fuel gauge fix

[cavemanno1]

Hi All!

Can you guys help us out with our fuel gauge problem?We had to change the fuel tank,sending unit,fuel pump and the filter!The tank and the sending unit was rusty like it was sitting in water,no wonder we had to change the filters 3times! 10 before our wedding we were under the car but it worked out well!so anyway i was hoping the fuel gauge would read something now but nothing!
what can it be?do we need a new gauge or just needs fixing somehow?

thanks

Veronika and Peter

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Do you have the metal ground strap hooked up between the main fuel line & the sending unit?

[cavemanno1]

yes,we put it back but nothing
so what can be wrong?

thanks,

Peter

[A383Wing]

bad gauge, bad sender, loose wire between sender & gauge, sunk sender float

do the other gauges work? (oil & temp)

[cavemanno1]

the sender is brand new,the temp gauge works but not the oil,
bit frustrating not to know how much gas we have!we just keep filling her up but would be great to see how much gas in it!

thanks

Peter

[A383Wing]

just because sender is new does not mean it's good....did you ohm it out?

[cavemanno1]

What does ohm out the sender mean?it's sending the fuel so it's good,isn't it?

[y3chargerrt]

Disconnect the wire going to the sending unit and ground it. Turn the ignition switch to the run position and watch the fuel gauge. It should go to full. If it does the sending unit is the problem. If it doesn't move then its the wiring or the gauge.

[squeakfinder]

Disconnect the wire going to the sending unit and ground it. Turn the ignition switch to the run position and watch the fuel gauge. It should go to full. If it does the sending unit is the problem. If it doesn't move then its the wiring or the gauge.

    And the fun begins.

[cavemanno1]

thanks a lot!

[y3chargerrt]

Don't leave it keyed on for too long. Normally a full tank has around 10 ohms of resistence. You could burn up your gauge if you leave it on with shorted wiring for too long.

[70rr 69ch]

Be carful I just spent 2 days on my sending unit a it was my gauge.I did the test and my gauge went to full,tried different sender still didn't work.bench tested sender ok?put in car won't work,try ground test again gauge went to full.repeat every thing several times turn out to be gauge out of calibration I had a half tank of fuel and gauge was out by half a tank= no reading on gauge that's 2 days I won't get back

[mysil bergsprekken]

Did You figure it out?
I have a similar problem. Mine reads half full when full and reads empty a long time before it is really empty. Have no idea what is creating it though.

[maxwellwedge]

Welcome to the world of reproduction fuel sending units. Usually they read 3/4 when full.

It baffles me that 40-50 year old+ technology works and the new crap doesn't.

[tatrick2me]

Welcome to the world of reproduction fuel sending units. Usually they read 3/4 when full.

It baffles me that 40-50 year old+ technology works and the new crap doesn't.

99.9 times out of 100 your problem is a leaking sender unit float. It takes forever but the bad float fills with gas. The more gas in it the less air in it to float it.

[mysil bergsprekken]

I've heard a lot of people have had problems with them, and bending the metal string that holds the float to make it shorter so it has a shorter arm to pivot, and hence will give readings of a full tank when it is full because of its shorter range.

Another issue is a leaking sender unit float, as you mention "tatrick2me", so it is unable to float as high as it is supposed to. This I think can be my problem, unless it is the gauge itself.
I believe that I have the original sending unit still in the original tank, but I am not 100% certain. It sure looks like it though considering the coating of the tank and the looks of the sending unit.

Any other factors that can interfer with correct readings?

[71charger]

Did You figure it out?
I have a similar problem. Mine reads half full when full and reads empty a long time before it is really empty. Have no idea what is creating it though.

I have the exact same problem in my 71!!!

[Budnicks]

Maybe the voltage limiter on the back of your printed circuit,    is it the only gauge not working     or the bad ground, circuit board or gauge itself is bad maybe...   

[Cooter]

Said it before, I'll say it again....DO NOT RUN THE BRASS FLOATS, OR THE PLASTIC FLOATS....

Go by your local mechanic at his/her shop and ask to have ALL the old fuel sender units they replace when doing fuel pumps in newer cars, and grab the newer style float and a section of the arm to "Tac" weld to you existing arm....The ethanol in todays fuels is eating the plastic ones. I've also experienced cracking of brass AND the plastic floats right where the arm snaps around them....Replaced my General Lees fuel sender float with one from a later model Ford Taurus and works like a charm now...

[mysil bergsprekken]

Said it before, I'll say it again....DO NOT RUN THE BRASS FLOATS, OR THE PLASTIC FLOATS....

Go by your local mechanic at his/her shop and ask to have ALL the old fuel sender units they replace when doing fuel pumps in newer cars, and grab the newer style float and a section of the arm to "Tac" weld to you existing arm....The ethanol in todays fuels is eating the plastic ones. I've also experienced cracking of brass AND the plastic floats right where the arm snaps around them....Replaced my General Lees fuel sender float with one from a later model Ford Taurus and works like a charm now...

Thanks for the advice! Then I know I won't replace the float with a brass float if it turns out I do need to replace it. sounds reasonable. Not sure what type of plastic most plastic floats are made of, but I have experienced that different types of plastic in touch with gas will get fragile over a longer timespan.

Brass float?: RSP11    Sending unit float, all Chrysler, aftermarket.
"Sending unit hardware-aftermarket float is correct for all Chrysler sending units equipped with a brass float."
But is it a brass float, or just a float intended to replace the brass float, and is in fact steel?