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Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:27 pm

I got today off so I'm doin' all kinds of stuff to Adeline(my bus).

Now i need to make my gas gauge work, so I tested the end that connects to the tank by grounding it then checking if it peaks the gauge....no connection. I cleaned myconnection on both ends and still no go...

Anyone had to do this? I really don't know how I'm gonna follow that wire all the way through.

Before anyone says it, yes the gauge works, but i'm gonna test it again anyways to make sure...but lets say it works.

Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:46 pm

guage works, fine, but does your sending unit work?

Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:49 pm

Well if when I ground the line it doesn't peg the gauge then it doesn't matter if the sender works or not, right?

Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:55 pm

ah, good point. I spoke to soon. Still, if you get everything done and it still doesnt work.....then look at the sender. I have had a lot of trouble with senders and they are a pain to change in the bus i.e. pull the engine.

Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:58 pm

Ya I'm betting the sender is bad and that when I do get a good connection I'll need one anyways....

Fortunately and terribly unfortunate at the same time, some dude that owned my bus before cut a big hole above the engine, so I should be able tyo reach the sender from there.

Wed Jun 23, 2004 1:14 pm

KevinCompton wrote: Fortunately and terribly unfortunate at the same time, some dude that owned my bus before cut a big hole above the engine, so I should be able tyo reach the sender from there.

Well, hell yeah, and that stupid son of a b__ch.

Wed Jun 23, 2004 1:44 pm

hey that guy must have owned my bus!!!!!

there is a 4 by 1 1/2 foot hole right above the gastank.

Iguess im lucky they put a peice of metal over it, then plywood and finnaly carpet wow.....................

Wed Jun 23, 2004 1:51 pm

on mine there is a ground wire running from a bolt on the sender to a bolt on the body (ground wire)

Check to make shure you have the wires hooked up right on the guage and that there the right wires.

Wed Jun 23, 2004 1:51 pm

oops.

Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:01 pm

The wire from the gauge to the sender was originally one piece and was not spliced anywhere. If you can ground it at the gauge end and the gauge moves, but it won't work at the sender end then the wire is open somewhere in between. You can run a new wire and ty-rap it to the existing harness. But ground the gauge first and make sure it works from there, I've never seen a bad wire unless it was cut. Even better - run a wire from the gauge out the drivers door, under the bus back to the engine compartment and hook it up to the sender to test your bad wire theory before you go to all the trouble to actually replace the wire.

Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:53 pm

dstefun wrote: The wire from the gauge to the sender was originally one piece and was not spliced anywhere. If you can ground it at the gauge end and the gauge moves, but it won't work at the sender end then the wire is open somewhere in between. You can run a new wire and ty-rap it to the existing harness. But ground the gauge first and make sure it works from there, I've never seen a bad wire unless it was cut. Even better - run a wire from the gauge out the drivers door, under the bus back to the engine compartment and hook it up to the sender to test your bad wire theory before you go to all the trouble to actually replace the wire.

And if it works, just duct tape the wire to the side of the bus. :lol:

Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:33 pm

I have a custom cut hole for my sender too, except I have a custom bead rolled piece that is screwed into it that makes it look all pretty. :lol:

Thu Jun 24, 2004 12:09 am

i had a hole cut in my 21 window...it looked like someone chewed it out, and peeled it right back to the forward bend that goes down to the floor. that's right, cut on three sides, and then just 'hinged' up and down around that brake. i originally thought it was for the sender but was too far forward...i think it was so that they could reach underneath to adjust the clutch.

i welded it shut.

Thu Jun 24, 2004 10:11 am

Ok so I tried testing the gauge itself yesterday and the bitch isn't working...or I'm not testing it right.

I just bought it here on the samba and the sob told me it worked.

How do you ground it? If its broken can it be fixed?

Thu Jun 24, 2004 10:40 am

KevinCompton wrote: Ok so I tried testing the gauge itself yesterday and the bitch isn't working...or I'm not testing it right.
How do you ground it? If its broken can it be fixed?

Two posts on the gauge, one goes to power (6V or 12V), the other goes to the sender. With the key on (power to the gauge) make sure you have power to the gauge with a test light or meter. If not, fix that. If you have power, ground the other post momentarily to a bare spot on the body or a screw or bolt already holding a ground wire. Don't leave it grounded as it is designed to go through a resistance (the sender) to ground. The gauge should move. If you hook it up backwards it moves backwards.

No, they are not repairable in a practical sense. You have to uncrimp the chrome ring on the front to get it open and then there is no way to crimp it back again.

Thu Jun 24, 2004 10:47 am

I have a new sending unit in a box. Send me a PM and I will sell it to you.

Thu Jun 24, 2004 8:07 pm

Turns out it is my sender...all the connections work well, thank God.