Gas gauge or voltage limiter

[440roadrunner]

That is what I figured..bad limiter. I got another of a buddy of mine.
Put the limiter in and she moves to empty and thats it...but it does move more that before *g*. I grounded the wire to the tank and the gauge reads full so the gauge must be ok. I am getting power to both sides of the limiter. 12 Volts to one side and 5 to the other..the 5 volts is not constant it pulses which I think that is what it is supposed to do. Could it be the sending unit in the tank be pooched..seems odd the limiter would go same time as the sender.
AL

Could be that the sender shorted, causing high current flow. IF so you are lucky if the gauge movement is not damaged. This is why you need to check this out as a "system"

1 Make sure you have full 12V (14 when running) right to the VR

2 Check with resistors to see if the gauge is accurate

If you put the resistors back at the tank, you now have an "end to end" test --- from the battery, through the ign switch, the cluster, the vr, the gauge, wiring, all the way to the tank. So if the test resistances cause the gauge to read accurately, you know then that the sender is the problem, or at least right in that area

 

[ram250098]

Well after 3 voltage limiters and testing two fuel senders, the problem was the gas gauge. Even when I grounded it out and the gauge went to full.....I got another gauge and jumped the wires from the panel the gauge worked...that is a mystery...I always thought if the gauge reads full when grounded the gauge is good....learn something new everyday...
Thanks for all the help guys/
AL

 

[67 coronet]

Well after 3 voltage limiters and testing two fuel senders, the problem was the gas gauge. Even when I grounded it out and the gauge went to full.....I got another gauge and jumped the wires from the panel the gauge worked...that is a mystery...I always thought if the gauge reads full when grounded the gauge is good....learn something new everyday...
Thanks for all the help guys/
AL

that is a weird one.must have a bad spot in the middle of the sweep.never heard of that before.thanx for the info,will store that in the memory banks.

 

[ram250098]

LOL that is the thing how could the sweep be bad if the gauge goes to full when grounded...I don't mind wiring but this one made me loose alot of hair...LOL
I have never seen a limiter go bad or a gauge for that matter..I have replaced many many senders...thank god for keeping spare parts around to check with...*g*
AL

 

[440roadrunner]

These gauges, as much as we love these old girls, are, really, a POS. They are nothing but a "hot wire" heater which causes a metal strip to warp, moving the needle. The wire is subject to deterioration (40 HOW many years?) the metal strip might just be fatigued, and the mechanism can get gummy/ sticky, etc

This is why I continue to advocate a stem to stern approach when checking these out The only way to see if they are accurate (if that's the word) is to check them with resistance, either by measuring the fuel sender, or buying substitute resistors.

 

[ram250098]

Well you know your stuff 440roadrunner...thanks again for your tips.
AL

 

[Ratinoff]

Has anyone replaced their voltage limited with Year One P/N L39549? Has anyone purchased one of these voltage limiters and have had them fail? If so, does the component fail in the same way as the OEM component? I'm asking these questions because I'm trying to avoid purchasing a new voltage limiter, that when it fails will produce a 12V output, instead of 0V.

I plan on calling Year One on Monday to ask them, but I figured maybe someone on the forum would already have answers to my questions.

Thanks for your input.

 

[wahya]

update; After installing voltage limiter last year, the gas gauge still didn't work, but the other ones did for a few days. When I checked the limiter I had nothing. I called the guy that sold the limiter and he sent me another for no charge (I was pleasantly surprised). I installed the new limiter, but did not hook up the fuel sender. I drove the car for a few months without the fuel sender and the other gauges worked fine. I then installed a new sender a couple months ago and it has been working good. I'm now thinking that my bad sender may have been the cause of the first limiter going bad.