheapo. Thanks |
Had the same problem with one of my Smiths in my ERA.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Smith guages. |
Evan,
Sounds like there isn't much one can do. Does the probelm go away or does it get worse? Thanks for the reply. era620 |
Happens to my SW gages too...but only the fuel gage...
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Me too, in my Unique. Only the gas gauge though.
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Boy does this thread open the door to all kinds of "Lucas" jokes. I won't "go there" but I'm all ready chuckling about them........
but since this only happens at night you should be aware of the Lucas Motto: "Get home before dark". (I couldn't resist at least one, I got million of 'em). Ernie |
One possible solution would be to cut your losses and call up Autometer:).
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The only solution is to replace them with Autometers. My SW do the same thing. The tach needs to be smacked every once in a while, and the brightness is different on each gage. That's what happens when outsourcing is given to Mexico or China.
The reason you only see it a night is because that is when the humidity is at its highest. |
With the exception of having to pull the dash, is hanging an entire gauge set from SW to Autometer a big deal? Do they look a lot different? Besides perhaps a better back lighting, do they look better than the SW gauges? I have the same condensation problem with the fuel gauge. My oil temp has never worked. Occasionally the tach will read 1K or so high etc. I don't know that this is $500 worth of displeasure.
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They look almost identical and will work perfectly, they are the best gages on the market period. Shouldn't be too hard to change.
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1 Attachment(s)
Here is a picture of them:
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620,
Try removing the bulb and use a hair drier on low setting to blow air over and into the gage. Let it go for a couple of hours. This technique works best on a nice warm and dry day. |
It's not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament to repeal Ohm's Law.
They withdrew their efforts when they met too much resistance. Ernie |
I heard the reason the British drink warm beer is because they have Lucas refrigerators...
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Bob,
Do the gauges fog back up when the warm/dry day is over???;) |
J,
Hopefully not. :rolleyes: The reason they fog up is sometime during their life the cases were cold and the humidity was high enough to get some condensate inside the case. Since they aren't well vented the water stays, increasing the relative humidity enough to make a condensate whenever the temperature drops. The object is to remove all the condensate and lower the internal humidity... |
Autometer are horrible! Cheap plastic besel and just as unreliable as the smith! Stay with Smith!, I recently converted to Smith!
Looks way better! :3DSMILE: |
Foggy gauges look original!
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I had the same problem with my fuel gauge on my 289 FIA which also has Smith gauges when I turned on my dash lights. I was so bad that you could not even see the face.
I tried the hair dryer recommendation Bob P. suggested, which did not work (I just made me sweat a lot and wasted 3 hours of my time). I then tried leaving the dash lights on for a few hours with the bulb partially out figuring that would dry it out, no luck. I then discussed the issue with Nisonger who recommended that I either do the following: replace the gauge ($95) or have it rebuilt ($60 + 2 weeks service time). I decided to just replace it. I did check the new gauge before I installed it to make sure the new gauge was properly sealed. Worked great. I have been told by many if moisture gets in the gauge (either when it was initially built and sealed or develops over time) save yourself the headache and time, replace it. Best luck. jim |
I get condensation in one of my gauges from time to time.
Its just part of life with Smith guages. They have their own "little" charm don't they? ;) |
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