Just received my Ultra Gauge, had a quick plug in, must admit I am impressed with all the features, gives you actual temperature readings including inlet(air) and water, gives 38 different gauges, oil pressure many fuel settings, injector readings, for the money I am happy. If I was to gripe about one thing, the temperature reading are in Farenheit and dont seem if they can be changed into Centigrade, I can live with that.


The only thing I was not happy about is they didn't fill out a customs declaration form which meant it was done at my end costing me an additional $25

 

Oil pressure? Wow, I am surprised to see that.

 

I got mine on Friday and by coincidence the car started throwing codes that day after several months of good behavior. I plugged it in and it had no problem showing me the codes related to a misfire on A-1. Oh boy more fun and games.

Then I started getting other codes related to CAN Bus failure. This is apparently caused by the Ultra-Gauge being confused over the protocol. I checked the trouble shooting on their web site and there is a way to force the protocol (all cars are not the same) but I haven't had time (or desire as its in the 20's today) to get back to it. Apparently my gauge had self configured into a protocol that interfered with some of the modules. When I disconnected those codes went away. There is also the possibility that mine is defective since others have not had the same problem.

I noted a revision list on the web site, so this thing has been through a number of software changes. Unfortunately anyone who bought it earlier is stuck with what they got as there is no policy for getting upgrades to fix the glitches. I asked this question directly on the "pre-sale support" link and the conversation stopped there.

Ultra-gauge does show some interesting things (such as fuel pressure) so hopefully I can get the the wrinkles ironed out and learn more about what it can do on the XKR. The device clearly says "Made In China" on it so that explains the low cost and lack of real support. I'm of the opinion that support would be worth some cost versus another toy that goes into the cool toy drawer. I already have that drawer piled high.

 

Looks like I'm in the same boat as Walt. I plugged mine in and got a transmission failure (would not drive), and check engine light came on. I unplugged the unit and plugged it into my 2007 Pathfinder. It works just fine there. Not sure if I'll try it again. I was hoping to use it as a real temperature gauge in the XK8.

 

I got mine in the mail today and connected it to my 2000 S-Type and all went well, got the readings as advertised. What I have not tested are the trouble codes. It was cold on the parking lot and did not want to mess with it. I did notice on the setup it found the car and listed it as a Ford, that hurt! I will test the unit further on Wed and report back. If all goes well with this car I will test it on my 1999 XK8. I will keep you posted. I am like most of you in wanting to know the operating temperature of the car, the gauges in the car stink!

 

Hey guys, despite the higher price tag, the PLX devices at www.plxdevices.com may be more what we are all looking for. Especially because they actually have customer support and the firmware us upgradable through your home computer.

I'm very curious about these, so can anyone out there that's tried the PLX devices pleases give us a report on their experience?

This may be a case of getting exactly what you pay for.

 

I have the new Droid2 and it has a free app for reading the ELM327 OBD Bluetooth transceiver that is presently on E-Bay from $22.00 to $50.00

So far I have a good report on the use of the Ultra Gauge in my 2000 S-Type. I will finish the test tonight on the way home.

 

The Ultra Gauge works well in my 2000 S-Type. I should note that I did not have any codes to read so identifying and clearing them was not an option. It did reinforce my suspicion that my speedometer was 5mph off as I suspected. Good to know! I downloaded the user manual and hope to get a little time to read it. It has options to setup pages with what you want to monitor, at the present time I am using the defaults. I will try to put the manual on my page for you to view. I will begin testing it in my 1999 XK8 next week.

 

Gus et al,

Have you tried this gauge? I have one installed in my XK8. It's extremely accurate.

 

That is what I see now every time I go to the station, and I thought it was an illusion…..

 

You guys are so lucky with your low fuel prices, let me make you feel good:

A full tank (18.5 gallon) costs me $144





The kiwi device (and extra sensors) are heading my way finally, they shipped it late, expect it end of next week, so will be able to tell more about 2 weeks.

 

Hey Gus, I guess part of that is because your speedometer display unit isn't calibrated to match the wheel speed sensors exactly, but don't trust the wheel speed sensors, either. I've gotten in the habit of just using my GPS as a speedometer. It's much more accurate than the speedometer in all of my cars, although there is a slight lag. When driving with the cruise control set the GPS is about as accurate of a speed display as you can get.

 

This looks like a gizmo I would love to try, especially since the price tag is right and I assume you can get readings while you are driving the car? However, I am nervous about the chance that the device could immobilize the car or screw something up. Does the above post mean that the device caused a transmission failure?? If so, was everything back to normal once you unhooked it?


Thanks,

Doug

 

I will be testing my xk next week and will report back.

 

Sam,

I had not thought about the GPS and I will do a comparison.

 

SeismicGuy, The transmission failure, and check engine light illuminated as soon as I plugged the unit in. I unplugged the device, and disconnected the negative battery cable. I then re-connected the negative battery cable and both the transmission failure, and check engine light were off. Vehicle is back to normal...

 

Was the key on and the engine running when you plugged the unit in?

 

Gus, Yes, the vehicle was running. Should I have taken a different approach?

 

Plug it in the car first then start it. It should begin searching to identify the platform and then begin the menu.

 

Mick, if you go to the Ultra Gauge website you can download the user manual. It has very specific instructions for how to do the initial installation (as Gus noted) and lots more.