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.
Had the same problem with one of my Smiths in my ERA.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Smith guages.
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Proud owner of a Shelby Cobra with body and chasis hand fabricated by Kirkham Motorsports instead of AC. Also the first and original CSX gashole member.
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.
__________________ Jeff
“If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower.”
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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After a good hard ride.....oil pressure is over 50, temp is below 190, she idles and no new dents. LIFE IS GOOD!
They look almost identical and will work perfectly, they are the best gages on the market period. Shouldn't be too hard to change.
__________________ Jeff
“If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower.”
“If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower.”
Hopefully not. 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...
Cobra Make, Engine: Shelby Series 1 CSX5098 (w/ supercharger) & Diasio D962R Turbo race car
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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.
Smith Gauge Condensation
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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...
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