Mooneyes gauges = crap ?

[Nico86]

Today I receive a new Mooneyes tach I ordered for a friend, and I feel pretty disapointed about it. First the body is all made in cheap white plastic, no inscriptions on the back of it, just a paper sticker for the wiring. Second the "glass" doesn't seem to be in real glass, but some kind of plastic too. And third the mounting hardware looks very cheap too. The chrome trim is real metal.

I thought Mooneyes products were quality stuff (for the price they ask of it), but the new gauges made by Classic Instruments are not. Maybe I'm wrong and this tach works well, but for me it doesn't have the shape of something you can trust in. It weights the same as cheap clocks you can buy in supermarkets !

The olders Mooneyes gauges were made by Autometer, someone knows if they are good products or it's the same ? I wanted to buy a set, but if it's this I'd better find some og Speedwells or VDOs.

[Prowagen]

I used to be a Mooneyes dealer and was very dissapointed also when they changed from the Autometer gauges. I am no longer a dealer so cannot comment on the newer gauges, but for me I would go with Autometer they do some real nice clasic styles and their service iis great should you have problems.

[Nico86]

I will try to check how are old Mooneyes gauges. If they have the Autometer quality it's good. Thanks

[Prowagen]

The old gauges have the moon logo on the face, but then on the face close to the bezel it says Autometer Sycamore USA, so its easy to spot.

Rob.

[Nico86]

Yep I saw this, on the new gauges it's written Classic Instruments.

[Harry/FDK]

So, even more greed and "save" costs. This custom thing is getting sickening. What's next...

[Nico86]

So, even more greed and "save" costs.

Yep, the price of the Classic Instruments crap is the same as when it was Autometers. Mooneyes is very disapointing.

[bullitt]

i don't know about classic instruments but i believe in moon high standard.

they always had (even when autometer was the brand) two different qualities of external type of tachometer in stock.
one very good (tht i bought)
one very poor (that a friend of mine bought to save money)

my friends one was a real plastic piece of scrap. mine is wonderful. (but, i repeat, it is an autometer one)

sure tht you ordered the right one? 

[Prowagen]

The crapper plastic autometer one would have actually been an autogage one which is autometers budget brand, not a bad gauge for the price.

[Nico86]

sure tht you ordered the right one? 

I check the Mooneyes website, there are more and more gauges made by Classic Instruments, Autometer ones seem to dissapear. http://www.mooneyesusa.com/Store/index.php?cPath=228_135_197&osCsid=fbad103e3d9e61439973ee982e16931c I remember checking this website a few months ago, there were only Autometer gauges.

For example the oil temp is an Autometer (but for how long ?)  https://www.mooneyesusa.com/Store/product_info.php?cPath=228_135_197&products_id=1010&osCsid=fbad103e3d9e61439973ee982e16931c

And the voltmeter in a Classic Instruments https://www.mooneyesusa.com/Store/product_info.php?cPath=228_135_197&products_id=1034&osCsid=fbad103e3d9e61439973ee982e16931c

All the tachometers are now Classic Instruments.
Anyway, I'm gonna go to used Speedwells, VDOs or Autometer-Mooneyes. But it sucks that Moon is now saving money on the products quality.

[Prowagen]

I know a few hot rod guys who are also upset with the direction moon have gone in. I think that Mooneyes japan is taking over now as the leader?

[Harry/FDK]

Mooneyes Japan IS the business leader for years. I've just been mailed that there is no more Autometer or Autogage products.

[Prowagen]

Mooneyes Japan IS the business leader for years. I've just been mailed that there is no more Autometer or Autogage products.

Its owned by Crown Classics now I think? The USA Moon guys seem to keep quiet about it lol

[Nico86]

I don't think they've made a good choice trying to sell crap things to hot-rod guys and vw guys.

[65-2180cc]

I don't think they've made a good choice trying to sell crap things to hot-rod guys and vw guys.

Saw this in a search and thought I'd jump on the band wagon...

Dealt with MOON for years and they always been good at hearing us. If you were to demand so called "non-crap" products and had the "hard cash" to back it, they would probably bring it. The thing is, Autometer (and autogauge) ain't cheap. The prices gone up too. I know my broke ass can afford expensive-everything and settle for kutting a corner on things that can be cut (of course, I have Autometer from decades ago as a hand-me-down which is the cheapest form).

