Determining A bad Fuel sender/reparing?

[loveeverybody]

Finally got tired of being on the water and not Knowing how much fuel
available. Normally just fill the tank all the way up,and not have the worry.

So I tested Fuel gauge. Attaching Alligator clip to the ground on the Gage
and the probe to the +; and turning the key light illuminated. Perfect, current to the Gauge. So I tried hooking up the new gauge up directly before installing.

Ensuring
I had the ground on the tank to (-) on the battery and the S on the tank to the S on the gauge and the (+)on the guage to the (+) on the battery.

I thought I would be able to read or see how much fuel was in the tank.

needle did not move. I am thinking the float in sender unit is the problem
any ideas on repairing Thanks Guys

 

[jevery]

Re: Determining A bad Fuel sender/reparing?

This might help

http://www.trailerboats.com/output.cfm?id=1476505&sectionid=317

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Determining A bad Fuel sender/reparing?

There are several recent fuel sender posts in this forum. Scroll down and you will find diagrams and troubleshooting info. Gauges rarely go bad and the problem is generally wiring or a bad sender. You can simply disconnect the wire at the sender post and measure the resistance to ground. If you have an idea how much fuel is in the tank (empty, half or nearly full) the ohm meter should read 240, 105, or 33 ohms respectively (give or take a little). If you don't get those readings you have a bad sender.

 

[Polar_Bus]

Re: Determining A bad Fuel sender/reparing?

Finally got tired of being on the water and not Knowing how much fuel
available. Normally just fill the tank all the way up,and not have the worry.

So I tested Fuel gauge. Attaching Alligator clip to the ground on the Gage
and the probe to the +; and turning the key light illuminated. Perfect, current to the Gauge. So I tried hooking up the new gauge up directly before installing.

Ensuring
I had the ground on the tank to (-) on the battery and the S on the tank to the S on the gauge and the (+)on the guage to the (+) on the battery.

I thought I would be able to read or see how much fuel was in the tank.

needle did not move. I am thinking the float in sender unit is the problem
any ideas on repairing Thanks Guys

A real simple and quick method to test if your gauge is the culprit or not is to disconnect the resistance feed wire from the sending unit (usually a wire attatched in the center of the sending unit attatched to a stud, and the stud will be electrically isolated with fibre washers). Take the wire and touch it to a good negitive ground source. Your fuel guage should sweep to max full readout. If not, chances are you have a faulty sending unit.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Determining A bad Fuel sender/reparing?

The first concern on older tanks will be that the float on the older senders in the tank may be cork and that the shellac coating has been dissolved by alcohol rendering the sender useless. The newer plastic floats don't dissolve.

The second concern is that the variable resistor sender is in the tank of gasoline where experimenting with electronic testing [Edit]: other than with an ohmmeter, is probably not a good idea.

I had to cut through the deck to replace my sender. I added a deck plate so that it will take less effort the next time.
http://www.iboats.com/Beckson_Pry_O...24284917--**********.168446201--view_id.48326

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Determining A bad Fuel sender/reparing?

Current is passing through the sender during normal operation so testing with an ohmmeter is no more of an issue than running the boat.