Question 12v in 5v out

[Volksnut]

My gas and temp guages don't work but when I ground the sender wires they read full. So did a '63 have a voltage limiter inside the gas gauge, nothing external here? I'm getting 12v into gas gauge 12v out. Both toast i presume, anyway to test the gauge or just get a shovel and ring the undertaker.

[Hobcobble]

The limiter would likely be incorporated into the fuel gauge.

Here's what I did to all of my Sweptlines....
https://imageevent.com/jeffc/techstuff2 ... =4&s=0&z=2

John

[PwrWgnDrvr]

If the gas and temp gauge read full/hot when u ground the sender wire, then the senders are dead, not the gauges.

[Volksnut]

The limiter would likely be incorporated into the fuel gauge.

Here's what I did to all of my Sweptlines....
https://imageevent.com/jeffc/techstuff2 ... =4&s=0&z=2

John

Ok...I get the limiter, got one on my American, 12v in to 5v out. The volts entering the gas gauge is 12 volts, out is 12 volts...I read that if its there subject to 12volts both are fried as there hooked together. If I ground the sender wires when I power them up both read full and hot. The senders are new but....they could be bad too. Will the gauges only work at 5volts?

[Volksnut]

If the gas and temp gauge read full/hot when u ground the sender wire, then the senders are dead, not the gauges.

Thats what I thought too, but I read if there subject to 12 volts there fried? I know theres 12 volts coming out of the gas gauge so the limiter must not work, will they only work with 5 volts. Both senders are new, but they could be bad. I removed temp sender after I saw it had teflon tape on the treads thinking it wasn't grounding but that didn't help. Since I had pulled the temp gauge I ran a heat gun over the tip with a meter on it, it showed it worked. I haven't removed the tank sender yet.

[Hobcobble]

[
Ok...I get the limiter, got one on my American, 12v in to 5v out. The volts entering the gas gauge is 12 volts, out is 12 volts...I read that if its there subject to 12volts both are fried as there hooked together. If I ground the sender wires when I power them up both read full and hot. The senders are new but....they could be bad too. Will the gauges only work at 5volts?

https://imageevent.com/jeffc/techstuff2 ... =1&z=2&l=0
My gauge panel is fed with 5 volts off the 7808V / 7805V limiter. If I recall.... there's
a buss bar on the back of the gauge cluster that you jump to from the 5V
output of the limiter. I did all my trucks as a preventative measure.... meaining
I knew my gauges were all good. I just wanted to be certain I had an updated
and reliable 5V source for my gauge cluster.

John

[Volksnut]

Well....update. I ordered a new temp sender, it will be here tomorrow. So tonight I pulled the tank sender. So yep it looks new but the brass float looks like a explosion went off inside, so there's that problem....then it fell off the hook on exit, so now gotta pull the tank....double rats. The sender does work though. Can you buy just the float, plastic would be nice, oh no sock either....what the heck!

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Swepts didn't have a sock stock.
Ford made a styrofoam type float that snapped into Dodge senders.
U can fish the float out with various methods, probably easier than pulling the tank.

[Volksnut]

Well pulled the tank, found the sock and the sunken float, at least behind the tank is pretty.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

What the hell is that float made of?
Neither of those are factory parts!

I've also seen a chunk of round cork used as a float.

[Volksnut]

What the hell is that float made of?
Neither of those are factory parts!

I've also seen a chunk of round cork used as a float.

Float...was brass, crumbled in hand???
Screen, plastic

[PwrWgnDrvr]

That's nutso. How did brass rot like that and not rot the walls of the tank? Kinda looks like a factory float, but thought it was a groove in the center, not a ridge.

[Wildergarten]

That's nutso. How did brass rot like that and not rot the walls of the tank? Kinda looks like a factory float, but thought it was a groove in the center, not a ridge.

I'm guessing it sat at the bottom of an empty tank and condensate and electrolysis did the rest.

