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mcdonaldneal Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013 Posts: 2639 Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 3:49 pm Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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For what it’s worth, I’ll post some pics of my sender repair.
I had a huge access panel hole to cut, but on the plus side I can get both hands in!
My sender had worn wire, as you see, and a micro fracture so the gauge only registered when the tank was totally full.
It is a VDO sender, and the little circuit board is solidly attached with a copper strip to the terminal post which made wrapping the Nichrome wire VERY fiddly. That’s my excuse for the incorrect spacing of the wire wrap!
I sealed it with epoxy and the whole thing has a resistance of about 45ohms. I’ll see how it goes with the gauge, but I can always add a 20ohm resistor if I need to later.
I was dreading the whole job, and so I’m glad it’s done even if it isn’t perfect-at least I’ll have some idea of fuel level now.
_________________ 1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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bnam Samba Member
Joined: July 02, 2006 Posts: 2931 Location: El Dorado Hills CA/ Bangalore, India
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Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2023 8:49 am Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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Marks_Bug wrote: |
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Sorry, but you've wound it incorrectly. You have spaced the wires uniformly apart. They have to be wound tighter towards one end. The reason is that the fuel gauge requires a non uniform input. Look at the spacing on the bevire winding.
I suggest others who may be pursuing this to copy the spacing of the previous winding - take a photo or put the resistor on a scanner and get a copy, or mark the winding spacing on a piece of card and try to replicate that. _________________ 1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL |
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Marks_Bug Samba Member
Joined: October 23, 2022 Posts: 37 Location: Edmonton, Canada
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Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 7:24 pm Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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Sorry to resurrect an old thread but it is so valuable and thanks to the OP for the tutorial! The last post does pose an unanswered question that I will answer. Yes, somebody has tried 34 gauge wire and from what I can see it works better than the 36. 70 ohms resistance of wire fits nicely on the board.
Also to address another question about soldering: In my unit the nichrome wire attaches directly to the connection post (no insulated copper wire between). With the nichrome wire wrapped around the post a glob of solder holds it there even though it may not be technically "soldered" to the post. To secure the wires on the board I mixed a teaspoonful of polyester resin with 3 drops of hardener to coat the edges and rear side of the board.
And I'll reiterate what's been said many times- clean up your wire connectors! A little steel wool works wonders.
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After:
_________________ If at first you don't succeed- use a bigger hammer!
Others owned- 1959 Beetle, 1959 Beetle, 1969 Beetle, 1971 Type 3, 1978 Bus |
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germansupplyscott Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2004 Posts: 7090 Location: toronto
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:22 am Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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Has anyone tried this sender repair using 34AWG wire?
In the photos it seems like the winding of the repaired senders using 36AWG wire are quite a bit more loosely spaced than the original sender windings. _________________ SL |
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wagohn Samba Member
Joined: June 24, 2014 Posts: 740 Location: United States
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 12:50 pm Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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furgo wrote: |
It seems you're already sorted with the new sender, but if you still want to have a go at fixing the OEM one, I'd suggest cleaning up the contact surface where the swing arm meets the enclosure. They are often corroded and provide no ground return. Generally the multimeter reads infinite resistance in this failure mode. |
Thanks, I tried that too. If I had to guess, it could be the windings are touching at some place when the unit is reassembled.
I've kept all my pieces, have a bunch of spare wire, so may try from scratch at a later date when this Chinese knock-off inevitably fails.
Either way, thanks to the OP for the learning experience. _________________ 1976 VW Transporter, 2.0 FI Engine |
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furgo Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2016 Posts: 944 Location: Southern Germany
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 11:54 am Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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wagohn wrote: |
wagohn wrote: |
Thanks OP. Just ordered the wire and will take a crack at fixing my OEM sender. Seems the Chinese senders are barely better than my broken sender.
The coiled wire and moving contact reminds me of my younger days taking Scalextric model car racing handles apart, looks a similar principle. |
Thanks OP. I gave it my all but no go. I created my "hole" pretty much directly over the sender and things were looking good. However, looks like the PO had already replaced the original sender with a VDO version. I tried to fix the VDO version, as I know they are decent, but had issues as follows.
Though I was able to wind the wire successfully, and when touching one end of the wire and various points on the coil board, I was getting between 5 and 70 ohm. Great! Then the problem. No matter what I did, when I tried to get a reading using the swing arm, I got nothing on my meter.
Played around with it for hours but no joy. Works when directly testing the coil, nothing when the arm is back on - I adjusted the contact a bunch of times but same issue.
So, I ordered a $35 JBUG sender. I know they're not great but I have nothing at the moment. The seal on the VDO sender was shot anyways.
Thanks
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It seems you're already sorted with the new sender, but if you still want to have a go at fixing the OEM one, I'd suggest cleaning up the contact surface where the swing arm meets the enclosure. They are often corroded and provide no ground return. Generally the multimeter reads infinite resistance in this failure mode. _________________ '79 Westy, P22 interior, FI 2.0 l Federal, GE engine (hydraulic lifters)
Decode your M-Plate |
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wagohn Samba Member
Joined: June 24, 2014 Posts: 740 Location: United States
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2020 7:14 pm Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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wagohn wrote: |
Thanks OP. Just ordered the wire and will take a crack at fixing my OEM sender. Seems the Chinese senders are barely better than my broken sender.