Plastic doesn't always mean cheap either. If the product sucks, then shouldn't Classic Instruments be the blame? And why are they in business? Because cheap ass drivers like myself buy their "crap". Look in any mag, CI is usually in there with their crap products.

[Nico86]

Plastic doesn't always mean cheap either. If the product sucks, then shouldn't Classic Instruments be the blame? And why are they in business? Because cheap ass drivers like myself buy their "crap". Look in any mag, CI is usually in there with their crap products.

I'm ok but why do they sell it at almost the same prices as when it was Autometers ? If I have 150 € to put in a tach I'd prefer buy an Autometer nice one than a plastic Classic Instrument that is at the same price. I don't know why they took the decision to not work with Autometer anymore, but it's Moon that decides it I think. For me (and the price they are asking) that's not what I can call a quality product.

[Berger]

I have a new Moon tach in my bay, and I can say....yes IT`S CRAP!!!
It looks cool, but that is all..if I take the car for a long ride, the needle start to live it`s own life after some time. Going up and down while the engine is running at a stable rpm (and it`s not the wiring, done it twice).

So...don`t buy it..

[Harry/FDK]

Had a talk with a customizer i know for years, and yep all the (new) Moon gauges are crap, amongst a lot of other shit they sell since JAPAN took over.
Most of the stuff is  just cheap bling.

[Nico86]

How to ruin 50 years of great products...

[Nico86]

Someone knows if this tach as something to do with Mooneyes ? I don't think so but I'm not sure.

[gizago]

Someone knows if this tach as something to do with Mooneyes ? I don't think so but I'm not sure.

Don't know, but I have one of those in my garage too so would be interested to know.

[powrby4d]

Let me tell you about Moon gauges. I put together a really nice blown 32 Ford coupe that I wanted to have that drag car look and I always liked the Moon logo.

I put a full (and I do mean full - all the way across the dash and on the engine) set of Moon gauges in the car - they were all manufactured by Autometer. The fuel capacity gauge wouldn't register. I checked the sender and the voltage at the gauge and everything read correctly. I replaced the sender and the gauge still wouldn't register. I finally knocked on the gauge with a screwdriver and it registered properly while driving the car. Every time I shut down the car and restarted it, same thing - fuel gauge stuck and if you beat on it , it might decide to work, or it might not. I pulled it out of the dash to make sure that the hole wasn't forcing it to flex and bind. Same thing. Finally I ordered a replacement gauge (also Autometer). Same thing. Again checked all the wiring and voltages were correct and directly grounded it to the battery. Same thing. Ordered another gauge. Same thing. And another. Same thing.

Called up Moon and asked them why all the Autometer fuel gauges were crap. They said they had a lot of trouble with the Autometer gauges since switching from the retro set that had been made by Classic Instruments. I called up Classic Instruments and asked if they could swap out a new mechanism into my existing gauge. They were not sure but said they would be willing to look at it. I have not gotten around to doing that yet, but I looked up the fuel gauge on the Moon web site and see they have switched back to ones made by Classic. Good for them!

Oh, also I have a Moon liquid-filled fuel pressure gauge on the feed line to my dual blower carbs that kept showing me that my fuel pressure was dropping gradually to zero lbs in the 15 minutes or so after  starting the engine. I have redundant electric and mechanical fuel pumps so I figured something odd could be happening, although It never starved out but I could never figure out why the pressure was dropping. So I ordered two more Moon fuel pressure gauges and plumbed them in between the fuel pumps, between the pump and the regulator, and between the regulator and the carbs so I could see where the pressure drop was starting. To my surprise all THREE of the gauges showed a gradual pressure drop as the engine warmed up.  So on a hunch I popped the little rubber seal on one of the gauges and let all the glycerin liquid drain out, at which point that gauge began to register correct fuel pressure while the other two gauges sealed showed zero lbs pressure.

I called Moon and asked them why they would sell fuel pressure gauges designed to be mounted on the engine which cease to work once the engine warms up. The answer I got was , "i dunno - they do that."  Unbelievable.  I asked them why they would continue to sell fuel pressure gauges that they knew didn't work. " I dunno".

So I have spent a small fortune on Moon gauges and can only tell you that switching to Classic Instruments can only be an improvement from the cheaply made Autometer predecessors, and Moon continued to sells gauges that they know have been engineered in such a way that they cannot possible work for the intended application.  I still love the Mooneyes look of the brand and would have continued to spend a lot of money on their products had they not completely convinced me that they don't really care about what happens to their customers after the sale.

A real pity to see such a classic American brand fall apart.