Stuck At 3 O’clock ?

[54blackhornet]

Very frustrated ! 71 C/20 with stock three hole cluster. Have done all the know tests to determine the cause of my gas gauge needle stuck at the three o’clock position. I checked continuity on the tan wire from the cluster plug all the way to sender, it’s fine. Installed new sender. Have 12 V at pink wire. Tested the resistor 87.3 oms with it off the gauge. When I Bench tested the gauge I used Tom’s instructions. 12V to right side stud on gauge, grounded gauge , then grounded left stud. Result is needle goes further past 3 o’clock a bit. Any other ideas ?

[pjmoreland]

I wonder if your gauge is bad. Is it an OE or reproduction gauge?

Disconnect everything from the gauge, and remove the resistor.

Then measure the resistance between the left and right posts. That's the winding that is responsible for pushing the needle toward EMPTY. The resistance of the internal EMPTY winding should be approximately 90 Ohms.

Then measure the resistance between the left (when looking at the back of the gauge) and bottom posts. That's the winding that is responsible for pushing the needle toward FULL. The resistance of the internal FULL winding should be approximately 104 Ohms.

An extremely different resistance measurement for either of these would indicate an internal problem with the gauge.

[54blackhornet]

Thank you PJ for that suggestion ! I have tried everything I have read on this subject. Will report back with the numbers..Jack

[54blackhornet]

Success ! I pulled the gas gauge out of the cluster yesterday afternoon to test it like PJ explained to do. It ohmed out within specs . I then moved the needle a bit with my finger, it felt like it was stuck. Hooked everything back up and lo and behold the gauge works perfectly now. Everything said I now have a much better understanding of how things work. Repainted the needle and cleaned up the cluster bulbs while I had it apart. Want to thank everyone for their help and guidance…

[pjmoreland]

That was the easiest fuel gauge repair ever! Nice!

[54blackhornet]

Not really ! I pulled the sender about a dozen times. Removing the cluster was a pain ! First time it was out and the first time I ever removed one ! Disassembling the cluster was interesting ? Overall I am satisfied with how it turned out…

[pjmoreland]

Sorry. I didn't mean to make light of all the work you put into figuring out the problem. In the end, the issue was "simple", not "easy".

[54blackhornet]

Just kidding ! It was you who actually led to fixing the problem. Now I just hope I could help someone else out with the suggestion to check the needle for movement.