fuel gauge

[neil9428]

hi, not sure if my problem is mechanical or electrical but i will put it on here anyway.my fuel gauge reads back to front ( empty when full, full when empty)i have changed the gauge with one i know works and it reads the same, has any one ever had this problem,or is my morris special,it has been changed to neg earth,could that be the reason,hope some one can help me , nearly finished and ready for the road but this is niggling me like one of those rattles you cant find.

[mike.perry]

Pos/neg earth will make no difference

[bmcecosse]

If it's the early fast moving needle - I think you DO need to reverse the connections on the back of the gauge. Can't see what else it could be!

[neil9428]

thanks for yur reply, i have changed the terminals round and it has no effect,

[bmcecosse]

Ohhh -well -can only imagine that somehow the sender in the tank has been installed incorrectly. Has it 'always' been like this - or has it suddenly happened?

[neil9428]

only had the car a few months, the seller told me it had always been like it,

[mike.perry]

If it reads accurately in the wrong direction it still does its job.
Looking at the back,the right terminal (T) goes to the tank and the left terminal (B) goes to fuse

[bmcecosse]

Says these have been swapped over to no good effect........

[mike.perry]

What colour speedo?

[neil9428]

the speedo is black faced.

[bmcecosse]

So - will be 'slow moving' gauge - and indeed swapping terminals etc will make no odds. So - it MUST be the sender is fitted upside-down !

[MarkyB]

the sender is fitted upside-down !

From inside the tank? Wow!

Is the gauge black too?

[bmcecosse]

Can't see how else this gauge can read 'upside-down'.............

[MarkyB]

I'd call it back to front, maybe someone in the past had the gauge apart and reassembled it wrong?

[bmcecosse]

[neil9428]

thanks for all your help, i might just live with it and carry a jerry can full of fuel until i know how accurate it is,thanks again,

[mike.perry]

As long as you know that full is empty and empty is full - no problem. What does the gauge read with the ignition off?

[neil9428]

the gauge reads empty with the ignition off.

[picky]

If the steel wire support for the float in the petrol tank had been bent round a bit when it was fitted, I think this would make the sender report the opposite.... Would have to be bent alot though!

[bmcecosse]

I don't buy that - it's still got to 'float' on top of the fuel.