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Damn fuel guage....

1K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  Magnus_Jager 
#1 ·
Ok this is half rant so bear with me,

First the rant.

I took off work yesterday to work on my 1954 dodge coronet. It was productive for the most part. Here's the problem. My fuel guage doesn't read any gas. So I ran a line from the pickup wire to the guage and it jumped to full. So I figure I've got a bad wire somewhere. I try snaking it without touching the headliner with no luck so I have to cut into the intact but nasty headliner to replace the wire. After the first rip trying to get it out without damage I start making custs to reach the wires and snake the new one. I get the wire completely replaced and the guage still doesn't work.... I push the wire in the plug further and it works. So I figure I better test something else, and disconnect the sensor and it still read full... So I either have a bad guage, or bad sensor in the tank. Neither is a good thing to reach.. What made it worse is the unnessesary headliner mutilation. Yes it does need to be eventually replaced, but it could have waited, now it's a pressing issue.

So here's the plan for tomorrow.

Test 1 Hook up guage so it doesn't read full (short???) Try grounding the wire that goes to the sensor, guage should jump to full if it works...

Test 2 Ensure sensor in tank works. Get a long length of wire, and a meter. Hook wire to negative on battery (it's positive ground). Hook meter to wire and to sensor, I should have some current, and less than infinite resistance. There is enough gas in the tank that it should read at least 1/4.

The good news is I have another 1954 which is slated for becoming a hot rod and doesn't need all these parts. So I have both a sensor and guage that I know work. Just have to figure out what needs replaced.
 
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#2 ·
Usually when a gas guage goes to full, or past full, it means that the sender isn't grounded properly. You need the sensor wire, but you also need the sender housing to be grounded. Thats how the guage works, measuring how much resistance for the power to get to ground.

Try that 1st.

Have you taken the sender out, to determine that it is moving properly?
 
#3 ·
Well I tested it out some more, the jumping to past full was the wire shorting something in the guage. Normal use the plug bottoms out a bare wire goes inside, and grounds. I bought a multi meter and the sender in the tank was showing infinite resist. So it was bad, pulled the one from my donor and it's all good now.
 
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