The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Gas Guage Question

I have a 42 Chevy 1/2 Ton that I'm converting over to 12V. I also replaced the fuel tank (original was rotted beyond repair) with a late model chevy tank under the rear of the frame. My question is, will my stock guage work with the 80-something chevy sending unit? I know I need to use the resistor to drop the voltage to the guage, but I don't know the resitance values of the original sending units versus the late model. Anyone have an idea?

most of the ad's were 30 ohms,not sure what your chevy sending unit is,, you might call chevy dealership parts and they can probably tell you what you have,,,,,both sender and guage have to match up, I got tired of fooling with mine and bought a stewart unit and guage to match, works great..good luck on your problem...regards,,Fred

The original dash gauge and sender worked in a range of 0-30 ohms. The modern senders work in a range from 30-90 ohms. The sender needs to match the gauge to make everything work right. It is usually easiest (cheaper) to make the sender match the gauge. The Runtz will make the original gauge work properly when the rest of the electrical system has been converted to 12 Volts. There you have it.....

Thanks Randy

Hey Joker..I have a question, since you are the gas gauge guru..I just put a new ground wire on the sending unit to the cab, and cleaned up the wire from the sending unit to the gauge..When I turn the key on, the needle on the gauge will go up to about 1/4, same as before..So, I wacked the tank a couple times, and the gauge bounced all over the place..Question..Do you believe my sending unit is history? Those clutch heads don't come off real easy on that sending unit..Thanks, Steve

Also, the needle bounces when I drive..Help

Shooper, thanks for the nice comments about me being a gas gauge guru,that is why I installed a stewart warner guage/ sender in mine,,, the only thing that I can tell you is that when your trucks burps once or twice you are out of gas that experience comes from drivin around with the gauge not working,how come your screws are so hard to get out,they are not very long, at least on a 52,,,I think your gauge may be broke but ........just invest in an aftermarket, your truck is not stock and org so one more minor add on should be ok,,,,just my 2 cents....Fred

I looked at the SW gauges, but don't think their sending units will work in my tank..My gas pickup comes out of the top of the sending unit..Did find a new one at the Truck Shop, for only $24.00..Looks like a deal to me, but don't think it will match the SW..Theirs are 0-90ohms, and the original is 0-30ohms..Well, back out in the heat to see what else I can get into..Steve

Hey bro..Looks like someone put some sealumup stuff on these screws..Got me some new clutch head drivers, and ended up using vise grips..Guess the PO didn't figure on replacing a sending unit..Got some pretty good pinch marks though..Steve