As the topic says; and it concerns my '81.
This swaying of the needle is irritating; I have read that the reason should be that the silicon fluid has evaporated, and hence there is no dampening on the needle movement. The swaying is caused by the sloshing of the gas in the tank.
For another reason I have the cluster apart now, and attach a few pictures;
there is a small hole on the back, at the top location; should I fill some fluid there?




And what type? I just have a spray can with silicon oil would that suffice; any experience out there?
In the RC model cars, silicon oil is used in the shock absorber, and comes in a number of viscosities; I would guess that a relatively light weight would do the job? Anyone has done this?
Thanks for your imput,

Cor

 

The silicone is missing from inside here,you would have to remove all the windings.
The wheel sits in silicone.

 

Like Roger showed you, adding fluid is not easy. Aside from taking the gauge apart the only way to get more in there would be drilling a hole and injecting it. Really not worth the trouble.

I have a good used gauge if interested. It is tested and ready to install. 35.00 You would need to call sales at 800-588-3883 to order this.

Willcox

 

@Roger, would you have more pictures of the [dis]assembly and/or the internals of the gage; would be interesting to know what's precisely inside there.

@Willcox: thanks for the offer, but shipping to Europe would add about the same amount; so not for now, as I do get a good indication of the amount, when travelling at steady speed, or standstill.
This winter, when the car is not used, I'll have some other updates done, and will combine shipping from several suppliers through a shipping address in the USA.
May contact you then.
For now, i will have to live with it, but would still be interested in the internals................
And I still wonder what the little hole is for in the back of the gage............
Cor

 

I see where shipping can be an issue.
Here you go. The extra hole is just for a stud depending on the gauge.
I've always wanted try replacing the silicone but just never took the time,remove the needle,remove the face,unsolder the wire ends,unwind the wire,note direction,separate the 2 pieces of plastic,fill cavity with silicone paste,reassemble.

I heard years ago the dampening was by a string wrapped around the center shaft,turns out it is not true on the C3 gauges. Always wanted to try wrapping a leather string around shaft and try it.(there would be a clearance issue trying to get the string around the shaft-i was going to grind off the flare on the back side of the face)

Another idea to stabilize the needle, since you only need a fuel check occasionally,would be to turn the power off to the gauge and turn back on the power when checking the fuel level.
You could power the fuel gauge from a push button or,
the starter circuit-every time you used the starter you would get an accurate check of fuel.
the back-up light circuit-every time you shift into reverse you get a fuel check
the courtesy lights-rotate the HL switch **** to turn on the courtesy lights and you get a fuel check
In other words any circuit that is not ON all the time.
Good Luck and please let us know what you do and how well it works.

 

Great Roger, thanks for the pic's.

Repairing is not going to be easy, but I occasionally also do the difficult bits

With regards to the way to get the gauge stabilised at one place, there is an easy way: just interrupt the wire from the tank, than the gauge will go full scale [@ 3o'clock position] and stays there .

The easiest fix however will be to ignore the darn thing [up to a point of course]
Cor

 

The shipping via First class is only 16.39. First class is a crap shoot as far as getting to you, there is no tracking and the time varies from country to country. So it may take a week, it may take two. This is the cheapest way to get the gauge to you if you are interested.

 

@ Willcox: response has been sent yesterday by E-mail
Thanks,
Cor

 

got it