PLEASE HELP!! bOOSTEG3? tHERMAL??

ok, i installed my Autometer boost gauge, and my vacuum sits at 14!! i know this is not normal, because regular vacuum should be at around 20-25. Also, when im at full boost, it reads 9 lbs! i know this is not correct, i've tried to diagnose this problem, i don't think i have a vacuum leak, well i think i don't a vacuum leak, cuz if i did, then my blowoffvalve would not go off, i've had a vacuum leak b4 and when i did, my BOV wouldn't go off, so what could it be??? all i have is the Greddy Kit that preset at 5.5 lbs, but since i have no catalytic and bigger piping for my exhuast that boost should go up 1 mabye 2 lbs, but not all the way up to 9 lbs! i also have an intercooler, so maybe all that extra piping is what causing the low vacuum, but my friend has the same setup as me and his vac. sits at 20, i hate it when something is wrong with my car, i can't sleep i can't think nor study for school, shiet, damn.. stress coming on... haha, any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Sounds to me like the A/F ratio is a little off at idle. I only get like 16 but I know that is due to the ported head and larger cams. It can actually change with the weather slightly also. I really wouldnt worry about it as long as the engine is in good health. The Greddy kit is notorious for running extremely rich so that may be why. As far as the boost that makes no sense unless you might have tampered with the actuator arm. If you tighten the nut up a little you will get more boost. (I think that is how it is on the kit, ask Clowny and he can confirm this.) You are right that the open exhaust may alter the boost levels which may be the reason for the higher boost but nearly 4 psi is a quite a jump. There are quite a few guys withg Greddy kits in here they will probably be more of a help than me. Clowny and Thermal will be lurking shortly. Good luck

i didn't even touch the actuator arm, i think im boosting that high because since my vacuum is at 14 then the needle is already high so therefore boost will be higher, the needle should be at 20 so then when at full boost it'll only be at 5-7lbs. When im at 1k rpm when there's no chance for boost but when i just floor it at 1k rpm is shows like 4-5 lbs boost, that it very odd, so im still at awe to what the problem is, but thanks anyways.

This might seem pretty obvious but are you positive that your gauge is in correct working order? Is it an autometer gauge? If so I had to send 3 of those things back in order to get one that actually worked correctly. Just a suggestion ... find a friend whose gauge you know for a fact works and switch them out.

yeah good call. Find out if the gauge that you are dealing with is a known good accurate peice before you start changing anything.

was it way off? or was it just a lil off? i was thinking that it might be the gauge also. I've heard that autometer boost gauges aren't really accurate, could you tell me what exactly was wrong with your previous gauges?? were you having the same problem as I?

actually I got somewhat lucky here .... I could tell that these gauges were defective just by looking at them. Like right out of the box the gauge would already read 2 psi. I am sure that if I would have hooked it up it would have given very strange readings( obviously ). That is not to say though that a guage that may have started out correctly will not go haywire and give you strange readings...as I am positive that some autometer gauges do break after a period of time. But yeah I would definitely try someone else's gauge first. If it is your gauge, autometer will be more than willing to fix it or send you a new one provided you have the correct paperwork.

please don't tell me its suppose to be at 0 psi. cuz mine reads at 2 psi right now when my car is not on.

yeah bro ur gauge is f'd up.... send that thing back to autometer and they will send you a brand new one. The gauge should read ZERO out of the box. I sent mine back to autometer and they had it back to me( a brand new one ) within a week. Dont feel bad the same thing happened to me ( well...kinda ).

Yet another story about Autometer and their shoddy workmanship.

good call wwcivic. So far ive been lucky also. I have 3 gauges and they all worked good so far. I have been hearing a lot of stories lately about Autometer and their quality.

good call bro, i feel stupid now, i didn't realize that the needle should be at 0 psi. outta the box, well i just sent it back to Autometer, they're gonna send me a new one... damn all the wasted time. I could have had my boost gauge working fine if i would have just noticed it from the begginning. i feel so stupidoOoOo! haha... *pointing at myself*...

[thermal]

daym, so sorry man that it took so long for me to respond. but i did respond on your other post on a different site. that was my suggestion. autometer gauges suks, i have the same problem, fortunately, it's not as bad as yours. mine sits a little below the zero line. at full boost, it only shows 5 psi. a lot of autometer gauges' calibration setting messes up easily.

Originally posted by thermalfi'd16
5 psi. a lot of autometer gauges' calibration setting messes up easily.

That's why I won't buy any gauges autometer makes. If they can't get a simple boost (psi) gauge right, why would you trust them on an A/F, oil, EGT, or other gauge, all of which are critical to the difference between you know what really is happening in your engine or just a close guess.