Foggy lenses

[Jimb]

I've heard that guages getting fogged up is not an uncommon problem.
What do you folks do about this? Is it simply a case of sealing up the gaugees? Do new replacement gauges have the same problem?

Jim

[radiopilot]

Jim,

In order to completely eliminate the fogging, you have to drill a series of 'breather' holes on the top surface of the gauges and then provide a breathable protection against dust to eliminate contamination introduced into the gauges (I used a tight nylon mesh). I did just that to all my gauges when I cleaned and polished the bezel trims from black to mirror finish aluminum.

Since you have to remove the bezel trim to remove the plastic shavings this is a tricky operation and damage to the gauges could result... I really wish Fiat's engineering would have accounted for that... there is a solution that might work... that is LED's have lower heat than the current filament bulbs which create the heat that causes the fog to begin with (but you have to reduce the voltage from 12V to 3V to power the LED's)... if you try to seal the gauges all you do is create condensation and worse fog than leaving it alone since the fog/condensation would have no way to escape.

Nick

[Jimb]

Thanks Nick,

Do you know of the new gauges from the likes of Spder-point have the same issues?

Jim

[htchevyii]

I bought a brand new a/f ratio gauge and it fogs up just as much as my O.E. ones. I think it's a convertable thing and I've just learned to live with it.

[radiopilot]

Thanks Nick,

Do you know of the new gauges from the likes of Spder-point have the same issues?

Jim

I don't know about the quality/fogging of the Spider-point gauges but I do know for a fact my lenses don't fog anymore even when driving in humid weather or when I get stuck driving the car in the rain (almost never). This simple principle is used on aircraft instruments to prevent fogging.

Nick

[Jimb]

Thanks guys,
The next time I have the instrument panel opened up I guess I'l be drilling some holes.

Cheers,
Jim