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Technical opinions on NEW stewart warner gauges

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by blackanblue, Jan 25, 2018.

  1. blackanblue
    Joined: Feb 20, 2009
    Posts: 417

    blackanblue
    Member

    Looking to add two new gauges, fuel level and volt meter . I had planned to use new SW to match my existing gauges that are 30+ years old but then read the thread on gps speedos and a lot of ppl had bad luck with new made in Mexico gauges. Just opinions good or bad ,thanks.
     
    Just Gary and chryslerfan55 like this.
  2. Dooley
    Joined: May 29, 2002
    Posts: 2,956

    Dooley
    Member
    from Buffalo NY

    I have a new voltmeter and fuel gauge and have had no issues with either
     
    loudbang likes this.
  3. blackanblue
    Joined: Feb 20, 2009
    Posts: 417

    blackanblue
    Member

    Thanks Dooley
     
    loudbang likes this.
  4. RICK R 44
    Joined: Dec 13, 2009
    Posts: 474

    RICK R 44
    Member

    Had issues with both tac and mechanical spedo (wings series) Tac is still not accurate. Customer service was non existent. From what I could learn, S W gauges are made by Maxima Technologies in PA and assembled in Mexico.
     
    loudbang likes this.

  5. Fitty Toomuch
    Joined: Jun 29, 2010
    Posts: 328

    Fitty Toomuch
    Member
    from WVa

    I`ve just added SW wings fuel and volt gauges next to same mechanical oil +temp.
    No issues yet with the latter.
    I proceeded to peg the fuel gauge and needle stuck full, returned, pegged 2nd gauge, stuck...:(
    On the phone with SW tech. before hooking up 2nd gauge to verify I`m doing everything correct.
    Upon packing the 2nd gauge back in it`s box, I fumbled the gauge-hit floor-picked up to watch the needle slowly drift down. Great, I fixed ito_Ohmmm,
    Pulled and benched tested new ISSPRO sending unit only to discover that it operated backwards.
    Modifying the sender 180 and the gauge works. I just hope when I fill the tank, that the needle will not stick on full again. Good looking gauges though, had to special order black face fuel gauge.
    This saga went on for over a month, Just glad I figured it out.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2018
    loudbang likes this.
  6. My mechanical speedometers odometer stopped at 200 miles
    IMG_1925.JPG
     
    MIKE STEWART and loudbang like this.
  7. southcross2631
    Joined: Jan 20, 2013
    Posts: 4,413

    southcross2631
    Member

    Has anyone tried their mechanical gauges ? I need some vintage gauges for my gasser project.
     
  8. robracer1
    Joined: Aug 3, 2015
    Posts: 514

    robracer1
    Member

    My new Stewart Warner wings speedo stopped at mile 46 the second one the speed needle jumped up and down and the third one stopped at exactly 2000 miles!
     
    deucemac and loudbang like this.
  9. my mechanical stopped at 1k miles, first replacement, the needle bounced around. third has worked fine.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  10. Kiwi 4d
    Joined: Sep 16, 2006
    Posts: 3,564

    Kiwi 4d
    ALLIANCE MEMBER


    1. "stupid warner" made in Mexico junk. First speedo the odometer didn't move at all for 1000 mls. Needle worked ok. Was sent a replacement , well that was worse. The odometer stopped at 440 while trying to drop the 4 and 0 down together instead of the 1.
      The speedo goes to 62mph the flicks off the clock till we get down to 15mph then back to it goes back to an almost accurate speed .
      Nope no more "stupid warner" for me.
      Just dismantled the whole dash and pulled it all out for the 3rd time and sent both to a local reputable repair shop. Only a 3hr job to get it out let alone put it back.
      I have a cable X in one car and a bitch to set but works perfect. Have used cable x before in other cars and had no issues. Auto meter in another car perfect.
      We have a classic sky drive ready to test for another car. look forward to the gps unit.
      Edit Update from instrument specialist repairer was not good both were as suspected rubbish quality. Remember neither had many miles , one in particular only a few 100 if that.
    2. Report from repairer below:

    3. 1/ STRIP CLEAN AND INSPECT TWO SPEEDOMETERS
      ODOMETER 3RD WORN LOCATION TOO TIGHT ON TOP & WORN OVAL AT BOTTOM. ADVISE CUSTOMER, CAN ATTEMPT TO FIX OVAL
      TRIED, BUT UNSUCCESSFUL
      REASSEMBLED, LUBRICATED & CALIBRATED SPEEDO, LEFT 3RD WORM OUT. AS ODOMETER WAS WORN .
      2/ STRIPPED AND INVESTIGATED, 2ND WORM BROKEN AND FRAME WORN - BEYOND REPAIR.

      So there you go Mexico rubbish from Stupid Warner.
      Caveat Emptor.

     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2018
    deucemac, robracer1 and loudbang like this.
  11. LOWDUG37
    Joined: Jan 31, 2007
    Posts: 1,003

    LOWDUG37
    Member

    I have had the same issues with the wings speedo
     
  12. blackanblue
    Joined: Feb 20, 2009
    Posts: 417

    blackanblue
    Member

    Wow is Dooley the only guy with good SW gauges.
     
    kadillackid likes this.
  13. 48stude
    Joined: Jul 31, 2004
    Posts: 1,314

    48stude
    Member

    I love SW wings series gauges , but this has come up several times on here with not much happiness ,so I bought Auto Meter Old Time black instead. Just my two cents. Bill
     
    Atwater Mike likes this.
  14. uncleandy 65
    Joined: Jan 14, 2013
    Posts: 4,140

    uncleandy 65
    Member

    I bought new Stewart Warner gauges for my 34, the temp. gauge was junk from day one. talked to a SW rep and said they were made in Mexico. That's all I needed to know not to buy any more of those.
     
    deucemac likes this.
  15. 4wd1936
    Joined: Mar 16, 2009
    Posts: 1,288

    4wd1936
    Member
    from NY

    Sounds like we don't need a wall for people, we need one for gauges.
     
