The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 54-55 fuel gauge 6v-12v conversion

Howdy from TEXAS!

I'm new here. And, I'm new to AD trucks. I am thankful for the wealth of info here. And, I'm glad to have found Stovebolt.

I have a 55.1 Chevy 3600 that I acquired about a year ago. I'm trying to get it to being a daily driver, but maintain it in original condition.

So, I will need an engine rebuild, brake rebuild and some electrical work.

The previous owner upgraded to 12v. But, he never finished the accessories. So, I have a chopped up wiring harness, disconnected fuel gauge & heater, and some missing items.

At present, I am trying to rewire the fuel gauge. I've replaced the fuel sending unit with a 30 ohm unit. I've acquired a voltage reducer. But, the direction is not marked on it. Additionally, the nuts are missing from the lugs on the gauge. I'd like to use the original 6v gauge.

Does anyone know what size are the lugs, so I can get nuts and washers?

Should I get a different voltage reducer?

Or, should I simply get a 12v replacement guage?

Thank a heapin' for taking the time to help a fella out.

What kind of voltage reducer - "Runtz" type?

http://www.classicparts.com/1947-54-Gas-Gauge-Voltage-Reducer/productinfo/24-995/#.WPimDxLyudE

That type reducer is directional - the reducer at the link can only be installed in one direction (no mistakes). Wait to hear from someone else regarding which post it attaches-to - if you attach to wrong post, you fry the fuel gauge.

Good luck.

No idea if this is helpful, but here's how mine looks.

https://goo.gl/photos/do4KZ4UoMunTtjJf8

The resistor is on the Empty side of the dial. Can't help you on the size or thread count for the nuts.

Here's a link with a pic the reducer:

http://www.ecklersearlychevy.com/chevy-fuel-gauge-voltage-reducer-1949-1954.html

I learned on devestech that the reducer goes between the hot lead and the power input, which is the terminal closest to the driver door.

Jeffry,

I don't know anything about a '55. But before I restored my '36 Chevy pickup I ran it as a daily driver sbc powered rat rod with 12 volt electrics for about 50K trouble free miles in the 1960s. The original '36 gas sender and gauge worked fine on 12 volts with no voltage reducer.

Now decades later the '36 is restored in every way including 6 volt electrics and the exact same sender and gauge are still working perfectly. So at least on a '36, the voltage makes no difference in the gas gauge function.

Thanks, yar. I bypassed the wire from the sender and ran 12v to the gauge. But it didn't twitch. I haven't tested the ground yet.

I saw a couple of articles about testing the guage by grounding it directly to the chassis and applying power.

Does this work?