TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Oct 11, 2009 7:33 pm

To link to this post copy and paste
Code: [url=https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=381486&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=]Fuel Gauge Vibrator got ya down? FAQ[/url]

I'd been having gas gauge issues for a while and amonst other things found a faulty voltage stabilizer / vibrator. Google led me to this article
http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/MGB-Voltage-Stabilizer.htm which describes a solid state fix. I called Radio Shack as noted in the writeup.... nada. ...Hmm... there's always FRY's in Renton? For those of you who don't know FRY's. It is one of those !Ultimate computer stores! . They don't just have everything, They've got like dozens of everything from 100's of different vendors, simply huge and they got it all. They even have individual electrical components, which I needed. I wont mention any VR's from the article because I couldn't find any of those, but instead found an NTE1932 which is a 10v 1a, and is the same range as the article.

Here's the VR module type.

With leads attached,

Appropriate ends after opting for no housing.

Attached to the cluster backing, s.i.b. [EDIT: hard to see but I bent center ground pin to mate w/ cluster backing]

Key ON, .. snickers aint the only thing that satisfys!

This replacement was pretty easy with the dash cluster already out and FRY's close by. Putting the VR together was easy in comparison to spending about 30-40mins as a contortionist getting my dash back together.
.. Not to mention breaking my brake light indicator lens.. and my speedo needle! in the process. Oh the string of curse words that came from my mouth when it snapped off... I replaced it with the end of a white zip tie cut to length and glued in place of the original, yeah ghetto, but until I get a replacement speedo it will suffice.
My bus always has something broken.

Sun Oct 11, 2009 9:14 pm

Very Nice!.. How much did that cost?
Got to be less expensive than the VW vibrator.

Sun Oct 11, 2009 9:28 pm

Nicely done, and good write-up.

Mon Oct 12, 2009 4:09 am

so it's meant to be 10v? Pretty easy. Thanks.

Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:56 am

Monkeyknuckles wrote: Very Nice!.. How much did that cost?
Got to be less expensive than the VW vibrator.

$2.99 + tax @ FRY's. A similar unit goes for .74c when searching online.

Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:58 am

RatCamper wrote: so it's meant to be 10v? Pretty easy. Thanks.

I believe 10v is what the stock voltage stabilizer wants to deliver. Thats what mine had shown prior to getting fouled.

Mon Oct 12, 2009 2:11 pm

Mine went short circuit and killed the gauge before I owned it so getting a voltage was impossible. I might still go the path of using a zener and a lightbulb like the other type of 'vibrator' as current limiting is extremely important to the way I have a gauge configured. I'm using an external resistor for calibration of an otherwise completely incompatible gauge taken from a truck.

Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:17 pm

Everything going as planned? Report back if it is working as it should after a few tanks. Good tip. Nice find.

Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:28 pm

It occurred to me recently that my speedometer needle is in fact a toothpick hot-glued in place...so a zip-tie doesn't sound all that outlandish to me! :lol:

Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:38 pm

That's absolutely horrifying that a VW shares an electrical contrivance with an english car :shock: There's some tech spying gone bad :? Props for posting the fix, next dead fuel gauge I'll explore that route.

Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:46 pm

Freakin' awesome! My gauge is using a used vibrator (cuz the original had a broken wire) so it doesn't go all the way and sometimes doesn't even go :roll: Can't wait to try this out!!

Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:00 pm

Thanks for the responses. So far so good. It's not a dailydriver, but looked good on my Sunday drive around lake Samm. I'll report back with a gauge reading to fill up ratio once I get some more data.

Tue Oct 13, 2009 4:24 pm

Oh 'that' vibrator,reminded of someone else with a problem.....batteries were dead..

Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:55 pm

I thought I had enough fuel but chug...chug...coasted into the Shucks parking lot and waited for the little lady to bring me a gallon of gas. Well, now's a good time to fix things. 13.5 gallons later I had a Bus with a full belly and my meter read 3/4 tank, just like usual.

Later that weekend...Toby gets the NTE 1932 installed.

Okay, full tank of gas and the needle s-l-o-w-l-y pegs to beyond full (gas gauge sender is new from The Bus Depot). Voltage is a tad over 10v and resistence is 11.7 ohms so everything is checking out okay. Guess I need to start driving now and use up some fuel to see if the gauge deflects properly.

Come to think of it, I have an access port to the sender (PO hack) so I could test it manually as well...just may do that this weekend as with no rain tomorrow I'd rather ride my motorcycle :D

Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:57 pm

timo78, how's yours working?

I got my device from Norvac Electronics, Inc. and it was $3.15.

Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:59 am

Hey busdaddy
Does the 71 have one of those things that vibrate also?

Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:10 am

Nope, it was introduced in 73.

Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:25 am

Thanks.

Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:39 pm

Air_Cooled_Nut wrote: timo78, how's yours working?

I got my device from Norvac Electronics, Inc. and it was $3.15.

Hey Toby
It seems to be doing well, but I have yet to do a fill-up [it's not my daily driver] and I haven't made any long trips since the install.
It does seem to hang out in the F+ region for longer than I expected, but my newer cars hang out in F range too for a long time before they start to drop. I'm almost to 1/2 tank and I think that will help determine the validity of the fix.

Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:58 pm

Cool. Hopefully that's the situation. Once I hit 1/2 tank then I'll carry around a gallon of gas with me and drive her until empty. Then I can adjust the arm accordingly so the gauge hits empty when the tank is.

I'm just a little concerned because I can barely even see my needle because it's sooooooo far into the full tank zone :shock: Maybe my float arm needs adjusting? I dunno yet.