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Ford sending unit/AutoMeter gauge?

Ford sending unit/AutoMeter gauge?

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Feb 18, 2004 | 08:24 PM

#1

LEckart

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From: Kansas City area

Ford sending unit/AutoMeter gauge?

I'm installing a '69 Mustang gas tank in my 56 Ford F100 and have run into a problem with the AutoMeter gas gauge and the Mustang sending unit. AutoMeter tells me they are not compatible electrically and I will get false readings. Is there a way to make them compatible electrically? Thanks. Larry

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Feb 18, 2004 | 08:36 PM

#2

Franklin2

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From: Virginia

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Get a universal mount sending unit and retro fit it into the tank. No amount of resistors will make it work right.

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Feb 20, 2004 | 08:18 PM

#3

65CJ5

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Joined: Feb 2004

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Re: Ford sending unit/AutoMeter gauge?

Quote:

Originally posted by LEckart
I'm installing a '69 Mustang gas tank in my 56 Ford F100 and have run into a problem with the AutoMeter gas gauge and the Mustang sending unit. AutoMeter tells me they are not compatible electrically and I will get false readings. Is there a way to make them compatible electrically? Thanks. Larry

Probably not. On my 78 F150 chassis I found that there were 2 problems with the ford sender and most aftermarket gauges. 1) The ford sender resistances for "full" and "empty" are not what an aftermarket gauge is looking for. 2) The ford sender resistance is "high" when the gauge is looking for "low" and the sender is "low" when the gauge is looking for "high". In other words it's operating in the opposite direction than the gauge. Even if it wasn't you'd still get bad readings. Only solution is a new sender compatible with your gauge.

Stan

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Old

Feb 21, 2004 | 07:06 AM

#4

LEckart

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From: Kansas City area

Thanks for the replies. I called AutoMeter again and got some better answers this time. I forgot to clarify I had purchased the Ford Motorsport Gauges made by AutoMeter. When Ford commissioned AutoMeter to make the FMS "brand" it was only for the streetrod market assuming new gauges would be installed with a new FMS sending unit, not a Ford sender. The FMS gauges use 240-33 ohm impedence and the Ford senders are 78-10 ohms. You would think Ford would want them compatible with Ford senders, but not so. My best solution was to send the FMS fuel gauge back to AutoMeter to retrofit the FMS face with a Ford sender compatible gauge. The readings will be off a little in the mid range due to indication marks on the faces being in a little different location but the full and empty readings should be ok.

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