fuel gauge question

[sidthirteen]

Hey everybody!! I'm trying to get my fuel gauge to work but something doesn't look right. I had connected the new wire to the fuel tank and saw a grounding wire that looks kind of odd. My question is, isn't there supposed to be a resistor of some kind? Here are some pics...... thanks in advance.

[Joemomma1]

Thats how mine looks. Have you checked the float?

[sidthirteen]

No, I haven't. Does your gauge work like that? Just need to make sure I'm not missing anything...

[Joemomma1]

Works great. I had a hole in the original float that caused it to fill w/ gas keeping it down.

[19GMC63]

do you have a multimeter that can measure resistance?

[protrash64]

The variable resistor is in the tank.....you cant see it unless you remove the float assembly.

[sidthirteen]

Originally Posted by 19GMC63

do you have a multimeter that can measure resistance?

yeah, I checked and got 1.5ohms

[sidthirteen]

Originally Posted by Joemomma1

Works great. I had a hole in the original float that caused it to fill w/ gas keeping it down.

I see.. Thanks for the info.

[sidthirteen]

Originally Posted by protrash64

The variable resistor is in the tank.....you cant see it unless you remove the float assembly.

Cool.. Thanks!

[chucks1967]

The problem with mine was the copper strap running from the variable resister to the connector on the outside. It was broken right in half. I removed mine and braised the two halves back together. Its not hard and its free. just make sure that you have dried it out really good before applying any flame as you know it contains gas. and gas + flame = boom. here is a pic of a new one out of the tank.. but as mentioned above check the float, and the resistance of the resister as you move the float level.

[sidthirteen]

Originally Posted by chucks1967

The problem with mine was the copper strap running from the variable resister to the connector on the outside. It was broken right in half. I removed mine and braised the two halves back together. Its not hard and its free. just make sure that you have dried it out really good before applying any flame as you know it contains gas. and gas + flame = boom. here is a pic of a new one out of the tank.. but as mentioned above check the float, and the resistance of the resister as you move the float level.

Sounds good! Thanks for the info!

[19GMC63]

Originally Posted by sidthirteen

yeah, I checked and got 1.5ohms

Like chuck said, just double check that the range (0 empty, 30 full) is good. Verify 12 volts at the gauge... also make sure your grounds are good, especially at the gauge. Don't know how chevys are, but I had to run a separate ground wire for the printed circuit since my painless harness did away with it, but again, that's just dependent on your set up.

[sidthirteen]

Originally Posted by 19GMC63

Like chuck said, just double check that the range (0 empty, 30 full) is good. Verify 12 volts at the gauge... also make sure your grounds are good, especially at the gauge. Don't know how chevys are, but I had to run a separate ground wire for the printed circuit since my painless harness did away with it, but again, that's just dependent on your set up.

Right on... I'll check it out this weekend. Thanks a bunch!!

[protrash64]

I just fixed mine in the 'burb, sidthirteen. At the gauge you should have a 12v source on a pink wire, then tan leaving to the fuse block, eventually. It wraps around a bit, but gets there eventually......anyway, then a tan wire plugged in to the fuse block which then heads out to the tank. The sender is then grounded to the frame/body.

[retodd7711]

Mine reads full all the time.
Any suggestions?

[19GMC63]

With everything working fine, taking the tan wire off the sending unit will cause the gauge to read past full, so you may have a bad connection at the sending unit, or a break in the tan wire somewhere.

[protrash64]

Originally Posted by retodd7711

Mine reads full all the time.
Any suggestions?

I had the same issue retodd.......and after re-doing my tank with a new sender and new wiring (ground) it was still full. The gauge was supplied with 12v from dash harness. What I found was a connector unplugged that goes on the steering column. This broke the continuity between the gauge and the fuse block. Once plugged in it worked just fine. Sometimes I have seen people mention that the tan wire to the the fuse block is unplugged. Check out your fuse block, there is a place labeled 'fuel' I believe....this is where the tank wire plugs in to the dash harness.