Speedhut gauge criticism (1 Viewer)

[ChaserFJ60]

Just got these new guages by speedhut.com for my 1984 fj60 with a 2fe. I got the quad left and just a GPS speedo. I got them in the green color to try to match the original aesthetic but it dosent show well in the dark at all. Infact trying to see these guages with the backlight turned up all the way is still hard. The gps has a little digital screen on the bottom of it which is hard to read in the day time, and is way too bright at night and you cant control how bright its light output is or the needle light output which is mildly irritating. The gps speedo has a function where it records your vehicles maximum all time speed and its claiming that in my 1984 fj60 that I went 128mph which is grossly innacurate. It also glitched while i was driving where it would rest at 20mph when i was at a stand still and continued to read 20mph over the actual speed i was going, all I did to fix this was turn the car off and back on.
These were extremely easy to install and i do like the overall look of the guages and the accuracy that it can give. But for the $600 price tag I expected way less problems. This is only my 2nd day running them and i will write up a long term review later down the road.

 

[lcwizard]

I'm old and so are my eyes so I picked a light background. I can't see much detail in a gauge with a black background no matter the color of the needles, numbers or lights

 

[Wayne Jacobs]

Just got these new guages by speedhut.com for my 1984 fj60 with a 2fe. I got the quad left and just a GPS speedo. I got them in the green color to try to match the original aesthetic but it dosent show well in the dark at all. Infact trying to see these guages with the backlight turned up all the way is still hard. The gps has a little digital screen on the bottom of it which is hard to read in the day time, and is way too bright at night and you cant control how bright its light output is or the needle light output which is mildly irritating. The gps speedo has a function where it records your vehicles maximum all time speed and its claiming that in my 1984 fj60 that I went 128mph which is grossly innacurate. It also glitched while i was driving where it would rest at 20mph when i was at a stand still and continued to read 20mph over the actual speed i was going, all I did to fix this was turn the car off and back on.
These were extremely easy to install and i do like the overall look of the guages and the accuracy that it can give. But for the $600 price tag I expected way less problems. This is only my 2nd day running them and i will write up a long term review later down the road.
View attachment 1964641View attachment 1964642

Have you discussed this with Speedhut? I'd like to know what they say. I missed their special this year and now have a OEM oil pressure gauge to install to replace the non-functioning one. I'd still like to get a full set of Speedhut gauges one day, though.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

I had the red background on my last SpeedHut set and it was hard on the eyes. I agree with @lcwizard a lighter background is a better choice for these.

My new set that I'm about to order will be white or silver with black font and blue glow for night.

J

 

[ChaserFJ60]

Have you discussed this with Speedhut? I'd like to know what they say. I missed their special this year and now have a OEM oil pressure gauge to install to replace the non-functioning one. I'd still like to get a full set of Speedhut gauges one day, though.

Im going to contact them tommoro when theyre open. the thing that i really worry about is the innacurate speedometer, my house is sorrounded by schoolzones and motorcycle cops

 

[ChaserFJ60]

I had the red background on my last SpeedHut set and it was hard on the eyes. I agree with @lcwizard a lighter background is a better choice for these.

My new set that I'm about to order will be white or silver with black font and blue glow for night.

J

I wish they had a backlit system similar to the stock fj60 guages, it would be easy on the eyes and there would be no need for thos obnoxious lit up needles.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Couple questions?

1) ground and keyed 12V have good contacts to harness.
2) double check the GPS receiver plug in to make sure it's secure in the port.
3) GPS receiver is in a good location. Roof is optimal then an open area on dash is second.
4) Did you opt for the light/dimmer inverter kit, It was a 20.00 add on to my last set if memory serves me. We got it to tie into the factory dimmer and ditched the supplied secondary knob.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

I wish they had a backlit system similar to the stock fj60 guages, it would be easy on the eyes and there would be no need for thos obnoxious lit up needles.

