We recently installed a new AutoMeter Marine GPS Speedometer in a 496 big-block chevy powered jet boats.
We chose the Pro-Comp MARINE 3-3/8'' GPS SPEEDOMETER, but AutoMeter has a wide variety of 3-⅜” and 5” GPS Speedometers.
The existing gauges were showing signs of age and they’re of the typical variety found in most boats. In fact, the Pito-tube Teleflex speedo didn’t even work in the jetboat.
I must say, the AutoMeter GPS speedo is one the easiest upgrades you can do to your dash...whether in a boat, hot-rod, or musclecar.
Several features are built into the AutoMeter GPS Speedo.
Odometer
Trip meter
Hour meter
Peak speed
Time (GMT)
Location - Long-Lat
And brightness levels (7)
Easy installation, with only 3 wires and an antenna.
12V ignition power
12V lighting (we jumped from ignition)
Ground
GPS coax
If there was a tough part, it was deciding where to put the GPS antenna. It’s best to have no obstruction for the antenna. It has a magnetic base, or you can use double-stick tape. Our’s worked perfect to magnetize to the front of our AutoMeter tach housing.
Boats are synonymous with ground issues and corrosion, so we made sure our connections were solid.
Our battery-powered Milwaukee M12 solder iron made quick work of soldering the wires and terminals. We tinned the wires first, which makes soldering each terminal on much quicker. The M12 solder iron heats up to 750-deg in seconds. The M18 heat gun heats up near 1000 degrees and took care of the heat shrink covering our connections, as well as covering the female disconnect terminal itself. Being battery powered really made it handy to use inside the boat, without the need for extensions cords. Also, the tools stand up on their own, keeping the hot areas from surface contact.
We installed our AutoMeter GPS Speedometer in the dash, which was fiberglass reinforced ¾” plywood. With this thick dash, we actually had to trim some depth off the plastic mounting bracket, so the bolts were long enough. This only took a couple minutes with a carbide cutoff tool.
Make sure you feed the wires for the speedo (2 power, 1 ground, and GPS antenna) through the bracket first, then through the dash. We forgot that the first time. Plug the wires in and screw on the GPS antenna. The knurled finger nuts make it easy to install without a wrench or socket.
Once installed, we turned the key on to let the GPS find itself. After about 30 seconds, the LED screen changed from Acquiring Signal to Locked.
The button on the left allows you to toggle through the features, and the button on the right will clear or reset each, if applicable.
The AutoMeter GPS speedo worked great. It communicates 10x every second, so the needle movement is very smooth, and accurate. After many WOT pulls, we didn’t notice any abnormalities or anomalies in the performance. It really makes the dash standout with a fresh new face. Now, we need to work on the rest of the gauges.
You can pickup the AutoMeter Pro-Comp 3-⅜” GPS Speedo for about $350, and it’s another $65-70 for a new GPS antenna. We chose the white face with blue letters, but AutoMeter has many flavors to choose from, including carbon fibre.
8 сен 2024
