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Fuel gauge FINALLY fixed!!

Started by Charger-Bodie, May 17, 2009, 07:15:00 PM

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Charger-Bodie

Well, just like many of you I have been trying and trying to get my fuel gauge to read right.

Today I finally succeeded to do just that!! Hear is what I went through up to this point:

Installed new fuel pick up-sending unit assembly when I first build the car. just like most of them mine read 3/4 when full. took it out and tried to adjust it only to fail. Next I got another new one and send the gauges to be calibrated.....still the same!  :brickwall: Well then I hear that Frank Batelson come out with new ones that are suppose to cure this problem and read right , I'm like YES this will be it.Nope! Same reading as before. Sp I call Frank (great guy to deal with by the way) and tell him of my troubles and he says "no problem Ill test one and send it to you" That way were sure I'm getting a good one. Well a few days go by,and Frank calls me back and says"Ive tested 4 more of these and none of them are reading right". So hes going back to the guys that manufactured them for him to get them right. In the mean time I'm gettin quite annoyed by this fuel gauge crap, and it dawns on me " All of the originals Ive ever had read right on" So I dig up a old 5/16 unit from a friend of mine (Thanks Buckles!!) Changed just the gauge sender part off the old crow and mated it to the new 3/8 unit, put it all back together, filled it with fuel and VIOLA it reads full!!  :2thumbs:
68 Charger R/t white with black v/t and red tailstripe. 440 4 speed ,black interior
68 383 auto with a/c and power windows. Now 440 4 speed jj1 gold black interior .
My Charger is a hybrid car, it burns gas and rubber............

mikepmcs

Bet that feels good to get that monkey off your back.

:2thumbs:
Life isn't Father Knows Best anymore, it's a kick in the face on a saturday night with a steel toed grip kodiak work boot and a trip to the hospital all bloodied and bashed.....for reconstructive surgery. But, what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, right?

Charger-Bodie

Quote from: mikepmcs on May 17, 2009, 07:17:19 PM
Bet that feels good to get that monkey off your back.

:2thumbs:

I cant even believe how good it feels to have solved that dang issue!
68 Charger R/t white with black v/t and red tailstripe. 440 4 speed ,black interior
68 383 auto with a/c and power windows. Now 440 4 speed jj1 gold black interior .
My Charger is a hybrid car, it burns gas and rubber............

mikepmcs

Feelin pretty good myself, got the brake booster, pedals , steering column all back together in the charger today. :2thumbs:
Life isn't Father Knows Best anymore, it's a kick in the face on a saturday night with a steel toed grip kodiak work boot and a trip to the hospital all bloodied and bashed.....for reconstructive surgery. But, what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, right?

Charger-Bodie

Quote from: mikepmcs on May 17, 2009, 07:24:00 PM
Feelin pretty good myself, got the brake booster, pedals , steering column all back together in the charger today. :2thumbs:


Good deal Mike!!
68 Charger R/t white with black v/t and red tailstripe. 440 4 speed ,black interior
68 383 auto with a/c and power windows. Now 440 4 speed jj1 gold black interior .
My Charger is a hybrid car, it burns gas and rubber............

maxwellwedge

Brian - I'm sorry I hyped up those senders to you. The E-Body ones read perfect and I guess the assumption was the B-Body ones were right......wrong! I am hopeful Frank will make it up to you. I hope they get it figured out soon - I need a few.

Charger-Bodie

Quote from: maxwellwedge on May 17, 2009, 07:24:41 PM
Brian - I'm sorry I hyped up those senders to you. The E-Body ones read perfect and I guess the assumption was the B-Body ones were right......wrong! I am hopeful Frank will make it up to you. I hope they get it figured out soon - I need a few.


Im sure he will get them figured out. And as far as hyping them go? hey Im grateful for the help, it was all steps to the cure.

And, as far as the repair that I finnally did to fix it. I would reccomend this to anyone ..... It was easy and it worked out perfect.
68 Charger R/t white with black v/t and red tailstripe. 440 4 speed ,black interior
68 383 auto with a/c and power windows. Now 440 4 speed jj1 gold black interior .
My Charger is a hybrid car, it burns gas and rubber............

