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Another fuel sender repair method T2a
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Wasted youth
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

grandpa pete wrote:
Hello telford
Where can I buy film cans like yours to put my screws in ? Very Happy ...do you have their website Very Happy

Nice article ; thanks for taking the time to do it


You will be hard pressed to find the aluminum screw lid 35mm film cans, but you can get today's (yesterday's ??? Shocked ) version from B&H Photo in New York. I have spent a lot of money with them:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?=General+Bran...amp;sts=pi

Available in packs of 5 or 25.

And YES! What a great write up. I was actually considering just putting the gas tank back in this week with the dead sender simply because nothing good is available. Thanks for putting this up there!
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ccpalmer
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 4:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

grandpa pete wrote:
Hello telford
Where can I buy film cans like yours to put my screws in ? Very Happy ...do you have their website Very Happy


eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-3-Collectable-Vinta...541fd01054

They work great for... green stuff too! Very Happy
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 6:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah - Nice job Telford and Gary but the red lights on all the time would drive me nuts

I just can't figure out what those lights do. They are kind of annoying when you're driving at night.
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 6:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

aeromech wrote:
Yeah - Nice job Telford and Gary but the red lights on all the time would drive me nuts

I just can't figure out what those lights do. They are kind of annoying when you're driving at night.
I just ignore them. After a while, it's like they're not even there.
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

busdaddy wrote:
Hmmm...... thirsty Confused

Actually, about right: (1) first fast run on a new engine (2) at speed on the freeway, using (3) california special low energy fuel. And we don't know where 'full' is yet.
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Wasted youth
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 7:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would just like to pass along that my son and I repaired the sending unit on our 1970 bus using this technique. Filled the tank with five gallons and this is what we got. Looks real good to me. Capacity is about 15 1/2 gallons, so we are just about 1/3 full with five gallons. Pay it no mind about the indicator lamps; we are working through all the electrical right now.

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rennie
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 8:32 pm    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

Great post and step by step instructions! For my splitty, I bought a bay tank with OG VDO gauge. Tested the sender and it gave funky readings.

I then did all the steps of soldering per this post and viola, all good. I tested it by tilting in-hand, then also submersed in water... Ohm readings were consistently around 76.4 empty and 1.6 full.

Flux is key, and be extremely careful with the amazingly fine wires - they're really vulnerable during the process...

Pic of finished job, before I soldered the two other suggested locations:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


added pix 7/28/17 Tcash
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 6:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

telford dorr wrote:


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Is anyone familiar with a situation that the sender is not repairable? I haven't started my repair yet. My wires are intact, but when I opened the tube, a couple of tablespoons of corrosion came out.

My rivet and spring plate wobble around like it's only attached to the top positive post by corrosion. Should I at least get continuity from the bottom rivet and spade connector? Or, is this what this repair does to bypass that connection?

thanks
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 7:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

The repair shown rectifies a dirty ground which is usually the only problem, in your case if the rivet is loose too then solder it to the washer and spring plate underneath and the terminal on the dry side as well, I've done this to a few and it results in a 100% full reading. Cool

The trick is get the solder to flow and stick before you melt the black plastic that the rivet goes through, usually I have to restrike the rivet a little after to tighten it back up in the body. Prepare yourself for maximum pucker doing that, one slip and those hair wires are done for Shocked Crying or Very sad
Or bypass the rivet and dry side spade and run a second wire from the tab under the rivet on the wet side up through a hole you drill in the body and connect the sender wire to that.

Shine up all the places to solder beforehand with sandpaper to minimize the meltage. Wink
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 8:39 pm    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

I used some carbs cleaner to help clean mine up, then sanded and soldered mine. Worked like a charm! Thanks!
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 9:25 am    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

Keep in mind that it is possible to fill the tank to above the sender (e.g. fill up the fill hose). Thus, any penetrations of the sender need to be fuel-tight. otherwise you have a leak into the tank compartment.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 8:16 pm    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

I fixed mine using this thread as a guideline. I by-passed the rivet altogether with silicon insulated wire. It was a really tight fit, so I don't expect much leakage, if any. I should probably fuse it as a safe guard. The ground wire has a ring terminal and will get attached to the same screw as the ground wire going to the body.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 4:34 am    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

In another write up, which I can't understand (in French), this repair is shown. What's the difference? Is it doing the same thing? Seems like at least you'd avoid tapping the lid.

