Petrol Tank Sender

Post by **RogerRust** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:04 pm

I think that this is a Mechanical rather than an Electrical topic.

My fuel gauge never reads above half full.

Is it just a matter of overhauling the sender unit to make it work? I hope that a bit of adjustment and a careful rebuild will fix it.

Has anyone got any experience?
What I plan to do is remove the existing sender, fiddle with it for a few days, then throw it away and buy a new one!

Post by **chickenjohn** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:25 pm

If the sender is faulty, there is not much you can do other than replace it, I think! Check earths and the gauge as well.

Post by **Willie** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:45 am

It is possible that the sender unit has been fitted 180 degrees out!
If this is the case the float is prevented from lifting high enough.
Viewed from the REAR of the car the terminal on the sender should be
pointing to the right hand side. Unfortunately,you have to remove the wooden floor to get at it. A bad earth is obviously another possibility which
you can prove by applying another link to the chassis whilst watching the
fuel gauge.(dont leave the ignition on for too long if the engine is not running).

Post by **Packedup** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:09 pm

Also check the float still does

Post by **RogerRust** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:53 pm

thanks I'll have a good look and test it before I get too involved.

Post by **RogerRust** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:04 pm

Willie, you may have the answer. If you look at the circle of the sender flange from the back the spade is at 1 oclockish (new word). At weekend I'll undo all the little screws that hold the trim bars down and remove the wooden floor so I can have a proper look.

Post by **Willie** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:21 pm

Well, that is what I meant by pointing towards the right hand side so I am
afraid the only way will be to remove it from the tank and check that it is
mounted so that the float is free to rise and fall without hitting anything.
You would have thought that it would have been designed so that it would
only fit in one position but that is not the case.

Post by **RogerRust** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 8:05 pm

Thanks Willie, sure enough I moved the sender unit round by one hole and now it clears the baffle that was stopping its travel.
I did check it worked when out of the tank and adjusted the finger on the unit so that it makes a good contact with the wires on the resistor plate.
However the real problem was the alignment.

thanks again - Roger.

Post by **minor_hickup** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 2:37 pm

I had a similar problem to you and the voltage regulator located behind the speedo was at fault and not giving an adequate current to the fuel gauge. You may want to put a multimeter on and check the voltage. The voltage regulator is located at the back of the speedo at the top and should have a brown top although some dont!