IVR4 Limiter Technical Information
The only solid state replacement limiter available that
completely duplicates all of the OEM limiter's functions.
Also, RTE recommends that you use the RTE_E_Body_Limiter style limiter when replacing limiters that are built into the fuel gage.
Real Time Engineering has a new solid state limiter that will replace the original mechanical limiter on the back of your dash. This new limiter has many advantages over the original limiter, and also has advantages over the linear regulators that hobbyist have been using as well. The biggest advantage is that our limiter doesn't have a mechanical set of points and a heater wire that can break and fry your gauges (which is what the original mechanical limiter had). This style limiter is also used on the 71-4 Rallye B-body dashes.
- Our limiter exactly duplicates the original limiters function by slowly switching 12V on and off.
- Our limiter has a built in polyfuse which protects the limiter and your wiring from short circuits on the output of the limtier
- Our limiter constantly looks for short circuits on the output of the limiter and will switch itself off if a short circuit is detected. When the short is removed, then the limiter starts working again.
- Our limiter has a built in diagnostic LED that blinks when the limiter is on, helping you see that you have power to your dash and that the limiter is operating properly.
- Our limiter has a warm up time at turn on, same as the original mechanical limiter. This means that your gauges will come up to the proper reading very quickly.
- Our limiter is always outputting a constant 5V average, no matter what the input voltage is (Within the range of 9V to 18V). If the input voltage goes too high or too low, then the limiter shuts off.
- Our limiter output is constant regardless of temperature.
- Our limiter is not sensitive to mechanical vibration.
- If our limiter loses ground, it will shut itself off. Contrast this to the mechanical and linear limiters, which will put out 12V and fry your gauges.
- 100% made in the USA.
See more information on what a limiter does, and a description of how the original mechanical limiter worked here in our FAQ: [Limiter FAQ]
Installation manual for IVR4 limiter: media:IVR4LimiterInstall.pdf
Advantages of our limiter over mechanical limiters:
- Won't fry your gauges when ground is lost
- No mechanical moving parts to wear out
- No points to stick closed
- No nichrome wire to break and then fry your gauges
- Insensitive to heat and cold
- Solid state so should last a very long time
- Short circuit protected
- Diagnostic LED built in
- Uses less current than the original limiter (because there is no heater wire)
- Original mechanical limiters tend to vibrate badly and lose regulation temporarily when going over very rough roads.
Advantages of our limiter over linear home made limiters:
- Won't fry your gauges when ground is lost
- Doesn't generate any heat (linear regulators make a lot of heat)
- Has a warm up period when turned on to make the gauges come up fast
- Diagnostic LED built in
- Uses a lot less power (Linear regulators can waste up to 8W of power in this application)