Just 6T9 CHGR

Quote from: 1hot68 on May 17, 2009, 07:27:45 PM

..... It was easy and it worked out perfect.

Man I thought it was going to be as easy as hooking the ground strap elsewhere.... :rotz:

Good to see you got it figured out. 
Chris' '69 Charger R/T


Lee A

So you put in a 3/8 fuel sender instead of the old standard 5/16 I have the same problem how did you fix it
1968 Dodge Charger 440
1969 Dodge Charger 383

Lee A

I didn't understand what you did may be I am just stupid :shruggy:
1968 Dodge Charger 440
1969 Dodge Charger 383

tan top

clever idea  :coolgleamA:  good you got it sorted ..sooanoying not knowing how much gas you have in the tank
Feel free to post any relevant picture you think we all might like to see in the threads below!

Charger Stuff 
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,86777.0.html
Chargers in the background where you least expect them 
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,97261.0.html
C500 & Daytonas & Superbirds
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,95432.0.html
Interesting pictures & Stuff 
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,109484.925.html
Old Dodge dealer photos wanted
 http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,120850.0.html

Hemidog

Man, this reminds me of my problem ,that new 3/8 sender I got just can't read right no matter how I bend it, if i bent it one way, it reads full, but never reads empty, and vice versa. I think the "range" is too short...

Off course I threw away my old 5/16  :brickwall:

Charger-Bodie

Quote from: Lee A on May 18, 2009, 02:26:57 AM
So you put in a 3/8 fuel sender instead of the old standard 5/16 I have the same problem how did you fix it


I took the electrical part off of an old 5/16 unit and welded it to the new 3/8 pick-up in place of the part that came on the new one.
68 Charger R/t white with black v/t and red tailstripe. 440 4 speed ,black interior
68 383 auto with a/c and power windows. Now 440 4 speed jj1 gold black interior .
My Charger is a hybrid car, it burns gas and rubber............

charge-it

I'm having that same exact problem with my 3/8ths sending unit. I though it was going to be a simple float adjustment. Figures, I just gave my old tank and 5/16ths sending unit away last week....
Visit our new website:

http://www.pepsparts.com

1969chargerrtse

Great learning tips Brian. I did something wrong with mine when I put the old sending unit in my new tank.  It only reads to 3/8, but worked fine before.  I'll have to pull it out again and see why?
This car was sold many years ago to somebody in Wisconsin. I now am retired and living in Florida.

Just 6T9 CHGR

Quote from: 1969chargerrtse on May 19, 2009, 05:44:46 AM
Great learning tips Brian. I did something wrong with mine when I put the old sending unit in my new tank.  It only reads to 3/8, but worked fine before.  I'll have to pull it out again and see why?
Theres your problem...you got one of those "Canadian" sending units that measures in eighths :slap: :nana:
Chris' '69 Charger R/T


Rolling_Thunder

all the aftermarket units I know of work on a GM resistance value  (90 - 0 Ohms) as oppose to the Mopar 70-10 Ohms...        anyone think it is coincidence that 90-70 is 20 ohms...        20/90 = 22%...    which is about 1/4 the scale on your fuel gauge....         

Once again GM rules the aftermarket.  :rotz:
1968 Dodge Charger - 6.1L Hemi / 6-speed / 3.55 Sure Grip

2013 Dodge Challenger R/T - 5.7L Hemi / 6-speed / 3.73 Limited Slip

1964 Dodge Polara 500 - 440 / 4-speed / 3.91 Sure Grip

1973 Dodge Challenger Rallye - 340 / A-518 / 3.23 Sure Grip

Fred

Quote from: 1HotDaytona on May 18, 2009, 08:18:38 AM
Quote from: Lee A on May 18, 2009, 02:26:57 AM
So you put in a 3/8 fuel sender instead of the old standard 5/16 I have the same problem how did you fix it


I took the electrical part off of an old 5/16 unit and welded it to the new 3/8 pick-up in place of the part that came on the new one.

