| Author |
Message |
Gerald Alfred (204.251.167.183)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 4:58 pm: | |
My fuel gauge recently stopped working. It is a realatively new unit. I recently changed my dash and maybe did something there. Unfortunately I can't get to the sending unit, so my other hope is a bad gauge. Is there a way to test the gauge to help me narrow in on the problem? |
TomNPat (68.137.169.20)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 11:14 pm: | |
Don't know what kind of bus, but try an Ohm meter to check the output of your sender. The resistance is varied by the sender according to fuel level and the guage reacts as such. Testing the sender could be done by moving the float on the sender if you can find it.
You could test the gauge likewise, by using varying resistance/ resistors, so see 'da book'.
Your manuals should show you whether resistance decreases as fuel goes down or vice versa. I know the brands of cars vary, so a dodge fuel gauge will read backward on a gm or a ford, one of the two. |
Phil Dumpster (24.16.243.37)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 11:19 pm: | |
99% of fuel gauge problems are caused by faulty wiring and connections. |
BrianMCI96A3 (65.41.212.127)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 12:19 am: | |
Gerald, looking at the back of your fuel gauge one terminal on the gauge should be to the positive (on a negative ground system) side of the battery at key on. Check for this with a test light, if there is no power on either terminal, you've found the problem.
If there is power to the gauge, the opposite terminal should go to the sender...then to ground through the varying resistance of the sender.
Clip a jumper wire to ground and...carefully... touch it to the terminal that goes to the SENDER, and only that terminal.
With key on, the gauge should peg in one direction or the other, full or empty.
If it doesn't, your gauge is bad, if it does either the wire to the sender is bad, or the sender is.
If you can get to the sender, removing the wire at the sender and touching it to ground with the
key on should peg the gauge, if it doesn't and you've already tested the gauge an known good, the wire from the gauge itself is bad.
But, in the vast majority of the cases our shop has repaired over the years maybe as much as 95 percent of all fuel gauge problems were caused by a faulty sender.
Brian |
Gerald.Alfred (204.251.167.183)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 8:35 am: | |
Thanks guys I will try this and let you know what happens. By the way, I have an Eagle 20 NJT, which had no fuel gauge but the sending unit was already in the tank. It was working until I changed out my dash. |
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