5 replies to this topic

[smoothie]

Hi,
got an 87 mini city e
got a set of magnolia smiths gauges,(oil temp,volts and clock) for my walnut dash,have wired up the clock but they had no instructions and my electrical knowledge is limited,
can anyone please shed any light on how to hook up the volt and oil temp gauge and where do i connect the backlights to?
any help would be great
cheers
chris

[coopermpi]

Are they the sportspack ones?? Have you not got a loom??

Edited by coopermpi, 20 February 2009 - 07:33 PM.

[smoothie]

Are they the sportspack ones?? Have you not got a loom??

no,not sportspack,they are aftermarket ones,and my mini doesnt have the fittings built into the loom

[dklawson]

got a set of magnolia smiths gauges,(oil temp,volts and clock)

You said you've hooked up the clock. Hooking up the volt meter will be similar. Use the same earth connection as the clock and connect it to one of the volt meter's terminals. The second volt meter terminal will need to be connected to any switched 12V supply on the fuse box. If this is a Smiths gauge, it doesn't matter which terminal is earth and which is "hot". If this is not a Smiths brand gauge the polarity may be important and this is usually noted on the back of such gauges.

Oil temperature gauge? Really? Oil temperature is nearly useless information. Water temperature is much more useful to know. If it really is oil temperature you need to buy one of two adapters for it. One option is an adapter for the spin-on oil filter head. It will position the sending unit in the oil flow. The second option replaces the external oil pipe on the front of the engine block with a set of flexible hoses and a housing for the temperature sending unit. Both options are expensive.

When you are wiring MOST Smiths electrical gauges (excluding clocks and volt meters) you have to supply them with a regulated 10V supply. Do a search here for "voltage stabilizer". There have been many threads on this board (including one within the past two weeks) that discuss the role of the voltage stabilizer. Succinctly, you will connect the input "B" terminal of the stabilizer to a switched 12V supply, provide its case with an earth connection, and connect the stabilizer's output "I" terminal to one of the terminals on your electric Smiths gauge. The other Smiths gauge terminal receives a wire from the sending unit. One voltage stabilizer is OK supplying 2 or 3 gauges.

[smoothie]

got a set of magnolia smiths gauges,(oil temp,volts and clock)

You said you've hooked up the clock. Hooking up the volt meter will be similar. Use the same earth connection as the clock and connect it to one of the volt meter's terminals. The second volt meter terminal will need to be connected to any switched 12V supply on the fuse box. If this is a Smiths gauge, it doesn't matter which terminal is earth and which is "hot". If this is not a Smiths brand gauge the polarity may be important and this is usually noted on the back of such gauges.

Oil temperature gauge? Really? Oil temperature is nearly useless information. Water temperature is much more useful to know. If it really is oil temperature you need to buy one of two adapters for it. One option is an adapter for the spin-on oil filter head. It will position the sending unit in the oil flow. The second option replaces the external oil pipe on the front of the engine block with a set of flexible hoses and a housing for the temperature sending unit. Both options are expensive.

When you are wiring MOST Smiths electrical gauges (excluding clocks and volt meters) you have to supply them with a regulated 10V supply. Do a search here for "voltage stabilizer". There have been many threads on this board (including one within the past two weeks) that discuss the role of the voltage stabilizer. Succinctly, you will connect the input "B" terminal of the stabilizer to a switched 12V supply, provide its case with an earth connection, and connect the stabilizer's output "I" terminal to one of the terminals on your electric Smiths gauge. The other Smiths gauge terminal receives a wire from the sending unit. One voltage stabilizer is OK supplying 2 or 3 gauges.

many thanks mini doc!
regards
chris

[mini mayhem]

i have an aftermarket oil temp gauge. must check for sender. where can i get the thing-a-ma-bob that goes in with the oil filter?? and hw bout oil press. ive searched and searched bt cant find topics