The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop fuel gauge not working

The fuel gauge on my 58 Apache 235 was flickering for a while, now isn't working. I put in a new sender, but it wasn't that. There are two wires that come from the tank, one white, the other black. The black disappears behind the tank, maybe earthed to the body. The white goes under the cab and into the loom. If I disconnect it from the tank, it still shows empty. When I disconnect it at a connection under the cab, the gauge shows full. The white is screwed to the top of the sender so it goes to earth, but the black also seems to be earth without a live anywhere. Anybody know what's wrong with it?

Further explanation of the wire routing is needed. Is the white wire attached to the stud in the center of the sending unit or one of the hold down/mounting screws around the edge? Center stud is the proper place for the white wire. The black is a ground. Try doing a search using the search button directly above this thread for “Gas Gauge”. Probably a thousand or more posts to read.

The white (sender) wire should not be grounded (earthed). If it is grounded, your gauge will read empty. Trace the wire from the tank to the gauge - I expect that you will find the wire has been damaged and shorted to ground.

Thanks for your replies. Here's more info that you asked for. The white wire goes to the hold down screws and the black goes to the centre stud of the sender. This was the configuration since I've had the truck and it used to work like this. The white wire is very brittle so maybe it 's broken somewhere. The problem is that the wires are inaccessible under the tank and I can only see the white wire under the cab, which goes into the loom so I can't see where it goes after that. I'll study the previous threads and hopefully I'll find out what the problem is and get back to you.