The coiled wire and moving contact reminds me of my younger days taking Scalextric model car racing handles apart, looks a similar principle. |
Thanks OP. I gave it my all but no go. I created my "hole" pretty much directly over the sender and things were looking good. However, looks like the PO had already replaced the original sender with a VDO version. I tried to fix the VDO version, as I know they are decent, but had issues as follows.
Though I was able to wind the wire successfully, and when touching one end of the wire and various points on the coil board, I was getting between 5 and 70 ohm. Great! Then the problem. No matter what I did, when I tried to get a reading using the swing arm, I got nothing on my meter.
Played around with it for hours but no joy. Works when directly testing the coil, nothing when the arm is back on - I adjusted the contact a bunch of times but same issue.
So, I ordered a $35 JBUG sender. I know they're not great but I have nothing at the moment. The seal on the VDO sender was shot anyways.
Thanks
_________________ 1976 VW Transporter, 2.0 FI Engine |
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wagohn Samba Member
Joined: June 24, 2014 Posts: 740 Location: United States
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Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 7:34 pm Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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Thanks OP. Just ordered the wire and will take a crack at fixing my OEM sender. Seems the Chinese senders are barely better than my broken sender.
The coiled wire and moving contact reminds me of my younger days taking Scalextric model car racing handles apart, looks a similar principle. _________________ 1976 VW Transporter, 2.0 FI Engine |
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GuruX Samba Member
Joined: August 09, 2016 Posts: 27 Location: Göteborg, Sweden
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Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2018 12:13 pm Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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Sorry if I'm bumping an old thread, but this how to is so great, it kind of deserves it.
Thanks a LOT for making this How-To. My fuel sender is now alive again!
While I was repairing my fuel sender, I made a couple of videos about it, in my Youtube channel named ecobus.
Here's the videos.
Link
Link
_________________ #ecobus
My project on Youtube.
And on Facebook
And Instagram |
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The Dubbernaut Samba Member
Joined: June 01, 2011 Posts: 162 Location: Kennewick, Wa
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Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 10:24 am Post subject: Re: HOW TO: Revive your fuel gauge sender for $1 FAQ |
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Daverham!!! Hows the sender working? _________________ 2012 Tiguan 4motion
2 Corrado's
3 Beetle's
76 Bus
2 Baja's
66 Pigalle Squareback
80 Rabbit
80 Rabbit Pickup
and still collecting! |
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busdaddy Samba Member
Joined: February 12, 2004 Posts: 51057 Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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raygreenwood wrote: |
Hmmmmm....I think that one is built differently from the almost identical cylinder type gauges on my 412. Let me open one tonight and see.
The first one I remember opening....long ago....had a center rod of what looked like bakelite plastic. It was a three sided or four sided rod with wire wrapped around it in a spiral with odd spacings here and there to change the resistance to match the variations of the tank shape at any given level (I speculate).
I will see if I still have that one or one like it. Ray |
Sounds complicated.
The bus one is just a single wire that goes down to the bottom and back up the other side and grounds to the lid, the float has a bridge contact that effectively shortens the wire as it rises changing the resistance.
The insulated rivet where the gauge connection passes through the lid also secures the spring plate the ground end of the wire is attached to and when it corrodes under there the sender stops.
Check out that thread WCFVW linked. _________________ Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.
Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
Слава Україні! |
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raygreenwood Samba Member
Joined: November 24, 2008 Posts: 21474 Location: Oklahoma City
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 1:10 pm Post subject: |
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Hmmmmm....I think that one is built differently from the almost identical cylinder type gauges on my 412. Let me open one tonight and see.
The first one I remember opening....long ago....had a center rod of what looked like bakelite plastic. It was a three sided or four sided rod with wire wrapped around it in a spiral with odd spacings here and there to change the resistance to match the variations of the tank shape at any given level (I speculate).
I will see if I still have that one or one like it. Ray |
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wcfvw69 Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004 Posts: 13385 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 12:00 pm Post subject: |
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bwaz wrote: |
busdaddy wrote: |
There's just 1 looong wire that is gounded to the top at one end, goes all the way to the bottom and comes back up the other side where it attaches to the gauge terminal, the float moves a contact that bridges the wire and changes the resistance. Here's type 3 one, different length but same principle:
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And what goes wrong on these type units? The wire, or are their some brushes that contact on the shaft? |
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=611056&highlight=
see this link. _________________ Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc
Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.
