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Fuel guage sending unit repair |
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fhpdave
AMC Nut Joined: May/09/2014 Location: Galena Ohio Status: Offline Points: 445 |
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Posted: May/01/2017 at 2:29pm |
As I am putting my car back together, I am finding that after 50 years, about every electrical component has needed some kind of attention, and the sending unit in the gas tank was not an exception. The fuel gauge worked before the car was torn down, so naturally I didn't test the unit as I was putting things back together. So I was a little dismayed that after putting some gas in the tank, the fuel gauge remained on E, but some electrical detective work determined that the problem was in the sending unit. The car had at least 5 gallons of gas in the tank, so I was not looking forward to dropping the tank. I did find that by loosening the tank straps, I was able to drop the front of the gas tank enough that I could loosen the lock ring and remove the sending unit. The fact that everything was apart and was only recently put back together certainly helped, otherwise I would have had to drop the tank because of rust and such. Once I had the sending unit out of the tank, I checked it with an ohm meter/continuity tested and determined that disassembly and further repairs were needed
With what I found, I am at a loss as to how the gas gauge worked before. The black line shows the end of the moving contact arm that was riding on the board wrapped in wires that is laying above the sending unit. The hole in the end, seemed like it should have some kind of contact, and the red line shows where there should be some sort of mechanical connection between the brass frame and the resistance wire board. Not sure if this would have been riveted, or bolted, but I went to my stash of stuff to see if I could get things fixed. What I came up with were some #2 by 1/4 inch screws. I took a brass screw, filed the head so that the slot was gone, filed down the shank so that it fit in the hole on the contact arm, and after the picture was taken cut it shorter with a small pair of end nippers. After several attempts, I got my brass contact in place and soldered it to the contact arm I then reassembled the unit using another screw to fasten the board to the unit. I then reinstalled the sending unit in the tank, hooked up the ground wire and fuel line, tightened the tank straps, and now I have a working gas gauge! |
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Old enough to know better - young enough not to care
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6PakBee
Supporter of TheAMCForum Charter Member Joined: Jul/01/2007 Location: North Dakota Status: Offline Points: 5454 |
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Good approach. I've noticed the Mopar senders have the same problem, the rivet that joins the resistance block to the electrical lead fails by breaking in two and the button on the wiper disappears.
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Roger Gazur
1969 'B' Scheme SC/Rambler 1970 RWB 4-spd Machine 1970 Sonic Silver auto AMX All project cars. Forum Cockroach |
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ccowx
AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/03/2010 Location: Yukon Status: Offline Points: 3510 |
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Nicely done! It is a bit of a mickey mouse arrangement originally and I have had my troubles with them. You have confirmed that I was wise to keep my broken one!
Chris
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george w
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jan/27/2013 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 2899 |
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Good repair tip for sure. The contact for the wiper arm is probably in the bottom of the tank.
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Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new.
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Linglingjr
AMC Apprentice Joined: Aug/30/2015 Location: Oregon Status: Offline Points: 94 |
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I've done this with an old fiat, and two amcs. I usually open it up and dunk the whole thing in vinegar then baking soda as well to get rid of the rust.
Crazy how simple these things are.
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Raccoonman
AMC Nut Joined: Dec/11/2016 Location: North Charlesto Status: Offline Points: 447 |
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I would have tried this with my 65 Classic unit but it literally collapsed in my hands. Too bad, I think I could have gotten it working. the part that collapsed was the short tube just inside the sender. The contact strap had corroded away and I was going to rivet on a new one, and seal up the short tube with epoxy. It just crumbled away while I was handling it. The plate is keeping the hole closed until I get a new sender.
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