Fuel gauge fix

Wiring, lights, heater controls, anything electrical..
Post Reply
djcobraman427
Sweptline.ORG Member
Sweptline.ORG Member
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 11:42 pm
City: Vancouver
State: WA

Fuel gauge fix

Post by djcobraman427 »

My Power Wagon's fuel gauge was not working. I had power thru the water temp gauge, so I assumed the gauge was probably good. I pulled the plug from the tank sending unit and grounded it, sure enough, the gauge worked. Next, I pulled the sending unit out of the tank, bent the 3 little tabs on the box, exposed the inside, I wiped the contact strip down, adjusted the little spring inside for firmer contact against the strip, and put it back together. I then grounded the sending unit and the gauge worked. Figuring I was done, I dropped the sender back into the tank and tightened the retaining ring. Final check, I turned on the key. Nothing. Not a wiggle. So, I pulled the sender out again and discovered the float was full of gas. I had a spare float, so I snapped it in and I now have a working gauge.

These senders are not that complicated. Just do a careful inspection of the contact strip and the spring contact, and use a rubber eraser to clean both, gentle, very gently. Carefully reassemble, check the brass float, check and clean the gasket, tighten the retaining ring, and you should be good. Use caution when taking the little can apart so you do not damage the internal spring or strip. Good luck.

User avatar
nebill49
Sweptline.ORG Member
Sweptline.ORG Member
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:37 pm
City: Arnold
State: NE
Location: Arnold, NE
Contact:

Re: Fuel gauge fix

Post by nebill49 »

My fuel gauge quit working as well. I grounded the wire that goes to the sending unit, and the gauge worked perfectly. So, today I pulled the sending unit out of the tank, and sure enough, the float was full of gas! Not having a spare, I decided to fix the one I had. I found a pin hole in one end of the float. Considering I was going to be making a repair in basically a small bomb, I gave it a lot of thought in how to do it without ruining the float (or myself!) After very carefully getting all of the gas out of the float, I used 0000 steel wool to clean off the area I was going to solder. I used a rather large size electric soldering iron. Even though I had cleaned the float and there was no smell of gasoline, I stood well away from the float when I turned the thing on to warm up. Once the tip was hot enough to melt solder, I touched it to the thin brass of the float, and applied the solder. The solder flowed beautifully, so I removed the soldering iron from the area before I turned it off, just to make sure there were no potential sparks near the float. I reinstalled the sending unit assembly, and found out I had a little over 3/4 tank of gas! Nice to have that gauge working again!

djcobraman427
Sweptline.ORG Member
Sweptline.ORG Member
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 11:42 pm
City: Vancouver
State: WA

Re: Fuel gauge fix

Post by djcobraman427 »

Glad to hear someone else was able to get their fuel gauge working. Nice directions on doing the soldering job, scary as it was.

Post Reply