36 feul gauge

D

drezin

Member
I have a 36 feul gauge and new sender unit that is compatable with the gauge, The reading was very erradic for a time and finally quit. Found out the battery was hooked up neg. grnd. (6 volt) That has been corrected. The gauge still shows nothing.Is there a way to check the units with a meter? Sender has a separate ground that is working.
 
A simple check I use is to remove the power wire (-) from the tank unit, turn on the power and ground the wire to any metal piece on the car. The dash gauge arrow should go up. Don't let the arrow go past full. If the dash indicator doesn't move, the gauge is probably "cooked" and you will need another or a break in the wiring between the tank of dash unit is at fault. If it does move, the fuel tank assembly has a problem.
 
I have a big 50ohm resistor. That hooked up between ground and wire going to gauge should place the needle somewhere in the middle position. This way i can do the testing myself without running around being scared frying something.New sender as in aftermarket is a gamble...If you was close to me i could probably repair your old one and it would work better then the new...
 
Is your sender unit an original King Seeley ford type or a freshly bought new variable resistance type. If its the latter type then it is not compatible with the original ford fuel gauge. Yes I know that the retailer says it will work Ok but in reality in most cases it wont. Remove the wire off the sender unit and turn the ignition on and the gauge should go to full. Then ground that wire and the gauge should read empty. Don't leave the gauge on over past the full mark for more than a few seconds otherwise the gauge will overheat. Test for power at the gauge ignition terminal with a test light. Regards, Kevin.
 
Problem with some of the aftermarket new tanks is that they don´t even take an original ford sender...they have the later VDO bolt pattern...and probably a chinese VDO copy sender in there...not an easy start to get things right :o
 
I'm betting if it's not an original sending unit, being used with your original gauge, the problem is the tank unit. I've been down that road.
 
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