Today I was working on the Diamond T, and noticed that the oil pressure gauge, a SW "Wings" gauge, looked funny. The pointer was laying in the bottom of the gauge! The gauges have been in the dash for 2 years, and while I've had the truck running, the oil press. gauge wasn't hooked up (due to having to get a funky adaptor for the sender and cutting hole in the firewall to get to it) untill recently. I pulled the gauge, and instead of just contacting SW, instead, I pulled the bezel, and tried to push the pointer back on the pin. The reason it had fallen off was apparant immediately, the damn thing was split, and it fell in half. Great. Being cheap, I JB welded it back together and stuck it on the pin. I'm still going to see if I can get a replacement, I don't even care if they warranty it, but damn, I wish I hadn't messed with it first. On the plus side, the pointer is still whre it's supposed to be, so it could be worse... Brian
Yeah my SW wings gauges work.....but the temp is 15 degrees off of being correct. Thank god for IR temp guns.
I received my new gauges last year with the temp gauge needle laying in the bottom of the gauge. I was able to fix it, but why does everything have to be a hassle.
The SW wings oil pressure gage that I originally put in my roadster failed within a month. Speedway sent a new one, no questions asked. Rich
I hate to admit, but my SW wing volt gauge made me do a bunch of extra work thinking my alternator was overcharging. Turned out the gauge that was only a few months old went bad (and of course well over a year old since I started the build). Not impressed with that quality either.
everything is crap nowadays. same thing happened to an autometer oil psi gauge I had. replaced it with a 30 year old off brand that I had sitting around.
My autometer oil gauge has been going for 3 years here.....Sure there will be a few fail lol.........
I had bought some brand-x gauges for my stock car in a pinch, worked great for 3 years of abuse. SW ain't quite what they used to be. Bob
On the other hand, I bought the cheapest gauges I could find for my engine test stand. I got them from J.C. Whitney. I have a voltmeter, an oil pressure gauge, a tempurature gauge, and a tachometer for less than $30.00. Of course, they have performed flawlessly for the last 3 years. Go figure.
I have 6 gauges that I bought new in '67, a Sun Tach and 5 Stewart Warner. They still function as new in my roadster. I've heard that SW gauges are not USA made and they're all junk. If I needed more gauges I'd look for original SW units at swap meets or the auction sites and if they weren't functioning send them to MoMa in Alburquerque, NM. 505-766-6661
cripes... I wish this post had started a month ago.. my SW wing set just arrived..sez assembled in Mexico on the tags. I just returned from the garage to make sure all the pointers were still on... so far so good.. installation tomorrow.
South of the border.... But.... They look nice, and if you get past the first few months, they seem to work quite well. Rich
s&w hasn't been the same since datcon got it. we use alot of datcon stuff on our blast drills and it is about 75%.
S & W gauges have been crap for a while now. i bought my WINGS in 94,for my sedan, hecho en mexico then as now. I should have sent them back right away for what I paid for them but I digress. The tach only shows the right RPM if you smack it with your knuckles several times, same with the temp gauge ( now sure if its really accurate) and the speedo doesn't work under 40 degrees Fahrenheit, although that is probably a problem with the sender. I have CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS in my 36 Chevy and they are in my estimation the best units on the market. STUPID me for not buying another set of those but they were a bit more dough than the S&W's at the time and I was being cost conscious. I am even seriously looking at the AUTO METER line as they are made right here in Sycamore, Illinois so atleast if they turn out to be junk I can drive there and throw them thru the window !! Oh well, rant over. Mitch.
I'm thinking of just putting a mechanical gauge, a cheap black face one from AutoZone or the like, in and painting the pointer white. I fired the truck up day before yesterday, the first time in a year, and the first with the oil pressure ga. hooked up, and it doesn't work. Needle lays right on the peg. I'm gonna put an ohm-meter on the sender, but I think the gauge is bad right out of the box. I'll contact SW, it's worth a try, but I'm not gonna sweat it... Brian
How did you get the face off ? We have a Wings tach and oil pressure gauge with needles that fell off before we even opened the box. I would love to put them back on, but it looked to me like the bezel is crimped on. Don
I put an ohm-meter on the sender, and it works. Then, I powered up the gauge, grounded the sender wire, which should peg on the high side, and... Nada. Zip. Nuth'n. So, the gauge is bad. I just bit the bullet and ordered a new gauge from Speedway. No reciept for the original purchase, it's been over 2 years, so I guess 50 bucks won't break me. Don, the bezel is crimped over the gauge body, but it's easy to gently un-crimp it from the back with a pocket knife blade or small screwdriver. To crimp it back over, I used some hemostats with a plastic boot over one blade (we call 'em "mosquitos" at work) and pinch it back down over the housing. Good luck.
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