[Volksnut]

That's nutso. How did brass rot like that and not rot the walls of the tank? Kinda looks like a factory float, but thought it was a groove in the center, not a ridge.

I'm guessing it sat at the bottom of an empty tank and condensate and electrolysis did the rest.

Your right tank was empty

[Wildergarten]

Your right tank was empty

There aren't many good options to place a tank in storage. One option is to fill it with something to keep the condensate out. Alcohol absorbs water, but it's corrosive. Gas turns to water that separates. Diesel grows algae. Another is to empty it and seal it, but nothing is really "sealed" against the law of partial pressures. One could put a gel in there to absorb it, but then you'd have to get it out. About the best option is to pull the tank, and stand it open on its filler end in a dry place, preferably indoors.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

You're not supposed to get electrolysis between brass and galvanized steel. That's why plumbing codes require a brass fitting between GV pipe and CU pipe.
Gas turns to water? How's that?
I've had empty tanks, open with no cap or sender, stacked in my garage for almost 20 yrs with absolutely no condensation or corrosion inside.

[712edf]

Your right tank was empty

There aren't many good options to place a tank in storage. One option is to fill it with something to keep the condensate out. Alcohol absorbs water, but it's corrosive. Gas turns to water that separates. Diesel grows algae. Another is to empty it and seal it, but nothing is really "sealed" against the law of partial pressures. One could put a gel in there to absorb it, but then you'd have to get it out. About the best option is to pull the tank, and stand it open on its filler end in a dry place, preferably indoors.

Would storing oil inside work? Either fresh oil, used oil or maybe hydraulic oil. I know that it's quite a large capacity but farmers & heavy equipment operators generally keep it on hand in drums or 5 gallon buckets anyways. And yes then there's the matter of cleaning the oil OUT once the tank is placed back into service.

Do various paint solvents (Toluene, Xylene, MEK) absorb moisture?

Sometimes keeping vehicles or components of vehicles dormant wears them out just as quick as continuous use.

Bucky

[PwrWgnDrvr]

If you want to "seal" a tank, clamp a bag over the filler that can expand and contract with pressure changes. Same concept as the overflow tank on the radiator.

[Wildergarten]

.

[Wildergarten]

Would storing oil inside work? Either fresh oil, used oil or maybe hydraulic oil. I know that it's quite a large capacity but farmers & heavy equipment operators generally keep it on hand in drums or 5 gallon buckets anyways. And yes then there's the matter of cleaning the oil OUT once the tank is placed back into service.

I think the key if one is to leave it in situ is to have it full of something that bugs don't like, is not hydroscopic, and won't solvate organic components such as hoses and electrical bits and pieces. I wouldn't use waste oil, because that's also somewhat corrosive. Toluene is definitely hydroscopic, good in the short run, possibly bad over the long run. MEK not so much but I still would wonder about what it would do to the sender. I don't think of those solvents any more because, thanks to the State of Panic, Debauchery, Chaos, and Bankruptcy, I CAN'T BUY THOSE ANYMORE. Hell, I can hardly get decent paint thinner in California. Methanol? Forget it; even ethanol is practically verboten despite that it's put in gasoline by the ton, never mind that both evolve from rotting vegetation. Stupidity? No. It's all about M-O-N-E-Y. But I digress...

Besides 18gal of expensive solvents seeming a terrible waste of money, I'd be leery of the effects they might have on the wire coatings and insulators in the gas gauge sender or hoses. So of the list you provided of things one might find on a farm, clean hydraulic oil is a definite candidate.

Sometimes keeping vehicles or components of vehicles dormant wears them out just as quick as continuous use.

Yup, especially with DOT3 or 4 in the hydraulic lines. Every truck I keep gets an immediate purge and replacement with DOT5 brake fluid.

If you want to "seal" a tank, clamp a bag over the filler that can expand and contract with pressure changes. Same concept as the overflow tank on the radiator.

That's a good thought Terry. Seems to me we might put up a thread on "how to put down a truck for deep storage." I'd bet there are resources about. I'm sure the military knows exactly what to do.