Crazyred Posted September 26, 2020 Share Posted September 26, 2020 Had to remove and begin cleaning the fuel tank. The fuel gauge was not working so after i dropped the tank i found the sender was not connected. I hooked up the sender and the fuel gauge was eradic when moving the sender arm. When i tried to test the ohms i could never get a constant reading in any position. So I figured it's broke and opened it up. Not sure if it's original or not. I would like to have a working fuel gauge semi accurate. Does anyone have any advice on whether this is repairable or just replace? If replacing what is the correct sender for this car? Any help is appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Doesn’t look original but it has been a very long while since I’ve seen an original so I could be wrong. See https://www.ply33.com/Repair/fuelsender2.html for what I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyred Posted September 27, 2020 Author Share Posted September 27, 2020 Ply33, thanks for the link. I actually read that earlier today. I read reviews on that unit and it has mixed reviews due to the float filing with fuel. Have you had any issues with that unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Not so far. Other brands of sender could be used. Just need to be able to modify the “sender card”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpage Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Check out KM Lifestyle co. They manufacture fuel senders for these cars at reasonable prices. Got one for my '36 Dodge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 (edited) It looks fine to me, the resistance wire isn't broken or worn through. You'll need to clean the wiper and that contact at the end with all the green corrosion, at least in the spot where the wiper contacts it. I don't see how the wiper gets it's ground, It's in a shadow in the picture. You will have to clean or repair that so that you have a good connection between that lower piece and the wiper. How were the halves held together? The lower piece will need a solid electrical connection to the top piece also. I would probably solder it in at least one spot when putting it back. I would also add a ground strap or wire from one of the sender mounting screws to the chassis. The float will be bad. If the Mopar sources don't have it, Bobs Automobilia has Buick ones that come already sealed and should work fine. If you try to make your own, use only solid cork, not that cork that is made of little pieces glued together. It was recently suggested in another thread that balsa will work. I've not tried it. Either way it must be sealed with something impervious to gas and alcohol. Gas tank sealer would probably do. The closed-cell nature of cork is not enough by itself, you must seal it. All this assumes it is the right sender for the car. It must match the gauge electrically. You could get a good guess by measuring the resistor with your ohmmeter while it is apart. It should be the same or just a little more than the highest expected reading on a good sender for your car. Edited September 27, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyred Posted September 27, 2020 Author Share Posted September 27, 2020 Bloo, thanks for all the info. The two halves were riveted together and I just drilled the ends off to open. After closer inspection it appears the bottom half ground connection is corroded through. Thanks for pointing that out. I will clean and retest to see if it improves. If not then I'll purchase a replacement. Jpage, I'll give that site a look, thanks. Ply33, thanks for the feedback. Also, you're site is a wealth of info, I have read many pages on it. The fuel sender write up is great and that maybe the route I'll have to choose. Next step is finding a replacement fuel tank since the clean out did not go well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyred Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 Ply33, i just received my sender today and the ohm readings are 6-92. I wanted to modify the card as you did to get the gauge closer to accurate. So should i be removing the blackish material within the red circle area in my picture? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 52 minutes ago, Crazyred said: Ply33, i just received my sender today and the ohm readings are 6-92. I wanted to modify the card as you did to get the gauge closer to accurate. So should i be removing the blackish material within the red circle area in my picture? Looks about right. Remember that the more of the dark grey material you remove, the higher the resistance. Go slowly and check the Ohm readings as you go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyred Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 Ply33, that did it! Range is now 6-120. Tested on the car and it's showing the full range from empty to full. Thanks for your help on this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) Good to hear it works for you. And very good to post the feedback, thanks! Edited October 1, 2020 by ply33 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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