The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 12V Gas tank sender.

Does anyone make/sell a direct specific fit 12volt gas tank sender for the in cab gas tank on an AD?

I'm fed up with generic,cut to fit aftermarket ones.

Thanks in advance.

Sender at the top of tank and fuel line from the bottom of tank? 47-53
Or, sender and fuel-line out the top in the same unit? 54-55 (and later)

12v vs 6v does not matter with a sender - the ohms are important.
Original was 30 ohms (years later the ohms was 90).

1950 tank:
http://www.classicparts.com/1947-53...l-Style/productinfo/23-523/#.Vc2-DJ1Viko

Jockbolter50, FYI I used the one Tim recommended and had to bend it to get it to rear correctly. A full tank only read 3/4 full. Working good now. Mtneermike

Make sure it doesn't come in contact with the side of the tank.

Sorry Tim,I should have been more specific. I made assumptions.
It's for my '50.

Thanks for the link.


EDIT: My gauge is a modern 90ohm New Vintage unit and I just checked the link,they only seem to list a 30ohm 'stock' style sender.....

jockbolter,

You have probably seen the 90ohm universal sender?

But, you did ask for direct/specific fit. Maybe someone else know of 90ohm sender made specifically for the 49-53 tank?

Thanks Tim,that's actually the same as the one I have,it worked fine for about two months,then for some strange reason it stopped registering more than 1/4 full regardless of how much was in the tank.
I have removed it on more than one occasion,and on moving the float arm manually it moves the gauge needle perfectly from empty to full.
I've also checked for obstructions in the tank,nothing.
Re-install it and it reverts to a 1/4 tank.

I'm beginning to suspect the actual gauge but i'm not sure how to test and eliminate it,plus the thought of crawling under the dash to check it is not exactly filling me with enthusiasm!

Dave Colter suggested using a stock sender and adding a resistor to boost it to 90ohms impedance.
To be honest electrical systems are not my forte so was unsure if and how this would work,and also where to place the resistor in the circuit.

Anyone??

John, take a look at this diagram. It's really quite a simple circuit.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/159356931
If the sender is controlling the circuit proper when the unit
is out of the tank, then your problem is obviously at the tank
not at the gauge. And you obviously have the correct
sender/gauge combination, i.e., both matched to the 90 ohm
sender. It has to be either an obstruction to the float
movement, the float not set to the correct position or a bad
connection. You've said that it's intermittent, that is, that
it works for a while then not. Could very well be that the
ground return is not solid if it's intermittent. The ground
has to be a solid continuous path from the sender back to the
dash gauge just as the hot lead is. Make sure your tank isn't
insulated from the rest of the cab or frame and vise versa at
the gauge. Your ground wire originally would have been
connected to the frame under the driver seat.


Just so we don't muddy the water John, "resistance" is the
correct electrical term we would want to use in a DC circuit
to control the voltage.
"Impedance" is the term for a complex resistance in an AC
circuit. To put it simply it's a combination of the physical
resistance and shift in phase.
The confusion in terminology is often because both values are
expressed in ohms. Ohms resistance (R) and ohms impedance (Z).

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Thank you everyone for your input,Denny,thank you for the schematic and 'edumacation'.

I had an idea the circuitry itself was fairly basic and like you mention the gauge and sender came as a kit and therefore should be matched.
I have a ground (thoroughly checked) directly from the sender to the rear of the cab,and from what I read a second ground from the sender to the gauge wouldn't hurt?

The tank is brand new aftermarket and has no internal obstructions or baffles and the sender orientation hasn't changed either since its initial installation (and did work) so the float definitely isn't contacting anywhere within its arc of travel.

Most of those senders are simply a coil of resistance wire with
a wiper contact, a simple rheostat. They aren't to sturdy and
can be easily damaged. If that's visible or accessible double
check to make sure the coil doesn't have a break in it. That's
a very common problem with the rheostat's for the dash lights.

dg

Good point Denny,as I say,the sender works perfectly outside the tank,i'm beginning to suspect the float itself,it's a closed cell foam and seems to be 'heavy'??
I'm wondering if this is just another ethanol based problem,if you squeeze the float it oozes fuel,gone porous perhaps?
The place where I buy my unleaded use a 5% mix,so,if in fact this is the case,the damage has already been done.
I threw out my original unit with the white plastic type float,I could have retro fitted it to the one I have just now to eliminate that possibility.
Hindsight eh?

Absolutely, that makes sense now, I think you've nailed down
your problem. The float should not soak up any fuel what so ever.
Time to start the search for a non-porous float.
That should never have happened, E-10 is almost universal here
in the states and I would think that everyone would be having
problems with the reproduction senders over here.
Which vendor did you buy the gauge/sender package from? I
would definitively contact them for a replacement float or
complete unit if they can't replace the float.
If that proves to be out of the question then you'll have to
cut a new foam float. I would seal it with a good epoxy meant
for use around fuel.
Caswell makes a fuel proof epoxy sealer but it is outrageously
expensive for a small job, like $75 US.
And POR-15 is a bit more in line at about $14.
http://www.por15.com/POR-15-Fuel-Tank-Sealer_p_64.html

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Some floats out there are copper and never go bad. Might find a nice one at an old motorcycle shop. Then you will have no more worries. Good luck!

Or Brass which most older floats were made of.
This is a nice one for under ten bucks:
http://www.laurelmountainmustang.co...t-float?gclid=CNnQ9u2NtccCFQczaQodK8IA3A
As Bruce eluded too, it would probably out last you.

Denny G

Denny,the sender came as part the installation kit I got with my New Vintage Woodward series gauges.
Sadly,due to timescale,any warranty I had on it will be long gone.
I might shoot them a message and see if I get a response,they did borrow (with my consent) an installation Tech-Tip I did after all.
Time for a little payback perhaps?

To be honest it looks pretty much like all the other 'cut to fit' ones i've seen so is probably not exclusive or manufactured by them.
In fact it's identical to the one in the link Tim provided.

If in fact this is an ethanol issue i'd imagine this would be a common problem?
Or..perhaps I just got a bad float?

I'll try and source a brass or plastic float and see where I go from there.

Actually seeing that Mustang float reminds me of a fuel issue my friend had with his '64 Fairlane which uses a similar float,if not the same one.

The P.O. had replaced the float with a small screw top plastic bottle which in fact worked perfectly,the problem arose when the bottle label detatched due to the gas softening the adhesive and started floating around the tank,every now and then it would get sucked over the tank outlet acting as a non return valve.
That was an easy fix!

That must have been a super small screw top bottle John, where
did he get it, on his flight back from the states???

Fact is, anything that's capable of being attached to the arm
and that would stay afloat would suffice. Just make sure you
remove the label after you finish your cocktail.

dg