Need help with fuel guage
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Need help with fuel guage
The fuel guage in dad's 46 pickup will not work. I've replaced the sending unit with a new one, have replaced the guage with a NOS one, have new wiring harness. The truck has been converted to 12 volt neg. ground. There is power going thru the guage, but it will not move. I have also tried a resistor in-line to the guage(to 6volt) with no luck. I have been told 12volt should not matter and that a modern aftermaket guage coupled with the oldstyle sending unit will not work. I would appreciate any input to this problem.
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Orange County, CA
Many times a guage is matched to it's sender, sometimes a sender will only work with certain gauges. What kind of resistor did you use to drop the voltage? Most of the times, I only hear about using what's called a Runtz for gauges (they are made especially for gauges). You do need a voltage dropping device for the gauge. You can get a Runtz for about $17 from places like Speedway Motors. Get 3, you'll need them for oil, water, and fuel (amp gauge doesn't need it, just turn the wire around on the back of the gauge. I used Runtz myself, and the installation is very very easy, only takes about 5 minutes at most per gauge. Silly question, but did you run a ground wire from the sending unit? Should ground to one of the screws that hold the little cap on top.
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I did ground the sending unit. I used a ceramic resistor that Dad had. We used a similar one for the ignition system. I have not heard of the Runtz resistor but will get 3 because the other guages did not work either. We have aftermarket guages for the water temp and oil pressure, but would rather use the original guages. Thanks for the help, I knew I could count on you guys (thats ya'll, here in Texas) to steer me right.
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Orange County, CA
Those ceramic resistors are great for things such as heaters and such, but for gauges, the Runtz are the best. Also, if you order from Speedway, check out little book they have on converting from 6 to 12 volts...it's a little pricey for such a small book, but well worth the money. Covers all parts of converting any 6 volt vehicle to 12 volt.
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