Fuel Gauge Voltage Stabiliser

[jgunson]

I've just bought a bronze face speedo for my 1961 traveller to replace a black faced later version. Looking at various wiring diagrams it doesn't seem that a voltage stabilizer is required on the early versions. Anyone know if this is actually the case?

[simmitc]

Correct. The early gauges were different to the later ones. If you turn on the ignition then you get an instant reading, whereas with the later ones the pointer slowly moves to the reading position. beware, the sender units are different, so the question is whether yours was swapped at the time of the speedo change or not. One sort of gauge is referred to as "moving coil" and the other isn't; but I can't remember which is which.

[jgunson]

Thanks, I need to check but I'm assuming the previous owner changed the tank sender for the later one when changing the speedo. I am looking around for the old type of sender to replace it.

[Willie]

If your black faced speedo fuel gauge worked ok then you must have the later type sender unit which has a Lucar push on connector on the sender. If you have fitted a bronzed faced unit then you MUST obtain the earlier t ype sender which has a nut on the terminal.

[dalebrignall]

esm do both types of sender unit the earlier one is smaller

[Willie]

They are fully interchangeable, you do not have to change the tank!

[jtd.75]

Hi Willie other than the electric connector on the fuel tank sender are the senders the same, on the 1960 two door (948cc) that I have almost finished retoring it has a black speedo with four warning lights on it and the fuel tank sender is of a screw type connection and to best of my knowledge neither look as though they have been changed but going by what as been said so far on this topic it looks as though on of them has. Without checking the full Chassis no/ I think it starts with 88****

[jtd.75]

Just been out and checked the vin no/ is M/A2S3. 833891 and the engine no/ is 9AB-U-L5524

[Willie]

No, the nutted and push on type senders work in exactly opposite ways
hence the large number of Minors where the fuel gauges read backwards! What is the SN number on the face of your present black faced speedo?
SIMMMITC, the early ones are moving coil the later damped type are thermally operated.

[Willie]

ITD75..........that engine is from an A35 or an Austin A40, both 948cc
so the speedo was probably originally black faced on those models. There was a later Mini engine ( 9AG-automatic) so there could be other possibilities. It is certainly not originally from a Minor.

[jtd.75]

Thanks Willie for the info re- engine number and what you are saying then about the fuel sender in my tank (screw type of conector) will read back wards on the black speedo is that right. Other than a change of either sender or speedo is there any way to over come this problem like just swopping over the wires from the gauge to the tank sender, o and by the way I have change the cars polarity from pos to neg earth. When I got this car it came with 2 engines and 2 gear boxs 1 was a 1098 and the other a 948 and as the log book said 948 i put in the 948 engine and gear box assuming the 948 was the correct engine at the time I did not check the log book for the correct engine number but thinking back I seem to remember the log book said a different engine no/ and I put the 948 engine no/ that I had on the log book when I sent it off to the DVLA.

[jtd.75]

Willie and you have just answered why the fuel gauge on my 1967 Morris LD Ambulance was always reading empty. It had a moving coil and the gauge always showed empty, it had a black speedo and screw conections on the tank sender.

[jtd.75]

how does one get to show photo,s when they answer or submit a question on the forum eg when Willie post a reply it shows his convertable??

[bigginger]

Press the 'profile' button at the top of your screen, and enter an adapted version of this -


then press 'submit'. Dont forget to include an [/img] tag at the end of your picture's URL.

[jtd.75]

Hi Willie this is the sn/ of the speedo in the 948cc 1960 is 4423/00 and then 1504 it also came with a further 2 blk speedo's with the follow sn/ 4423/04 1408 and 4418/04A 1374, I don't supose any of these belong to it then, like I said in a previous post last year that when I got the car it was off an old guy (80) a bit older than me who had started to restore it in the early 1980's the welding that was. He had removed everything off it down to its bare shell and just put everything in carboard box's and then shoved them in his attic, when I got it off him there was 2 or 3 of everything in unmarked box's some new some reconditioned and some old and put the car together was like doing a jigsaw without a picture and I was having to use my 1962 1098 as a rough guide
Jimmy

[Willie]

Your speedo SN numbers do not appear in my lists of Minor units.
It is no use changing over the leads on the fuel gauges as they are not polarity conscious. ALL bronze faced Minor speedos, including the first two years of the 1098cc type had nutted sender units. ALL Minor black faced speedos (1964 onwards) had the Lucar push on connector. As a last resort you could change the fuel gauge in the speedo but it will probably look a bit naff!

[jtd.75]

Thanks Willie for the info, I'll just after keep filling her up after every 100 mile's when I finally finish the restore. All I have left to do is the fiddly little cosmetic jobs (I hope)

[Welung666]

There's an early screw type sender unit on eBay at the moment.

[jtd.75]

Thanks Lee, but I already have the screw type its the lucar type that I require or a bronge speedo.

[Welung666]

Try this one then ;)