[palehorse]

I'm sure the answer is no. Is there any company out there that makes a quality set of gauges (oil pressure/volt/amps)
that would fit into the Caddy STS dash decor? Car runs fine and I check under hood fluids once a week but when your on
the road, it would be nice to keep a finger on the pulse. It's a shame for a sporty car, the dash is incomplete.

 

[Submariner409]

Look through AutoMeter and then StewartWarner. Whatever you pick, the oil will probably be electric from a self-made brass piping T and flex hydraulic line - you'll need to keep the original sending switch for PCM communications. Voltage should be no problem. Amps would have to use a heavy duty shunt in the main alternator charging line. A bit tricky.

Of course, the PCM monitors all this anyway and if something fails you get text warnings. Yes, you have to diagnose just what the failure was - but I agree: Gauges are nice to have.

(By "gauges" I mean real ones that move in response to changing values, not the laughingstock crap that is passed off as a "gauge" in most cars and trucks. Most car owners today - if they saw oil pressure go from 15 psi to 60 psi and back to 15 in one block of stop&go traffic - or saw a coolant temperature gauge actually move in traffic - would have a heart attack and be at the dealership in 10 minutes. Very few people nowadays have the foggiest idea of how, why, or when an engine ever works. "What's a dip stick ?")

 

[framedforlife]

My old envoy the gauges where live you could see when you where moving with oil pressure fluctuating up and down.

 

[Submariner409]

Here's one oil pressure gauge (of many) that really tells you something .......................

An old trick - to give quick visual verification of operating conditions - was to orient each gauge so that, at normal running conditions, the needles all pointed at 12 o'clock. If one parameter was out of place it was instantly obvious.

 

[Ludacrisvp]

My old envoy the gauges where live you could see when you where moving with oil pressure fluctuating up and down.

Same with my Monte ... the Oil pressure gauge is all over the map while driving (as it should be) and the voltmeter fluctuates accordingly as well.

Its kind of a shame that even with the "V" being more of a "Driver's Car" they didn't add / change the gauge cluster. The digital boost pressure gauge is better than nothing but it was GM being lazy as far as I'm concerned. There should have been Oil pressure, boost pressure, trans temp as real gauges for the V and possibly some others too.

 

[Boat]

No, it's GM keeping Cadillacs refined, as it should be.

 

[SuperDaveSTS]

Aeroforce Interceptor

http://marylandspeed.com/aeroforce-interceptor-gen-ii-scan-gauge-gm-can-bus-vehicles-af1-cnx01-p-822.html

 

[Ludacrisvp]

No, it's GM keeping Cadillacs refined, as it should be.

Having less info about your driving experience means Cadillac is being "refined"?

 

[mckellyb]

You could go with an Ultra-gauge.

http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/

I've been running mine for about 18 months. It's nice in that I can get exact coolant temp and corrected fuel level/MPG. There are some things missing, like trans temp, which is unfortunate, but it may be they just haven't yet figured out which circuit that sensor is on. I don't think the ECU reports oil pressure, either, which is troubling.

The '05 N* must have a trans temp gauge, right?

If not, I might give myself a concussion from the double facepalm.

edit: The N* does have a trans temp sensor, but it isn't detectable by my "old" Ultra-gauge.

edit 2: I wonder if anyone has decoded a PID list for the CANbus...my Google-fu is weak this morning.

 

[Ludacrisvp]

You could go with an Ultra-gauge.

http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/

I've been running mine for about 18 months. It's nice in that I can get exact coolant temp and corrected fuel level/MPG. There are some things missing, like trans temp, which is unfortunate, but it may be they just haven't yet figured out which circuit that sensor is on. I don't think the ECU reports oil pressure, either, which is troubling.

The '05 N* must have a trans temp gauge, right?

If not, I might give myself a concussion from the double facepalm.

edit: The N* does have a trans temp sensor, but it isn't detectable by my "old" Ultra-gauge.

edit 2: I wonder if anyone has decoded a PID list for the CANbus...my Google-fu is weak this morning.

Perhaps here will contain what you are looking for.
https://service.gm.com/gmspo/mode6/index.html

 

[mckellyb]

Ludacrisvp, that is too cool!

Well, I know what I need to do, now!!!!!!

 

[Ludacrisvp]

Ludacrisvp, that is too cool!

Well, I know what I need to do, now!!!!!!

Let us know how it goes with pics.

 

[Submariner409]

The oil pressure "sensor" in the NA Northstar is not a variable resistor that would run a gauge - it's an ON/OFF switch set to around 5-6-7 psi, so the ECU or PCM cannot send a pressure value to anything.

 

[1BadCadSTS]

Same with my Monte ... the Oil pressure gauge is all over the map while driving (as it should be) and the voltmeter fluctuates accordingly as well. Its kind of a shame that even with the "V" being more of a "Driver's Car" they didn't add / change the gauge cluster. The digital boost pressure gauge is better than nothing but it was GM being lazy as far as I'm concerned. There should have been Oil pressure, boost pressure, trans temp as real gauges for the V and possibly some others too.

V has trans temp and oil pressure read out in the dic as well as the boost gauge.

 

[Boat]

No, it's GM keeping Cadillacs refined, as it should be.

Having less info about your driving experience means Cadillac is being "refined"?

I mean, the info in the message center would be nice, no doubt. Excess gauges in the cluster? No thanks. Most people won't monitor them, let alone know what's normal operating parameters. Just my opinion.

 

[mckellyb]

Will do.

I already have one, an older one, but I want to be able to add stuff.

My old one may be for sale, later...we'll see. Only 18 months old, and it's ridden exclusively propped up in Pearl's open ashtray.

 

[mckellyb]

Okay, got it, and I can see programming is going to be an adventure.

The pre-programmed CANbus they already did can't read the trans temp or run-time hours. I'll figure it out, hopefully, but it may take a while.

The people at Ultra Gauge include just enough info to be confusing about it.

 

[sub613]

To prevent Oil guages running low to high, in normal operation,
an orifice is installed, between the source and the sending unit,
to essentially dampen the oil pressure going to the sensor, so it may
take 2 or 5 seconds fo it to fall, but it will not respond instantly.
I used this technique, a lot on Marine engines. For FYI only.

 

[dkozloski]

FWIW, the oil pressure "gauge" in my Ford Ranger is not a gauge at all. It is a flag that is made to appear to be a gauge. It always comes up at the same indication on the face and never changes. The sensor is an on/off pressure switch. Rumor has it that this is common practice with more than one manufacturer in order to assuage the anxieties of those who are afflicted with OCD.

 

[dkozloski]

To prevent Oil guages running low to high, in normal operation,
an orifice is installed, between the source and the sending unit,
to essentially dampen the oil pressure going to the sensor, so it may
take 2 or 5 seconds fo it to fall, but it will not respond instantly.
I used this technique, a lot on Marine engines. For FYI only.

The same orifice is used in the oil pressure gauge installation in aircraft but the purpose is to prevent losing all the engine oil if the gauge or line fails.