gas gauge
Moderator: Modern Buddy Staff
- johnk
- Member
- Posts: 166
- Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 9:42 pm
- Mr.FixIt
- Member
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:44 pm
- Location: York, PA, USA
- Contact:
Testing the sender is pretty easy with a multimeter. Set it to ohms and go from the sender wire to ground. Use a hook to lift and push the float up and down gently. The ohm reading should change smoothly, with no interruptions. (Sometimes using an analog meter is easier).
The full reading of the sender should be about 120 ohms and should decrease. (Mine had a break in the wire. I just soldered two adjacent wire coils together and it works fine.)
Testing the gauge is a little more difficult, but the procedure is in the service manual and its a more advanced procedure not for the feint of heart. The gauge should act smoothly. If the gauge is bouncing, I might suspect mechanical damage.
The full reading of the sender should be about 120 ohms and should decrease. (Mine had a break in the wire. I just soldered two adjacent wire coils together and it works fine.)
Testing the gauge is a little more difficult, but the procedure is in the service manual and its a more advanced procedure not for the feint of heart. The gauge should act smoothly. If the gauge is bouncing, I might suspect mechanical damage.
- Attachments
-
- Fuel Level Sender Testing
- sender.jpg (19.3 KiB) Viewed 1893 times
Eric
(aka Mr. Fix It)
(aka Mr. Fix It)
- Mr.FixIt
- Member
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:44 pm
- Location: York, PA, USA
- Contact:
Can you find a friend with a multimeter? Harbor Freight sells them at a reasonable price. It is an invaluable tool working on vehicle electrical systems.
If the gas gauge stays at empty, it could be the gauge, or it still could be the sender unit. As it was with mine, it was open-circuit... one of the ni-chrome wire turns wound around the resistor in the sender unit was broken.
https://www.harborfreight.com/7-Functio ... 63759.html
If the gas gauge stays at empty, it could be the gauge, or it still could be the sender unit. As it was with mine, it was open-circuit... one of the ni-chrome wire turns wound around the resistor in the sender unit was broken.
https://www.harborfreight.com/7-Functio ... 63759.html
Eric
(aka Mr. Fix It)
(aka Mr. Fix It)
- johnk
- Member
- Posts: 166
- Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 9:42 pm
Here's a reliable and cheap multimeter on Amazon, if you don't have access to Harbor Freight.