Understanding your 4x4 thru Gauges

Understanding and diagnosing your 4x4 thru Gauges!

Car breakdowns, engine problems and recurring car problems don’t just come out from nowhere. Just like our senses have the ability to point out to us what part of our body is going haywire, so can car gauges give you an idea about your car’s health. In fact, monitoring your car’s health through these gauges can greatly affect not just the performance and effective life of your car; it may even help you avoid major financial setbacks because of extensive and major repairs on your car through adequate preventive maintenance. So read on and know what your car is trying to tell you through its gauges.

Basic Gauges

Water Temp Gauge: The water temp gauge, as the name implies, tells you the temperature of the water running through your car’s engine. Water is used to draw off heat from you car’s engine. It is essential for preventing the engine from overheating.

A rising water temperature may indicate a radiator failure and an impending engine overheat so make sure to check the water gauge from time to time.

Oil Pressure Gauge: Your car’s engine is made up of thousands of distinct metal pieces constantly moving together and against each other at high speed during use. This can cause friction or heat and wear and tear on the different components of the engine. The oil is the only thing that prevents excessive friction and wear from happening so it is essential that you always check if enough oil pressure is present by looking at the oil pressure gauge from time to time.

If the pressure drops low enough, the car engine may seize up or get seriously damaged. Conversely, if it increases to higher than normal readings, it may indicate that some valves are stuck or that some filters needs to be replaced.

Tachometer: Tachometers are an essential gauge for monitoring the engine’s RPM and optimizing the timing of gear shift changes especially for cars with modified engines. Using this gauge wisely can prevent serious engine damages that arise from over revving the engine.

Fuel Gauge: Of course, your car has to run on something. By constantly monitoring the fuel gauge and making sure that you have enough for where you plan to go, you can make sure that you don’t get stuck in some middle-of-nowhere town.

Voltmeter: The voltmeter may not mean much to those who only have the basic necessities installed in their cars, but if you have those extra hi-tech components such as an onboard computer, GPS system, engine and electrical modifications, or heavy audio equipments, watch out! Excessive voltage can literally fry the circuits in your 007 car gadgets. So keep your eyes on this gauge to keep your toys in tiptop shape.

Optional Gauges

Fuel Pressure Gauge: The fuel pressure gauge indicates how much juice your car is getting whenever you press the pedal. Too much and it may literally drown your carburetor with fuel or cause damage or leaks in your fuel injectors. Too little and your car will just refuse to start. Moreover, too little fuel pressure during transit can cause engine damage because of excessive fuel combustion temperature.

Normal fuel pressures ranges from 0-15 psi for cars using carburetors and 0-100 psi for those using fuel injection systems.

Boost Gauge: Turbo charger equipped cars needs to have this type of gauge installed as this monitors the increase in intake pressure when activating said turbo charger. Too much boost and the boom you hear might not be attributable to your speed but to your car engine flying apart at the speed of sound.

Vacuum Gauge: Vacuum gauges monitor the suction pressures in the intake manifold. They are used for diagnosing possible engine problems related to valve guides to head gaskets. High vacuum gauge readings indicate good fuel efficiency.

Oil and Transmission Temp Gauges: Oil and transmission fluids have the tendency to oxidize and become viscous when exposed to higher than normal temperatures. Too hot and they will cause damage to either the transmission or the car engine. So having this gauges installed will give you a head’s up on the working temperatures in your cars transmission and engine for optimal performance.