disappearing gas

[Merle Coggins]

Well then, that's a different story. Is your tank and/or sender grounded properly? Without a ground it won't register on the gauge. The needle of the gauge moves depending on the amount of resistance to ground through the sender. Without a proper ground the gauge sees that as very high resistance, or empty.

I added a grounding stud to my sender and ran a wire from it to a transmission cover bolt. My gauge reads just fine. The sender is from Roberts.

[ggdad1951]

it was brand new and it worked for about a month then, this.

[Desotodav]

I'm having similar problems with my fuel gauge Mark even after I added an extra ground wire to the sender - although mine either works or it doesn't work which is a bit different to yours producing a false reading. I think I'll attach the ground bolts/wires with some of those little toothed washers so they bite into the metal better.

Desotodav

[Merle Coggins]

Another thought... Sometimes my needle sticks at "E". If I tap the gauge face it'll pop up to the correct reading. Not sure why it does that and I haven't taken the time to pull it out to investigate.

Merle

[ggdad1951]

when I turn the key off it gauge drops below the "E" line, turn the key on and it bumps up to the almost "E" position....

[Tom Skinner]

Hey fellows gas is small potatoes.

Just whip out a C Note and fill er up - no more issues.

Then Ride.

[ggdad1951]

finally pulled the sender tonight...brass float has some fluid in it...so my guess is that is the problem!

Issues:

how do I fix the float?

how do I know I fixed it?

I had to bend the float wire to get it out of the tank...had no choice, I could NOT get it finagled out, I assume I can straigten it back out

The float wire has been brazed back together in two spots is that normal?

After fiddling with it to get it out, I don't know the orientation to put it back in once fixed?

I currently have some duct tape covering the sender hole....is there any issues with that for now?

While I have the sender out, how do I test it (where do I put the second probe for teh ohm meter and what should the range be?)

thanks guys! I think I have some of these answers, but always like confirmation.

[Dave72dt]

One probe where the gauge wire attaches and the other goes to ground. Ohm readings will change as you swing the float arm. The gauge is really just an analog ohmmeter. Someone here asked the ohm readings earlier for setting up an electronic gauge.

Most sending units have an odd pattern for mounting so they can only bolt down in one location.

You should be able to find a spot where it gets damp by turning it in different directions. Check the seam and any attachment points. They're the most likely spots. Soldering works as long as you don't add much weight to it. It should have a small spot of solder on it somewhere. That's a pressure release hole that was soldered up after the seam was soldered. You'll need an open hole if you need to redo the seam.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Dave72dt

[Young Ed]

Mark you are probably finding repair work done. I believe OEM was a cork float. I altered my float in the 48 ply to a plastic float I had saved when I swapped senders in my 94 dakota.

[TodFitch]

To fix the float you need to do two things: 1) find the hole(s) and 2) get the gas out.

The way I've done that in the past is to immerse the float in hot water (don't use a gas stove!). The heat will evaporate the gas and pressurize the float. You should see bubbles of gas vapor coming out of the hole(s). Mark them. And remove the float from the hot water when the bubble slow down (gas is gone). Don't let it cool in the water as you don't want it to suck water back into through the hole. Now solder up the hole(s) marked. Check it again for leaks in hot water. Repeat as required until no more leaks.

[ggdad1951]

hmmm, well all I have is gas for stoves...so I ordered a new one from Roberts for now. That way I can play with this and not be down for too long, or then have a spare.

[Jeff Balazs]

Mark;

Good idea ( said like the toothless Eskimo in "Never Cry Wolf" )

You probably already know this....but another "good idea" is adding a ground terminal to the sender housing.

Thanks again for the door check arms.

Jeff

[ggdad1951]

new sending unit installed and life is good again!