Classic Mustangs (Tech) Technical discussions about the Mustangs of yester-year.

Fuel Gauge

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 08-16-2007, 09:10 AM
  #1  
mySAVIOReigns
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
 
mySAVIOReigns's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Mansfield, Texas
Posts: 880
Default Fuel Gauge

Well my fuel gauge didn't work after I put the new gas tank in, and i found out it was because the old wire wouldn't mount up to the new stud on the tank. So, I did a little rewiring, and it is on there very well now. Problem is, it's only reading just above halfway full (and the tank is full). At one time, a few weeks ago, it read full for about 10 minutes, then dropped back down to half.

Any suggestions? I know the wiring at the tank is good, I'm thinking maybe the gauge?
mySAVIOReigns is offline  
Old 08-16-2007, 09:14 AM
  #2  
dnswwood
2nd Gear Member
 
dnswwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location:
Posts: 215
Default RE: Fuel Gauge

More likely the float in the tank is either hung up or installed upside down
dnswwood is offline  
Old 08-16-2007, 09:21 AM
  #3  
mySAVIOReigns
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
 
mySAVIOReigns's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Mansfield, Texas
Posts: 880
Default RE: Fuel Gauge

well dang ... i guess that could be it. How is it supposed to look installed?
mySAVIOReigns is offline  
Old 08-16-2007, 11:04 AM
  #4  
JamesW
Moderator
 
JamesW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Northernish Eastish Central Texas
Posts: 3,302
Default RE: Fuel Gauge

or the float's got a hole and partially flooded.

The only choices you have are to remove and fix the float, or live with it.
JamesW is offline  
Old 08-16-2007, 02:53 PM
  #5  
jlg2002
4th Gear Member
 
jlg2002's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Fontana, California
Posts: 1,483
Default RE: Fuel Gauge

To check the gauge, remove the wire at the tank and the gauge should read all the way in one direction. then put the wire to ground and it should read all the way in the opposite direction. any thing else indicates the gauge, wiring or gauge voltage regulator.
jlg2002 is offline  
Old 08-16-2007, 03:06 PM
  #6  
Soaring
I ♥ Acer
 
Soaring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location:
Posts: 17,565
Default RE: Fuel Gauge

My gauge has never read full and I have a new sending unit in the tank. It has always read 3/4 full when the tank is full. This is a very common problem with these old Mustangs. When I get to empty I fill up, so I never run out of gas.
Soaring is offline  
Old 08-16-2007, 05:52 PM
  #7  
mySAVIOReigns
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
 
mySAVIOReigns's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Mansfield, Texas
Posts: 880
Default RE: Fuel Gauge

ORIGINAL: Soaring

My gauge has never read full and I have a new sending unit in the tank. It has always read 3/4 full when the tank is full. This is a very common problem with these old Mustangs. When I get to empty I fill up, so I never run out of gas.
I would, but I don't know where empty really is! I just usually fill it up once a week or so, and that seems to hold me over, for now.

ORIGINAL: jlg2002
To check the gauge, remove the wire at the tank and the gauge should read all the way in one direction. then put the wire to ground and it should read all the way in the opposite direction. any thing else indicates the gauge, wiring or gauge voltage regulator.
Genius!!!
mySAVIOReigns is offline  
Old 08-16-2007, 06:10 PM
  #8  
superdavid
4th Gear Member
 
superdavid's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location:
Posts: 1,494
Default RE: Fuel Gauge

Mine fills up well past the 'f' and dies at a just under a quarter...
superdavid is offline  
Old 08-16-2007, 06:17 PM
  #9  
Soaring
I ♥ Acer
 
Soaring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location:
Posts: 17,565
Default RE: Fuel Gauge

ORIGINAL: mySAVIOReigns

ORIGINAL: Soaring

My gauge has never read full and I have a new sending unit in the tank. It has always read 3/4 full when the tank is full. This is a very common problem with these old Mustangs. When I get to empty I fill up, so I never run out of gas.
I would, but I don't know where empty really is! I just usually fill it up once a week or so, and that seems to hold me over, for now.

ORIGINAL: jlg2002
To check the gauge, remove the wire at the tank and the gauge should read all the way in one direction. then put the wire to ground and it should read all the way in the opposite direction. any thing else indicates the gauge, wiring or gauge voltage regulator.
Genius!!!
Well, you know you have a 16 gallon tank, and the pickup on the sending unit does not sit on the bottom of the tank, so your useable gallons is more like 15. So, the next time you hit empty on the gauge, see how many gallons it takes to fill it back up, then you will know how much gas you had left in the tank when the gauge said empty. My fillup from empty is always less than 10 gallons, so I know that at empty on the gauge, I still have about 5 gallons left in the tank.
Soaring is offline  
Old 08-16-2007, 06:41 PM
  #10  
JMD
6th Gear Member
 
JMD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: AR
Posts: 5,469
Default RE: Fuel Gauge

There is an outside chance that in the course of rewiring the sender, that the connection between the stud/screwand the wire may be less than ideal. If this is the case, then there may be just enough extra resistance to throw the gage off kilter. These gages use very small amounts of current, any disruption may cause false readings.
JMD is offline  


Quick Reply: Fuel Gauge



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:16 PM.