  16. The 39 guy
    Joined: Nov 5, 2010
    Posts: 3,524

    The 39 guy
    Member

    My electronic SW Wings gauges are working fine at two years and 4000 miles. The exception would be the speedometer ( Speedway GPS sender) which has shut down two three times and then started up again on while still driving or after a shut down and start up of the car.

    While we are on this subject I wonder if anyone else is curious why SW doesn't offer a wings tachometer that only goes to 6 Grand or a speedometer that only reads 0-100 for the vintage cars we are putting them in? It would be nice to see more sweep on the gauges instead of working in the bottom of the scale.
     
    RacingRoger and Kiwi 4d like this.
  17. Got a 20+ year old set of WINGS, electric Speedo has NEVER worked when it's cold out, temp gauge is sometimes way off and most of the time I have to give the tachometer a good crack with my fist to get it to read the correct rpm. Not very impressed, if I can scrounge the money I would probably buy AUTOMETER or CLASSIC INSTURMENT . I never had an issue with them. Mitch.
     
    Atwater Mike likes this.
  18. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 14,801

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Left SW for AutoMeter after failure of mech oil and el water in a 1/2 dirt race car. I know we are hard on them but the AM's have held up.
     
    Atwater Mike and Elcohaulic like this.
  19. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,941

    squirrel
    Member

    I got new SW oil pressure, temp, and manifold pressure gauges, all mechanical, in 2014. I've put 20k miles on them, no problems. The illumination works better than on the old originals, too.
     
    bchctybob and waljo like this.
  20. Kiwi 4d
    Joined: Sep 16, 2006
    Posts: 3,564

    Kiwi 4d
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Good question by the. "39guy" why do so many manufacturers offer so many speedos or rev counters that go to silly numbers , when in actual fact most of the HAMB friendly cars are not capable of achieving even close to those numbers. Personally i like to see the speed limit @ dead centre top on a speedo ( lets say 60 mph) and RPM at a the top centre at a respectable level for a vintage mill. Maybe 3k top dead centre.
     
  21. Michael Crown
    Joined: Jun 8, 2015
    Posts: 30

    Michael Crown
    Member

    Have a six gauge set and every single one of them is either broken, not accurate, or has been replaced at least once. Hate them.


    Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
     
    deucemac and uncleandy 65 like this.
  22. The 39 guy
    Joined: Nov 5, 2010
    Posts: 3,524

    The 39 guy
    Member

    "A hot rod has a flathead in the front and a bag of tools in the trunk, / A street rod has a SBC in the front and a can of wax in the trunk"

    I agree with your comment and really like your Hot Rod Street Rod signature line!
     
    RacingRoger likes this.
  23. it could be argued that a real hot rod needs a tach that goes above 3k.;):cool: IMG_1510.JPG
     
  24. RacingRoger
    Joined: Sep 11, 2017
    Posts: 208

    RacingRoger
    Member

    Out of curiosity, why are folks buying SW gauges? Is it the cost or tradition? Some other reason? I'm not a hater or being a smartass...I'm just curious as to why....
     
  25. 2935ford
    Joined: Jan 6, 2006
    Posts: 3,843

    2935ford
    Member

    I had a set of SW wing gauges in my '35 Slantback in the early 2000's. All of them worked just fine.
    Due to a better price I ordered a set of SoCal a few years ago and have had fuel gauge (2) problems that I have yet to figure out.
    My current set is a set of Speedway's Omega Kustom 5. Lots of plastic mounting pieces. Haven't installed them yet so don't know....fingers crossed!
     
  26. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,941

    squirrel
    Member

    I put them in my Chevy II because I want the car to look as close to 1966 as possible, but still go fast and be able to put lots of miles on it. So I can't use "modern" gauges like AutoMeter. There were other gauge makers around back then, but it seems to be hard to find any that are still making stuff they made 50 years ago. SW is trying, at least.

    And I still like buying stuff that was made in Mexico, over stuff that was made in China. Mexico is right next door (about 10 miles away from me).
     
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  27. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,941

    squirrel
    Member

    Did they make anything other than tachs?
     
  28. I've been running this set of SW Wings since Nov. '11...I bought them off the 'Bay in '05/'06..No problems in 5000 miles...must be just one of the few good sets from what I read
    DSC01167.JPG
     
  29. deucemac
    Joined: Aug 31, 2008
    Posts: 1,483

    deucemac
    Member

    If you really want to know how lousy Stewart Warner has become, do like me and talk to Cody Parr or other W/Ds and ask them about Stewart Warner warranty policies. One warehouse told me to never send one in for repair or replacement because you will be lucky to EVER get it back. Stewart Warner quality is off the charts low! Sad to see the world leader fall so far from the position it once held. I used Stewart Warner exclusively from 1962 because they worked and were very accurate forever. No more, Classic, Autometer, and several others have passed them by.
     
    robracer1 likes this.
  30. when did Stewart Warner start making the modern curve glass wing gauges? when did they move production to Mexico? the set in my`36 i think i bought in the 90's and i believe they said made in USA .
     

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