Think twice on the SpeedHut Gauges

MNJason · Jun 20, 2013

So I ordered my new set back in November. Finally got around to installing them yesterday when the GTGs were in town. Glad I waited as the procedure was a bit more difficult that I was capable of. Well we get it all installed and the inverter is bad! No lighting! Rich said he has seen this on several other sets he has installed. Now I have to figure out how to get them BACK out, solder on a new inverter (which I don't know how to do) and then install them again. What a pain in my butt.

I called SpeedHut today and talked to tech support. He was like "oh year we had hundreds of those inverters go bad, make sure yours says 18 and not 12 on it". I was like WTF? Did you think about calling people that had bought these and tell them they were bad? Um, no, I guess not.

There is a couple hundred bucks in labor that I pissed away.

I also don't like the gauges that much. They LOOK fine, but when you are slowing down the tach and speedo "tick" as they come down. Its not a smooth operation.

Disappointed all around, I guess. YMMV. /rant

bonehead · Jun 20, 2013

Someone else posted about this problem as well. That's just horrible QC and even more terrible customer service. All the more reason I'll be bypassing the Speedhuts and waiting for the OEM replacements. Sorry about your issues.

dbk · Jun 20, 2013

The ticking is because they utilize a stepper motor instead of an air-core. That's inherent to that type of gauge movement, but some are certainly louder than others.

BlackICE · Jun 20, 2013

DBK said:
The ticking is because they utilize a stepper motor instead of an air-core. That's inherent to that type of gauge movement, but some are certainly louder than others.

Do the OEM gauges use an air-core?

BTW I follow Reagan's line "trust, but verify". I bench checked all of my Speedhut gauges before installation. I didn't want to have to do it twice.

dbk · Jun 20, 2013

MNJason · Jun 20, 2013

BlackICE said:
BTW I follow Reagan's line "trust, but verify". I bench checked all of my Speedhut gauges before installation. I didn't want to have to do it twice.

We did as well. The GTGs got them in and they worked for a few minutes then the inverter went bad. Rich said this was just like 4-5 other sets he has installed.

BlackICE · Jun 20, 2013

MNJason said:
We did as well. The GTGs got them in and they worked for a few minutes then the inverter went bad. Rich said this was just like 4-5 other sets he has installed.

Bummer. You did all of the right things. The Gtguys are the best and you still had problems. I hope mine continue to work. I wouldn't like to have to revisit them. I do like the backlighting with the lighted pointers better than OEM.

MNJason · Jun 20, 2013

BlackICE said:
I hope mine continue to work. I wouldn't like to have to revisit them. I do like the backlighting with the lighted pointers better than OEM.

My understanding of the situation is if they are working now, they should be fine.

And yes, I LOVE the backlighting and my red pointers at night.

Superfly · Jun 20, 2013

Sorry to hear of your woes. Mine are working now (knock on wood) so hopefully they'll stay that way. I wonder if the invertor issue is caused by the same thing that caused the OEM gauges to fry? I really like my gauges, but if I didn't lose the fuel gauge in the first place, I wouldn't have even bothered doing the swap. With the gauge gone, I felt like a ticking time bomb waiting for the next failure. Anyway, Ford has it sorted now (soon), so despite the hassle, at least you can get it done once more only. Right? (knocks wood more for the future)

Luke Warmwater · Jun 20, 2013

I have Speedhut in my GT40. I can't hear anything?

Superfly · Jun 20, 2013

Luke Warmwater said:
I have Speedhut in my GT40. I can't hear anything?

^^ That's the difference with factory exhaust, aftermarket exhausts, and the gates of hell (your exhaust). ;-)

Kayvan · Jun 20, 2013

Sorry about that....car misses always boil my blood.

Ill post some babe pics to ease the pain...

MNJason · Jun 20, 2013

I should clarify, by "ticking" I mean not a noise but a movement. Like a battery powered watch. The gauges tick on the way down instead of flow. Make sense?

Luke Warmwater · Jun 20, 2013

Superfly said:
^^ That's the difference with factory exhaust, aftermarket exhausts, and the gates of hell (your exhaust). ;-)

Hahaha

BlackICE · Jun 20, 2013

Superfly said:
Anyway, Ford has it sorted now (soon), so despite the hassle, at least you can get it done once more only. Right? (knocks wood more for the future)

Even with Ford coming out with new and improved gauges, it may be prudent, if one fails, to swap them all to save the hassles and labor. The question isn't if they will fail, it's when. I would expect a full set of new and improved OEM gauges to be quite costly.

Black GT · Jun 20, 2013

Knock on wood. All my factory gauges are working. Hope it stays that way.....sorry to hear of your bad QC and bad service.

GTdrummer · Jun 20, 2013

For the love of God why is gauge stuff so problematic at every turn. The gauges on my 92 Viper work fine as they did right out of the factory . I don't get it.

BlackICE · Jun 20, 2013

GTdrummer said:
For the love of God why is gauge stuff so problematic at every turn. The gauges on my 92 Viper work fine as they did right out of the factory . I don't get it.

Because the GT40 has a British heritage.

paul b · Jun 21, 2013

Does anyone think Ford will replace the gauges for free? I wonder if it's going to be a $2000 rip-off. Does anyone trust their Ford dealer to do the job?

bonehead · Jun 21, 2013

paul b said:
Does anyone think Ford will replace the gauges for free?

I think the chances of that are zero.

Think twice on the SpeedHut Gauges

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