**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours** |
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bwaz Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2004 Posts: 1776
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 8:49 am Post subject: |
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busdaddy wrote: |
There's just 1 looong wire that is gounded to the top at one end, goes all the way to the bottom and comes back up the other side where it attaches to the gauge terminal, the float moves a contact that bridges the wire and changes the resistance. Here's type 3 one, different length but same principle:
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And what goes wrong on these type units? The wire, or are their some brushes that contact on the shaft? |
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wcfvw69 Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004 Posts: 13385 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 1:49 pm Post subject: Re: fuel gauge |
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Ian xuereb wrote: |
Hello everyone
I saw your post on his topic I'd like to take the opportunity to ask you a question… I am not sure if my fuel gauge is working properly. How can I checked it to know if it is working ok or not? When the tank is nearly empty the gauge signal does not show at all it is hiding completely and when I fill up it shows but I am not sure it is accurate. I am off on a long road trip through Europe and would like to have this sorted OK before I go. Would you be able to tell me what I should do to see if it is working properly?
Thanks
Ian |
Ground the sender from the tank to the gauge. If the gauge moves all the way over to full when you ground that wire, then your sender is bad. _________________ Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc
Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.
**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours** |
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Ian xuereb Samba Member
Joined: March 08, 2015 Posts: 2 Location: Malta
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 1:35 pm Post subject: fuel gauge |
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Hello everyone
I saw your post on his topic I'd like to take the opportunity to ask you a question… I am not sure if my fuel gauge is working properly. How can I checked it to know if it is working ok or not? When the tank is nearly empty the gauge signal does not show at all it is hiding completely and when I fill up it shows but I am not sure it is accurate. I am off on a long road trip through Europe and would like to have this sorted OK before I go. Would you be able to tell me what I should do to see if it is working properly?
Thanks
Ian |
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Ian xuereb Samba Member
Joined: March 08, 2015 Posts: 2 Location: Malta
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 1:34 pm Post subject: |
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Hello everyone
I saw your post on his topic I'd like to take the opportunity to ask you a question… I am not sure if my fuel gauge is working properly. How can I checked it to know if it is working ok or not? When the tank is nearly empty the gauge signal does not show at all it is hiding completely and when I fill up it shows but I am not sure it is accurate. I am off on a long road trip through Europe and would like to have this sorted OK before I go. Would you be able to tell me what I should do to see if it is working properly?
Thanks
Ian |
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motorbaby Samba Member
Joined: September 17, 2013 Posts: 6 Location: Seattle area
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:31 am Post subject: |
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Very good tutorial, thank you.
My last replacement sender only lasted a couple months before the contact cut through the wires, so I rebuilt it.
A handy source for resistance wire in my area is e-cig/vape shops. They're popping up all over. The store I went to didn't carry nichrome, so I bought some 32 gauge kanthal. That was the thinnest they had.
32 gauge kanthal has half the resistance of 36 gauge nichrome, and 70 ohms worth is a bit over 5 feet. I bought enough wire for two tries in case I messed up, which I did. The turns of wire had to be closely spaced to get all 70 ohms to fit on the board. On my first try I did not get it all on before I ran out of room. The edge of the board puts sharp kinks in the wire that don't come out well, so unwinding and rewinding, the thing looks like hell. I would say that in order to get good results, you need to smooth out the wire pretty well, plus it will be easier to work with. In the end 32 gauge worked just fine, but if there is a next time I will use 36 gauge. Also, I was initially concerned about the turns of wire contacting each other, but that doesn't seem to be an issue. |
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fogoo Samba Member
Joined: November 29, 2009 Posts: 100 Location: Toronto
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Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 5:16 am Post subject: |
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After fighting with the POS repro sender I bought, I thought I'd give this a try.....
Before.....
After.....
Happiest my gauge has been to date!
The wire I ordered had been rolled on a cardboard spool, but running it a couple of times through pinched fingers smoothed out the kinks. Whole job was done in about 1/2 hour. I started by pre-measuring, but came up short, probably due to the different shape. After that just used a continuous piece until fully wound. Also didn't use epoxy.
Been a few months now and working great. Thanks Daverham! _________________ 64 Single Cab
71 Bug.....sold
73 Bus......sold
75 Panel Bus - converting to Subi power http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=651073&highlight=
78 Kombi Camper |
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Volktales Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2013 Posts: 545 Location: Nanaimo, B.C. CANADA
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Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:28 am Post subject: |
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Very interesting thread. I will try replacing the resistance wire the next time. In my case a new repro Mexican sender was very inaccurate, poorly made, and the float banged against the tank when near full. Drove me mental and replaced it with a sender using parts cannibalized from several. Gauge would only read 3/4 when full. Others seem to have had this problem. Replaced the wire from the sender to the gauge with a heavier wire. Works perfectly now... _________________ 1974 "Restfalia" Camper 2000 cc EFI 2001-
1970 Beetle first car, rotten, yard art 1985-
1966 Sunroof Beetle, restored 1998-
1964 Ghia, ongoing project 2007-
1962 Beetle Beryl,original paint survivor 2012-
1970 Savannah Beige Beetle 2012-
1992 16v GTI, 100% stock 2006-
1991 "Terseo", wife's old daily 1995-
1969 Chevrolet CST/10 (family owned since new)
1965 Gold Corvair Monza 2021-
1966 and 1965 Monza 2022- |
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