The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay HELP!!! Brand new fuel gauge!

I ordered a new guage cluster from Carter, now fully installed, but the fuel gauge doesn't work...barely reads off empty even with a full tank. Other gauges appear ok. Could this be a 6V/12V thing (my truck is a 6V)that I could fix somehow on the truck, or do I need to pull the whole cluster and send it back? ANNOYING little electrical gremlins, even more so when I'm paying someone else to find out about and try to diagnose these problems!!!! Can anyone HELP???

Before I sent the gauges back, I would try checking the sending unit in the tank..

Sorry, should have posted this in my original email....I've tried three different sending units, at least two of which are known good. Thanks for the idea, though! Any more thoughts?

You probably need to use a Carter sending unit, matched to your gauge ... I'd call them and ask.

Alan Horvath
54 Chevy Pickup

Fred, When you say two senders are known to be good, did you meter them ?

Take a look at this web page.

I found it by typing "fuel gauge repair" in a Google search line..

I hope you are putting a siren and emergency lights on this GMC. I have never seen posts about any other vehicle that create such a sense of urgency..

Well, Bill, the sending units were working in the trucks they came out of....

As for the sense of urgency, I WAS trying to get the truck done for the Memorial Day parade. Guess I can tone it down now that the next big one is the fourth of July!!!

Left to do: Directionals, wiper motor, (fuel gauge of course), interior trim (visors, etc) and front end vibration exorcism. I'll try to finish without more help, but gee, I thought that was what this board was for...and anyway, there's no way I'll keep that commitment since I now have a radio to restore. Sorry if it bothers you....come to think of it, maybe sirens and lights would dress it up a bit....

Just curious as to how you are doing with your fuel gauge problem , FredB.. Did you try any of the fixes in the article I posted ? Let us know..

Carter wants me to send the whole cluster back....which I'll do once the truck is back in my possession.

Did you try any of the fixes in the article ? The simple tests mentioned would determine whether the gauge or the sender is the culprit ..You could save yourself some postage..

Bill: Have you used the .60 cent voltage regulators mentioned in the link? At that price, I could afford to buy them for my whole fleet. I also noticed that they have them for positive ground systems as well. Let me know, while I still have a job, may retrofit the whole fleet....

Splashoil, I am still running 6 volts on my truck so I do not need the regulator..

It is an interesting way around the 6 volt vs 12 volt question if it works...

Bill, I tried to get the shop owner to test it with those fixes...my sense is that he's tired of messing with it, and just wants it out so he can work on the insurance jobs where he makes serious money. Once I get it home, tomorrow, I'll try first chance I get. Otherwise, it goes back in two weeks to finish up all the loose ends (wiper motor, fuel gauge, and any other items I'm not happy with....before he gets final payment.)

It started working yesterday on it's own....now I have to see how dependable and accurate it is.

That means the problem is grounding.

Fred: if all else fails, follow directions.