I'm curious to know, when removing the electrical part of the 5/16 unit, is there a trick involved so as not to do any damage to the tube?
Thanks, Fred 


Tomorrow is promised to no one.......drive your Charger today.

Big Sugar

Quote from: mikepmcs on May 17, 2009, 07:17:19 PM
Bet that feels good to get that monkey off your back.

:2thumbs:


He's got a Monkey TOO ?



Ron



[img]<table border="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="182" id="table1" height="202" bordercolorlight="#ECEBF1" bordercolordark="#E9DFD1" b

Nacho-RT74

what I have done fixing the reading is open the rheostat unit from the new replacement piece and readjust the point against the coil untill get around 10 ohms at full and 75 at empty... then bend here and there the floater arm to go according with the fuel level... done!

The only "problem" at this moment is really the difference allong the reading, noticing how the first half of tank ( between full and 1/2 )  gets lower faster than the last half being it should be in fact opossite due the shape of the tank, but already read around is the lack of turns on rheostat making more aritmethical than logaritmic. Not a big deal really

Venezuelan RT 74 400 4bbl, 727, 8.75 3.23 open. Now stroked with 440 crank and 3.55 SG. Here is the History and how is actually: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,7603.0/all.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,25060.0.html

Charger-Bodie

Quote from: Fred on July 20, 2013, 12:34:57 AM
Quote from: 1HotDaytona on May 18, 2009, 08:18:38 AM
Quote from: Lee A on May 18, 2009, 02:26:57 AM
So you put in a 3/8 fuel sender instead of the old standard 5/16 I have the same problem how did you fix it


I took the electrical part off of an old 5/16 unit and welded it to the new 3/8 pick-up in place of the part that came on the new one.

I'm curious to know, when removing the electrical part of the 5/16 unit, is there a trick involved so as not to do any damage to the tube?
Thanks, Fred 

I use a grinder . Just grunge a little at a time until its able to work off. Just keep bending the sacrificial part to see if your getting close to having it ground through the welds.
68 Charger R/t white with black v/t and red tailstripe. 440 4 speed ,black interior
68 383 auto with a/c and power windows. Now 440 4 speed jj1 gold black interior .
My Charger is a hybrid car, it burns gas and rubber............

Fred

Quote from: 1HotDaytona on July 20, 2013, 07:21:11 AM
Quote from: Fred on July 20, 2013, 12:34:57 AM
Quote from: 1HotDaytona on May 18, 2009, 08:18:38 AM
Quote from: Lee A on May 18, 2009, 02:26:57 AM
So you put in a 3/8 fuel sender instead of the old standard 5/16 I have the same problem how did you fix it


I took the electrical part off of an old 5/16 unit and welded it to the new 3/8 pick-up in place of the part that came on the new one.

I'm curious to know, when removing the electrical part of the 5/16 unit, is there a trick involved so as not to do any damage to the tube?
Thanks, Fred 

I use a grinder . Just grunge a little at a time until its able to work off. Just keep bending the sacrificial part to see if your getting close to having it ground through the welds.

Thanks for that, I'll give it a go with my dremel tool with a cutting disc.   :2thumbs:


Tomorrow is promised to no one.......drive your Charger today.

Fred



Tomorrow is promised to no one.......drive your Charger today.

Fred

Quote from: Nacho-RT74 on July 20, 2013, 05:59:41 AM
what I have done fixing the reading is open the rheostat unit from the new replacement piece and readjust the point against the coil untill get around 10 ohms at full and 75 at empty... then bend here and there the floater arm to go according with the fuel level... done!

The only "problem" at this moment is really the difference allong the reading, noticing how the first half of tank ( between full and 1/2 )  gets lower faster than the last half being it should be in fact opossite due the shape of the tank, but already read around is the lack of turns on rheostat making more aritmethical than logaritmic. Not a big deal really



Thanks for your input Nacho.   :2thumbs:


Tomorrow is promised to no one.......drive your Charger today.