The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay FACTORY GAUGES -FUEL GAUGE PROB 1963 C-10

Put a complete new wiring harness in truck last week. Used only the old working gauges. Put a new sending unit in tank also. ---Fuel gauge worked prior, but reads empty now. Yes..there is plenty of fuel in tank, but the needle isnt even readable. Took the gauges apart...all good. Double checked all wiring was correct from factory...all good. Really need some help here. Everything else in truck in completely sound.

To decide whether the trouble is towards the sender or back towards the guage: remove the sender wire (the one coming from the guage) at the tank and let it dangle in mid air, turn the key on, guage should read full. If it does - the guage is good and trouble is in the sender. If it doesn't, trace that lead back towards the guage, it's grounded somewhere.

Note: make sure the sender wire to the guage is connected to the sender post, not the ground post!!

I pulled the wire off the tank and still got nothing. The harness came from classic chevy, so Im sure its decent quality. Im going to pull the fuse box off the wall tomorrow and make sure that everything is where its suppossed to be. Brand new wiring and this thing has me really puzzeled.

Also...old gauge # was 5644548 and new gauge # 5643018. Dont know if that helps. Was conversion from warning lights to factory gauges

You might check to see if yur getting battery voltage on the "hot" terminal of the guage when you turn the key on. Could be a wiring issue and not sure what is fused in your new harness but with a 12V trouble light you should be able to run this down.

ok. Thanks. At this point im open to all leads. All the fuses are good. I will check the back of the fuse box tomorrow. The wiring diagram from the 63 shop book shows the batt gauge running off the same pink wire, and that works fine. Im wondering if the pink wire isn't possibly broke where it "T's". Then theres the brown wire running to the box. And then to the tank sender. This wouldn't be the first new part to be broken before from the factory.

The shop manual shows the pink wire on the right if factory gauges, and on the left for warning lights. As you look at the front of the gauge. Any thoughts on this?

Sorry, I can't help you on that one. I don't have any info for the '63's.

FYI, on the older guages the case also has to have a good ground, either mechanically to the dash or possibly via a ground clip attached to the guage.

Hopefully someone will post soon on how that pink wire connects.

It has two threaded bolts that come through the back of the gauge, the gauge get bolted to a cup and the cup goes in the cluster. All the other gauges work fine. Everything electric is working except gauge. Just not getting power. Im going to put a meter on the wire tomorrow and chase it all the way to tank if I have to open every harness to get there.

First thing I'd do is check that pink wire for 12V when the key is on. Then make sure it's on the correct guage stud.

Ok. Thanks

I bought one of these gauges on Ebay AC / 5643018 to use in my 62 C10, hooked it up. Turned the ignition on, fried my harness all the way back to the steering column. Still do not have a working fuel gauge, and now I have a burnt harness to go with it. The L shaped plug that plugs into the gauge pretty much keeps you from plugging it in wrong.