Little things mean a lot

[Pilgrim65]

Recently had oil leak sorted from torque tube , when I picked up car I noticed fuel gauge not working properly , needle had disappeared  so I mentioned it to mechanics , they said they tightened up fuel tank support because it was loose. I thought perhaps movement had upset sender unit so arranged to take car back this week end , bit of a nuisance as 30miles away. However driving with no gauge is also stressful, been caught before twice!!

Had some spare time yesterday so thought I'd lower fuel tank and see if cabling trapped or whatever , bingo!! , found loose wire with spade terminal and noticed wing nut on chassis , so connected up , checked gauge ,working again !!!

so 15 mins under car  , connect small wire , save 60 mile return trip, probably 50/60 bucks and remove stress. 

Cant be bad , sometimes little things mean a lot.??

[Smartin]

I love it  when the fuel gauge problem is just a ground! 

[dei]

3 hours ago, Pilgrim65 said:

However driving with no gauge is also stressful, been caught before twice!!

 

Your not along there Sir. Been there, done that as to the experience!

I would be pleased to find just a ground issue too but after purchasing a new gas gauge/pickup unit for the tank at the National this year and wanting to drop the tank for a good cleaning and checking its overall condition, figure do it once and do it right (for me).

 

Just can't get at it right now with current work schedule plus, we have hit a record cold spell for this time of year and with no heat in the garage, have to pick a warmer spell...

 

Happy motoring Pilgrim! 

[JohnD1956]

Nice save Pilgrim!  And I don't want to worry you but I would point out that you may be in for more trouble here in the future.  In the picture below, it looks like this bracket is aluminum.  With a steel anchor screw, with an aluminum end on the wire.  If so, you may find that this setup is prone to corrosion, especially in a salt air environment.  There are some products used in electronics to retard the corrosion inherent between different metals.  I get mine ( GB Ox-Gard) at my local ACE Hardware store.  Perhaps you have the same? 

At any rate, it would require disassembly of this junction, cleaning all contact points between the various metals,  laying a coat of the Ox-Gard on these contact points, and reassembling.  It's a few more minutes of work, with extended benefits.

 

If that bracket is steel, it probably is not necessary.  

 

 

 

[Fr. Buick]

I agree, plus too many moving parts.  Use a simple sheet metal screw with a star washer that bigs in and gives you a good ground.

[Pilgrim65]

Thanks guys , on the case 

cheers

pilgrim

[JohnD1956]

2 hours ago, Fr. Buick said:

I agree, plus too many moving parts.  Use a simple sheet metal screw with a star washer that bigs in and gives you a good ground.

That's a much better idea,  but may involve making an extension to the wire.