The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Another Fuel Gauge Question

Hello Stovebolters!

Have read thru the forum posts on fuel gauge issues and still having issues.

Some background:

My son and I have a '53 3100 with a 216 splasher. Running on about 3 1/2 cylinders, we are working toward a heart transplant soon. In the mean time we are readying the truck by following the advice of stovebolters focusing on starting, stopping, and steering.

We have recently upgraded the electrical system to 12V with an Alternator. We upgraded the bulbs, flasher, and added a voltage reducer to fuel gauge. After some trouble shooting we have all the lights burning bright, gauges working well, starting quickly... all worked great except the fuel gauge.

Constantly shows empty. Here is the trouble shooting:

1) Measured voltage to back of gauge from ignition - 7.2v
2) Measured voltage running to sender is .5V out the back of the gauge.
3) Tank is ground by short lead from sender bolt to cab.
4) Continuity of all wires shows good (wire to sender, sender to frame, frame to negative post on batter).
5) removed sender and tested resistance. All over the place from 0 ohms empty to 156 ohms full.

So we ordered new sender and 12v gauge. Installed everything, removed voltage reducer, and Voila! EXACT SAME CONDITION. Very satisfying to spend $100, 4 hours of time and have the exact same results! HA!

I believe my parts are the correct parts from Classic Chevy. 0-30ohm Sender and 12v 1952-1953 Gauge.

So, reading the forum posts, everyone talks about grounds being the problem. My tank is grounded well. Bare metal on both ends... good to go there.

The other side is the ground on the gauge cluster. I checked the continuity between the sender and the gauge case and tester shows good continuity.

So my questions are:

1) How do I know if the actual gauge is grounded?
2) My battery is grounded to the truck frame. Should I ground it any other way? Everything else on the truck runs well.
3) What should the voltage value be at the sending unit ?
4) How many times should I rack my head on the emergency brake climbing under the dash until the gauge works correctly?

Would enjoy any feedback...especially feedback that WORKS!

Thanks for the help...glad to be part of the Stovebolt community!

The new gauge grounds Here

Sometimes the new needle will set to high and get pinched by the Bezel.
...check new needle...

Don't check for voltage at the gas tank sender, check for ohms
0 empty. 30 full

Here's an article that explains how a fuel gauge works - http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-gauge1.htm

Read it.

You can do a very simple test to verify that the gauge works. Disconnect the wire that goes to the fuel tank. The gauge should read empty, because you have maximum resistance (infinite). Connect the terminal to ground. The gauge should read full, because you have minimum resistance (zero). If it doesn't, the gauge is defective.

Ok, so looks like I have it working...

After several bench tests that worked and then full assembly...nothing, I stumbled upon the problem...

The gauge would work fine with the bezel off but once I reassembled it, gauge would hang. So after "tweeking" the inner divider frame out from the gauges toward the gas... it works. Seems as though the new gauge worked the entire time but the obstruction caused the issue.

Thanks for all who helped. I would bet I could pass any certification test for fuel gauge circuitry! HA!

Have a great week 'Bolters

Dad and Son.