fuel guage or sending unit
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 80
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From: Sylvania Ohio
fuel guage or sending unit
My 73 the fuel guage always says empty. I know gas is expensive but it ain't empty. I fill it to the top, still say's empty. Where do I look in the dash or pull the tank? I don't want to drop the tank If I don't have to.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
It's probably the sender wire.
You might be able to reach it from the top. It should be off to the right of the filler neck. You'll want to slide it off of the terminal, clean it and the terminals, and install it again.
See, a bad or no connection would leave you with a reading of an empty tank. If you ground that wire with the key in IGN, it should show a full tank.
Your sender wire may have a bad connection, and it might be fine. I would start back there though.
You might be able to reach it from the top. It should be off to the right of the filler neck. You'll want to slide it off of the terminal, clean it and the terminals, and install it again.
See, a bad or no connection would leave you with a reading of an empty tank. If you ground that wire with the key in IGN, it should show a full tank.
Your sender wire may have a bad connection, and it might be fine. I would start back there though.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 5
From: Brown Summit North Carolina
I had a bad wire this past December that was hard to fix.
My car had a new gauge and a new sending unit , but the gauge on my car actuall read way past full.
Had to use a test light and found current to the gauge and current comming out of the gauge. But when I checked the wire under the sill plate there was nothing. Turned out the wire had a cut in it behind the dash after it came out of the gauge. I ran a jumper wire and all is good.
So get a 12V test light and ground it to the frame at the tank. Then touch tip to the wire that plugs to the sending unit with switch on.
If the light does not come one the move to the gauge and see if current is going to the gauge / then out of gauge.
If the light does come at the sending unit test location then the sending unit may be the problem.
But you need to narrow down the possibilites before going forward
David
My car had a new gauge and a new sending unit , but the gauge on my car actuall read way past full.
Had to use a test light and found current to the gauge and current comming out of the gauge. But when I checked the wire under the sill plate there was nothing. Turned out the wire had a cut in it behind the dash after it came out of the gauge. I ran a jumper wire and all is good.
So get a 12V test light and ground it to the frame at the tank. Then touch tip to the wire that plugs to the sending unit with switch on.
If the light does not come one the move to the gauge and see if current is going to the gauge / then out of gauge.
If the light does come at the sending unit test location then the sending unit may be the problem.
But you need to narrow down the possibilites before going forward
David
Last edited by dmayhew; Mar 15, 2008 at 11:48 AM.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: Sylvania Ohio
I climbed under the car. First let me say I just bought this car, so I don't know much about it. When I bought it I had it on a lift to check out the underside for rust and stuff like that, but wasn't anything that stuck out at me. Now back to the present, I removed the spare tire and related items. The gas tank is new, along with the hoses and it appears the sending unit has been replaced. That had me worried so I checked, and the car has not been wrecked. I called the original owner he said that the tank leaked, so he had it replaced. The fuel guage still says empty. With a voltmeter, should there be voltage at the sending unit between the post and the ground tab?
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 5
From: Brown Summit North Carolina
All you need is a test light. Ground it to the frame not to paint.
Then touch the tip to the light brown wire whike key switch is on. if the light comes on then
that will tell you current is passing thru the gauge as it should.
You need to answer this question before any real advice can be offered.
David
Then touch the tip to the light brown wire whike key switch is on. if the light comes on then
that will tell you current is passing thru the gauge as it should.
You need to answer this question before any real advice can be offered.
David
Last edited by dmayhew; Mar 15, 2008 at 06:25 PM.
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