I am trying to find a 12v to 6v reducer that will work on my '53 F-100 fuel gauge. The ones I purchased from JC Whitney and Rocky Mountian Motorworks didn't exactly work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

What I would recommend is to contact any of the companys that specialize in entire wiring stup for your particular part, enos, Ron Francis, painless they have these parts specific for your application.

 

I saw yesterday in LMC catalog that you could just buy a 12v sending unit ($50) or get on that works off a 56.

 

 

An older post on this site said the best approach would be to install 30 Ohm, 10W resistor in series with your fuel tank sending unit. I purchased a 6V/12V sending unit for my truck (converted to 12V) then installed the resistors and it works great. The resistors can be purchased at Radio Shack. Buy 3 10 Ohms 10W Resistors, solder them in series and install them at the sending unit. Connect one end to the sending unit wire and the other end to the sending unit.

 

Just go to Napa and purchase one for an early 60's Ford pickup they used them clear up into the early 70's. Ford number 39MZ10804C and the Napa number was IRI ECH.

 

I got mine at NAPA under P/N ECHIR1 $24.99

I have to admit I can see the g-auges fluctuate at idle, other than that it is flawless and converts all the g-auges at once.

 

Instument Cluster Voltage Regulator, NAPA ECHIR1, $31.49

I used individual Runtz voltage regulators on my fuel, oil, and temp gauges. I got three on ebay for about $40 total, and they work well; they can handle any input from 8-20 Volts DC.

 

Did you have to reverse polarity on any of the gauges?

 

As far as reversing polarity, "hot" stays "hot", i.e., what used to be hot (negative) is now Positive. The side of the gauges that used to be grounded, is still grounded (now negative).

SteV8e, is that a pic of a Runtz?? That is exactly a picture of the NAPA IR1.

 

[QUOTE=ALBUQ F-1]As far as reversing polarity, "hot" stays "hot", i.e., what used to be hot (negative) is now Positive. The side of the gauges that used to be grounded, is still grounded (now negative).

QUOTE]

So, you didn't change anything about the gauge wiring? I only ask because I hooked up a regulator that looks exactly like the photo in Steve's post and my gas gauge looks correct (near empty as usual), the temp is operating backwards and my oil pressure seems to be pegged at 0 and I know I have about 40 psi at idle when I first start it up.
I did notice that if the regulator case is not grounded, i.e. mounted to something that is grounded, the gauges don't work at all.
I'm at wit's end with my gauges. I've tried most everything that I've seen posted and so far I don't think I'm getting anywhere.
I tried the 30 ohms resistor in line with the senders and thought it was working ok until I ran out of gas with a gauge reading 1/2 tank. I built a regualtor like the one shown in this post: https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...on_Guide_.html
and promptly it burned up ( guess I should have tested a little more thoroughly before installation) and now a simple over the counter solution that I'm not to sure about.........does anyone have a pistol I can borrow?

 

I'm sorry if my last post was confusing. The NAPA part number and price go with the photo in that post.

This photo shows Runtz voltage regulators on my gauges before I installed them in my dash.


To install the Runtz (one each for the OIL, TEMP, FUEL), remove the ground strap and drop the end of the Runtz with the open hole on the post that was grounded. The wire coming out of the Runtz gets grounded, and the terminal, shown in the photo with the screw and nut, goes to your ignition switch. Make certain it goes to a post that sees 12 Volts only when the ignition switch is on.

 

Nope
The flathead temp gauges start at Hot and move down to the actual temp, is that what you see?

The NAPA IR1 uses the case just like the Runtz has a little wire for ground.

Try reversing the connections on the IR, it is polarity sensitive.

 

Actually, what happens is the gauge starts at hot and with the motor running it moves very, very slowly towards cold but stays in a range that I would say should be the actual temp, just reversed on the gauge, i.e. it's very close to hot as the engine warms, it moves a lttle farther down the scale but still in the hot end of the gauge, does that make sense?

 

I think your IR is reversed; when mine was, it behaved erratically. It did similar to what you describe.