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Post by warndbqe on May 8, 2015 22:27:30 GMT -5
I had the fuel tank and fuel sender replaced on my 63 Meteor S33. The tank had too much gunk in it, the filter on the sender was deteriorated and the fuel pump had failed because of the junk from the tank. Before the car sat for several years the fuel gauge would not read more than 3/4 full. Now, it won't read more than 1/8 to 1/4 full when fully fueled.
Suggestions on most likely causes? I am hoping I do not have to drop the tank again if I do not have to.
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Post by w2zero on May 8, 2015 22:57:08 GMT -5
Okaaaaayyy, I expect that you have a new sender on there....yes? You don't have to drop the tank to pull the fuel sender. There is a dandy fuel sender wrench you can find on ebay like this one. Fits your Meteor, Fairlanes and early Mopars too. I got mine from ebay for 14 bucks. www.gastanks.com/Mopar-Sending-Unit-Lock-Ring-Wrench/productinfo/C-LRW/One of the possibilities is that your float arm is bent wrong, it should just barely hold up from the bottom of the tank by maybe an eighth inch. The other possibility is that is the craptastic yellow wire sender that one of the ebay vendors sells that registers wrong because the windings on the sender do not match the original equipment. If that is the case, then you are in luck because www.technoversions.com/MeterMatchHome.html makes a device that you can wire in and adjust the reading on your gauge to match the fuel in the tank. I would pull the sender first and make sure it is actually working correctly. You can wire it up and manually move the float arm and see what the gauge reads. If the gauge is an old one there is the possibility that it has worn a thin spot on the follower or the windings and is stuck to a low setting too. Just carefully unbend the tabs on the winding cover to see. The stock original type have the windings wrapped around a wine glass shaped form to match the fuel level. The bogus ones have a straight rate and form and cannot read right without the electronic correction device. |
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Post by ca on May 9, 2015 2:39:26 GMT -5
Could a bad ground cause this? My fuel gauge was very erratic until I cleaned up the ground connection by the tank. My gauge never has exactly touched the full line when filled, but I love having about 4/5 gallons in the tank when it hits E....especially when the daughter drives it. I've told her to never let it get to the E but GIRLS(!). I've never had to rescue her at midnight because she ran it out of gas, thanks to the big "empty".
There are a few more fuel gauge questions and answers a few pages back in this section with some good info in them.
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Post by warndbqe on May 9, 2015 12:30:24 GMT -5
Thank you w2zero and ca. Great suggestions and "how to" get it done. I will give those things a try. The installed fuel sender is new from Auto Krafters. I do not know the manufacturer. Amazing how many classic car parts are manufactured overseas. The fuel tank is also new and I believe was made in Taiwan.
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Post by ca on May 20, 2015 17:27:14 GMT -5
Thank you w2zero and ca. Great suggestions and "how to" get it done. I will give those things a try. The installed fuel sender is new from Auto Krafters. I do not know the manufacturer. Amazing how many classic car parts are manufactured overseas. The fuel tank is also new and I believe was made in Taiwan. Not that it's a classic but my old(1987) Ford Ranger PU needed wheel bearings. One part of the bearing said "Made in Slovakia" another part of the bearing was made in Turkey or in that area anyway. Seems it would have been easier and better to have them made in the same place. |
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Post by w2zero on May 23, 2015 14:52:35 GMT -5
If the sender came from Auto Custom, (there may not be a way to know that) it is likely the much-dreaded and highly inaccurate Yellow Wire sender that does not match our dash gauges. The Meter Match from TechnoVersions should correct that.
A bad Ground at the tank will generally either show up as an erratic reading or none at all. There is a little spring steel clip back there that is supposed to scrape a bare spot on the tank and car body to keep them grounded. Easy test is to wire to a good ground and the tank with some jumper leads. Should that test indicate a bad ground you can restore it at the clip or you can attach a ground wire to the body and use a tiny hose clamp to complete the connection directly to the gas outlet on the fuel sender.
You can test the gauge too, just pull the wire off the tank and ground it, it should indicate full.
The fuel and temp gauges are the same thing, just attached to different places. So if you need a replacement, either will do.
Another problem with those gauges is the dash voltage regulator. Some suffer a partial failure and will indicate lower than actual. Ground the temp sender wire underhood and it should show hot.
So if both gauges are showing low, it is probably the dash voltage regulator and some of those have a tiny screw to adjust the voltage to 5 volts. You can purchase them new and there are also electronic voltage regulators as well to replace them.
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Post by ca on May 29, 2015 20:22:44 GMT -5
Thank you w2zero and ca. Great suggestions and "how to" get it done. I will give those things a try. The installed fuel sender is new from Auto Krafters. I do not know the manufacturer. Amazing how many classic car parts are manufactured overseas. The fuel tank is also new and I believe was made in Taiwan. Wondering how you came out with this/what the fix was, or if you've gotten to it, yet. |
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