This might be a silly question, but… Will I harm anything by driving my car without a speedometer and oil temp gauge?

My odometer quit working, so I'm going to pull the speedometer and send it to North Hollywood Speedometer for repair. I figured that while I was at it, I'd have them also convert my oil temp gauge to numeric. I’m guessing that with the shipping and repair, they will be out of the car for 2-3 weeks.

I'm wondering if anything electrical would be damaged by driving without the gauges ... I'm thinking of the sending units and lack of electrical resistance with nothing connected on the instrument ends.

I welcome your input.

Then there’s the other aspect of driving without a speedometer:
Officer: “Do you know how fast you were going?!”
Me: “Umm... no?”

 

But officer, how was I to know I was going that fast? Honest!!!

 

I drove with no speedo for a few weeks while mine took a trip to Cali without the car no worries


OH - cut yourself a nice piece of foam and stuff it in that hole because HOLY CRAP does a LOT of cold air come in there

 

Yeah, and put 10k miles in a few weeks, Carfax will never know!

 

Won't affect anything (functionally),..Just make sure that all wiring is taped real nicely and isolated from touching anything....

EASY-Peezy!

Doyle
'

 

LOL - I dont wanna say how long my odometer was broken

 

I could handle (sense) what speed I'm at,..and could fly blindly.

NOW, should something happen on the TEMP side (unmetered/not indicated due to disconnect) ,..to be late on processing such a crucial piece of "heat" info<..could prove bad.

We all know our cars,..and what temp expectations should be based on what you're doing,..knowing ME, THAT will be the one time I have temp issue with my meter disconnected (paranoid and designing for worst-case condition)...shorter trips? No worries,..longer trips? No way.

Get her working (metering) as soon as possible,..period.

BEST!

Doyle

 

yea, the temp would bother me, but its winiter so you should be ok for a few miles w/o

 

Thanks guys.

I'll definitely tape up the loose connections so nothing short circuits. I'm not worried about the temps at this time of year which is good.

Didn't even think about the cold air coming through the dash... I'll definitely need to block that off - it's been cold even in NC this year!

I'm looking forward to the oil temp conversion. Not only wiill it look better, but it'll be nice to see real numbers.

 

Well,

BOTH jobs can be done yourself, especially converting the temp to numeric. That is a simple two-piece kit consiting of a new gauge face and a matching sending unit. It's an easy 20-minute job.

Fixing the odometer involves opening up the speedo and changing out the plastic gear that drives the odo.

 

http://www.odometergears.com/porsche.html

http://www.odometergears.com/subpage...ian_Smith.html


I almost did it, but sent mine to Cali - here is the links

 

Thanks Ivangene - I read a lot of posts on this as well and decided that, for me, it would be worth paying an expert to open up my speedometer.

 

yup, I felt the same way.... didnt want to break it.

When I talked to my indy about the process he said it simply: "Why risk it, send it to NHS, $130 - thats what I do" so I did

 

I am going to send mine out for service when the weather is warmer.
The odometer works but the speedometer stops at 80 MPH so I have been relying on the Tach.

NHS can also calibrate your speedo while there are in there.

Here is a link for the DIY numbered oil temp overlay, no need for a new sender

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...ntage-usa.html

http://newvintageusa.com/911modules

John

 

No problems for either guage . if your really **** you can get your car up to temp and check the oil before you send out your guage and make sure you are at the right oil level for the right temp. Other than that no problems . Speed can be estimated through the tach if you know what rpm in what gear represents what speed .. easy enought ot take notes ... get this part wrong and the only damage will be to your wallet and driving record ..
Other than that no worries at all...