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:20 am    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

Dogo wrote:
In another write up, which I can't understand (in French), this repair is shown. What's the difference? Is it doing the same thing? Seems like at least you'd avoid tapping the lid.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

The pic is too tiny to see exactly what's going on there, but it appears they have soldered the ground to the rivet, that would make the sender read full all the time and take the float out of the picture completely. Confused
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:33 am    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

busdaddy wrote:
Dogo wrote:
In another write up, which I can't understand (in French), this repair is shown. What's the difference? Is it doing the same thing? Seems like at least you'd avoid tapping the lid.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

The pic is too tiny to see exactly what's going on there, but it appears they have soldered the ground to the rivet, that would make the sender read full all the time and take the float out of the picture completely. Confused


Really? I can see it in a pretty decent size from here.
There is a lead from the rivet to the tensioner plate
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:54 am    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

Dogo wrote:
Really? I can see it in a pretty decent size from here.
There is a lead from the rivet to the tensioner plate

That's exactly what I thought I saw, but I couldn't beleive my eyes.

The rivet is the sender lead, the tensioner plate is the ground, connecting the 2 bridges the circuit across the potentiometer, might as well ground the sender wire to the body, you'll get the same constantly buried full needle.

The need for the fix arises from a poor contact between the tensioner plate and the sender body (loss of ground), the rivet holds it all together but is through and insulated ferrule in the middle of the tensioner plate so it's isolated from the rest of the sender and can conduct the variable resistance from the other (non ground) end of the hair wire to the gauge terminal.
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 8:33 am    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

This is what I see.
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 8:43 am    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

Looks to me that they ran the wire through the rivet - must have drilled a hole through it. See the wire behind the sender?

Seems like too much work to me - not to mention that you now have to ground that wire somewhere.

On the sender mod where the wires come through the lid: I'd blob some fuel-resistant sealer of some kind on those penetrations. Fuel can leak through some mighty tight places, and that area of the sender could be under fuel when the tank is full.

Adding a fuse won't protect you. The fuel gauge current is way too low to blow one.
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 9:35 am    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

I see what you, Tcash. I guess a lot was lost in translation.
My sender was reading about 3/4 full when in fact it was full.
Took it apart all seems alright, but I now am trying to measure resistance and I get no reading. Wondering if I'm doing it wrong.
Red lead on rivet, black lead on top cast plate.
Am I setting my meter wrong? Bad meter? Bad sender?

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Another fuel sender repair method Reply with quote

Dogo wrote:
My sender was reading about 3/4 full when in fact it was full.

Yup - that's the typical sender failure mode symptom.

Quote:
Took it apart all seems alright, but I now am trying to measure resistance and I get no reading. Wondering if I'm doing it wrong.
Red lead on rivet, black lead on top cast plate.

That's correct.

Quote:
Am I setting my meter wrong? Bad meter? Bad sender?

Meter is correct (200 ohm range). Touch the meter leads together. It should read (near) zero.

The sender is likely corroded. The corrosion happens between the brass spring plate and the aluminum case. You can't see it, but you can measure it. Measure from the top plate to the solder joint where the resistance wire connects to the spring plate. It should be zero. If not, you need to add a ground wire.

The other place corrosion will get you is in the rivet which connects the external wire terminal with the resistance wire. Measure from the terminal to the (other) solder joint where the wire connects to the tab under the rivet head. Again, it should read zero. If not, buff and solder both ends of the rivet.

I've never seen the resistance wire itself fail (except when physically broken).
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'Experience' is the ability to recognize a mistake when you're making it again - Franklin P. Jones
In theory, theory works in practice; in practice, it doesn't - William T. Harbaugh
When you're dead, you don't know you're dead. The pain is only felt by others.
Same thing happens when you're stupid. - Philippe Geluck
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