TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Oct 20, 2002 9:09 pm

Hi

i own a 66 panel and im wondering, is the stock gauge a 6 volt(im guessing it is) and will it work with my 12 volt system(im guessing no). the bus hasnt be drivin in a year. the previous owner said the gauge worked, but there no voltage drop or anything. will it work?

thnks for lookin
chris

Mon Oct 21, 2002 7:00 am

Hey VWman,

My 6 volt guage is hooked up to my 12 volt system and there seems to be no problem. Been working for a couple of years. No voltage drop...

Doug

Mon Oct 21, 2002 7:14 am

It's the same with my '66. The gauge is accurate when the tank is empty but never shows correct when full. The needle doesn't go all the way to the top, it will sit between 3/4 and full when the tank is filled.

Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:05 am

Same deal as Mike's on mine. Gauge reads just a hair over 3/4 when full, then when it gets on the "R", I usually have two gallons left, so while it's not completely accurate, it's certainly usable.

Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:53 am

Interesting, I have always wondered if my 6 volt gauge would work w/12v. Now, my question is do you guys have 6 volt sending units as well, or are they 12v?

Mon Oct 21, 2002 12:16 pm

I had to replace my sending unit a while back. The new one I bought was 12v but it didn't make a difference in the way my gauge functioned.

Mon Oct 21, 2002 12:24 pm

The guauge in my '67 reads between 3/4 and full when the tank is full as well, but it seems to be pretty accurate at the bottom end of the guauge. So that doesn't have anything to do with the 6v/12v since my bus is all 12v. I've just learned to live with it.

Andrew
'58 Panel Bus
'60 European Beetle
'67 Deluxe Bus

Mon Oct 21, 2002 8:00 pm

thanks alot guys, im just a 17 year old kid startin out...and i love the great help around here...lats see if i can muster up any other quetions.

Tue Oct 22, 2002 12:50 pm

Yeah, that was a help, I wasn't sure if I could use my 6v gauge with the 12v sender. Thanks! -Mark

Wed Oct 23, 2002 7:41 am

A 6 volt guage will work but can and will eventually fail it may be a year it may be a day no way to tell. I made a dropping resistor and installed it at the positive connection on the guage and it works great. and by the way that is exactally what VW did on the eairly bay window Bus fuel guages to make them work with 12 volts because without it they are 6 volt guages.
As for the sender, they are the same 6 or 12 volt, the sender works on resistance to ground the lower the float the more restance the lower the guage reads.
As for not reading full I think every Bus I have seen reads slightly under full I think this is probably due to resistance in the 30+ year old wiring (restance)