Here it is:

Gauge Lighting Inverter for Multiple Gauges with Dimmer (Not for LED Lit Gauges)

Gauge Lighting Inverter for Multiple Gauges with Dimmerwith Lifetime Warranty | Custom Build Your Gauge

www.speedhut.com

J

 

[ChaserFJ60]

Gps is tight in the socket, dash mounted sensor, dimmer inverter was included in this kit though i didnt think of tieing it into the original favtory knob, thats a good idea.this afternoon i will pull out my gauge to check all the connections, but the voltmeter is working just like the old one did so i wouldnt think that anything would be bad with the connections

 

[FJ60Cam]

Im going to contact them tommoro when theyre open. the thing that i really worry about is the innacurate speedometer, my house is sorrounded by schoolzones and motorcycle cops

I found the speedo to be dead on with the receiver by the defroster vents. Is it a signal acquisition issue?

If you have the GPS connected to full-time power, it will keep the GPS connection when your turn the truck off, and begin reading immediately when you start and drive. If connected to switched power, it could take a bit before it locks in.

 

[ChaserFJ60]

Called speedhut, super nice guy. Anyway he said my best bet would be to send it back to have it looked at and theres no way i can hard reset it myself here at home. I dont want to take it back out but if it keeps acting up i will send it back to be evaluated. I shiukd say that i do like the guages and i think they look pretty cool in the day time. But these issues im having are annoying with the max speed, And the bright lcd screen at night.

 

[ChaserFJ60]

I found the speedo to be dead on with the receiver by the defroster vents. Is it a signal acquisition issue?

If you have the GPS connected to full-time power, it will keep the GPS connection when your turn the truck off, and begin reading immediately when you start and drive. If connected to switched power, it could take a bit before it locks in.

Thats where i have my gps receiver as well, and yeah i have the full time power hookedup,

 

[ChaserFJ60]

So I just looked on speedhuts FAQ page and there is afterall a way to reset the max speed on the speedometer that I have, also i can program the milage on the odometer so i put it at the mileage after my engine rebuild.

 

[ChaserFJ60]

Ok so the backlight inverter went bad and I cant read my guages at night. The needles light up still.. apparently the backlight for the guages requires a DC to AC converter..

 

[s0me0ldt0ys]

Reading about the dimmer/illumination issues you're having is discouraging for me. I'd like to add these in my 60, and was hoping to soon. I have a difficult time at night with light sensitivity. The LCD being full time bright would certainly bother me. I'd have chosen the dark background as well to keep the classic look. Follow up here please if you, or they get the issues sorted.

 

[Thornton Melon]

Ok so the backlight inverter went bad and I cant read my guages at night. The needles light up still.. apparently the backlight for the guages requires a DC to AC converter..

Where did you hook up the 12 volt for the inverter box? I had to move mine around a few times til I got a really solid connection for it—it was a little bit temperamental (I think I ended up on the green/white wire). But the first few times it would kick on and off.
Of course it could just be burned out—that little box doesn’t feel as stout as the rest of the gauge hardware.

 

[Spook50]

Here it is:

Gauge Lighting Inverter for Multiple Gauges with Dimmer (Not for LED Lit Gauges)

Gauge Lighting Inverter for Multiple Gauges with Dimmerwith Lifetime Warranty | Custom Build Your Gauge

www.speedhut.com

J

So how'sat work? You give it switched power and ground, then just plug it into the light connections on the back of the gauges and the potentiometer controls the dimming of the gauge lighting? I assume you mount this in place of the OEM dimmer knob?

 

[Thornton Melon]

So how'sat work? You give it switched power and ground, then just plug it into the light connections on the back of the gauges and the potentiometer controls the dimming of the gauge lighting? I assume you mount this in place of the OEM dimmer knob?

I tied the provided dimmer into the stock dimmer just to keep it looking original. Take the dotted gray (I think) wire into green/white on the rheostat and black to black and white and you can just run the stock dimmer.

 

[Spook50]

I tied the provided dimmer into the stock dimmer just to keep it looking original. Take the dotted gray (I think) wire into green/white on the rheostat and black to black and white and you can just run the stock dimmer.

So if I'm understanding right, you're able to use the OEM dimmer to also control the Speedhut inverter? That'd be cool. Keep it all factory....

 

[Thornton Melon]

So if I'm understanding right, you're able to use the OEM dimmer to also control the Speedhut inverter? That'd be cool. Keep it all factory....

Yep.