Leaky voltage stabilizer

[Brosky]

Check out the voltage stabilizer on the back of my original speedometer That little dude sprang a leak. Oddly enough, all of my gauges worked fine.

 

[mrv8q]

Mine looked that way, too, and all gauges worked.... can't seem to find it to take a pic...

 

[dklawson]

That's the goo that Smiths used to secure the adjusting screw when they calibrated it for 10V at the factory. It's kind of like Duco-Cement. Later models didn't have an outside adjustment and won't have that "spot" on the back.

If the goo is still there and the stabilizer still works, by all means continue to use it. That spot's not a sign of failure.

 

[John_Mc]

I thought it was sealer to keep the smoke in!

 

[Brosky]

I have a new Moss solid state unit that is going in. Good to know this one is still usable in a pinch.

Thanks for the info.

 

[dklawson]

Let us know what you think of the solid-state Moss unit. It's certainly priced right.

 

[70herald]

I made my own solid state unit a while back. It is just a 7810 voltage regulator. works just fine. I even put it into the original case. you can pick up a the chip for under $2.00

 

[dklawson]

That is also what I did... on the Mini. On the Spitfire project I simply soldered leads to the 7810 chip and mounted it directly on the back of the gauge. I made one for fuel and one for temperature since the chips are cheap.

If anyone wants to make their own, I put together a PDF about this:
https://home.mindspring.com/~purlawson/files/SmithsVoltageStabilizer.pdf
However, the price of the Moss unit makes it hard to justify making your own anymore. That is of course... unless you enjoy tinkering with gauges and electronics (like I do). You're right that the chip is not expensive, but you won't find it at Radio Shack. You can however order them from places like mouser.com but then you have to weigh in shipping charges.