So seriously~ I only ask to save time, but now I've wasted another day~ I can get one of these http://www.voltage-regulator.org/tag/12v-dc-power-supply-radio-shack from the radio shack in Joplin *to-morrow!!!*, (I guess) but I call on the electrical knowledge of you to tell me if you think one of these would be as good (or hopefully even better?) than the Runtz. I could get this thing wired up and ready to roll the day after tomorrow if it will work. Sadly, I know barely beans about wiring. What I do know about it now, I owe to Bill Hanlon! Thanks for your input!
Fried Gas Gauges Paul ; I don't know which one on the huge page full you linked to , is the R.S. one . The very first one looks passable , it's only five volts so *maybe* might not read accurately . The thing Tubby posted , is a simple resistor and some times fries the gauge head . Many use them just fine , many others fry their gauge heads with it . If you go to Radio Shack and look in the drawers of small parts , you'll prolly find a voltage regulator , the one I am thinking of says 12 VDC > 6 VDC . The gauge head only needs a few milliamps , not more so a tiny delicate one will work fine . After you've wired it to provide 6 volts to the power side of the gauge head , assemble the dashboard using NEW star washers and nuts , add a ground wire between the gas tank and the body , another between the body and the frame then test the gauge by turning the key on with the tank lead disconnected and isolated , this drives the gauge to one extreme , now ground the tank end of the sender wire to the tank proper , it *must* drive the gauge fully to the other extreme . Once you have this , you can connect the sender wire to the sender , if it reads off , it's a simple thing to adjust it , can't do any adjustments until the gauge responds perfectly to each extreme (full/empty) separately from the sender unit . Simple and clear as mud , right ? . I'm far (3,200 miles) from my beloved Son right now , in Maine getting the Family to - gether to bury Mom's ashes Saturday . The rain gave us a pass to - day , nice weather , I spotted a few oldies here & there as we drove to (new New Harbor , I can't spell nor pronounce the actual name of P-squetwhatever Harbor) for a fantastic diner of fresh sea food . Just keep plugging away and have a laugh thinking of me when I with my broken back had to squirm under the dash of my old '49..... OW . .
Thanks Nate! I'm off to radio shack today if they have that first one in stock. I'm glad the weather held out for you. Hopefully Saturday will be just as nice. The best place for a plate of excellent seafood is by the sea! Thanks again, and yes~ I look sooo forward to climbing under the dash again. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?
Nate Nate, am sorry to hear about your mother, my parents lived in Waldaboro Me for a long time on the road out to Friendship so know it well. As they say down there you can't get there from here. Enjoy the sea food. Dave P.S. Many thanks again for your help.
Runtz wins~ These last few days have been filled with the unexpected. I tried radio shack again and decided FORGET IT! I ordered a Runtz from speedway. I'm sure I will be asking for how this thing gets hooked up (in laymen terms). It should be in Saturday. It will probably turn out that the gauge is toast anyway, since I had the 12volt hooked up to it, resistor free. Anyway, thanks for all the help/advice/ and most importantly, PHOTOS!
Speedway is SPEEDY! My Runtz is here (next day!) with most excellent directions. And~ The weather is wonderful! Cloudy, breeze, and cool for what it has been! Perfect nap weather!
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em~ And I fold~ Everything is wired the way it is supposed to be (with two good grounds. 3 really, because the Runtz has a ground that goes to the gauge housing stud.) and the needle still jumps to full when the key is turned on. BTW, I had installed a 12 to 6 volt reducer, pretty much like the one Tubby posted a picture of. Using my volt meter, the wires at the tank read 0.00 (ground) and 4.56 to sender with key on, of course. I'm at the point where I just don't care and will do the "fill it up every 100 miles" deal. Maybe *someday* I will look into this and see what I can do, but it won't be any time too soon. Thanks for all the help and ideas, however! You tried!
What's the condition the wire from the sender to the gauge? Is it new, has it been replaced during your restoration?
come to think of it, there is a splice that I made that I could look at. I did it quickly with a crimp connector. I might cut it and solder it to see if that helps.
There are a few troubleshooting steps First check that wire from the sender to the gauge. Check that your sender is grounded to the body Usually a wire is run from one of the sender flange screws to the body., chevy runs the ground to the underbody, not sure what GMC did You don't take a voltage reading at the sender with your meter, you want to set your meter to ohm. Sender reads 30 ohm full. 0 empty That's just a start
Thanks again, Tubby! If I knew where you were, I'd shake your hand! The sender is grounded to the underbody, then just to make sure, I ran a lead to the frame as well. The ground wire was part of the harness from our host. And dang about the ohms! I have a bass thumper kit setting on top of the tank (that does not touch the wires/connector of the sender unit) and getting the top half of the seat off and on is no picnic. However, I guess I ought to check that tomorrow. I'll post what it says with the key on tomorrow.
DON'T use an ohmmeter in a powered circuit, i.e. DON'T measure ohms with the key on. Probably won't hurt the truck, but may let the magic smoke out of the meter.
See??? I can wire a house with my eyes shut, but give me AUTO circuits and I'm (like my wires) TOAST. I'll just make sure I fill up often and skip the gauge.
That is awesome, Tubby! I reworked the wires underneath to make sure they were absolutely connected. The ground went into the bottom of the cab and I had ground away the paint around the contact point and jumped a wire from there to the frame. Turned the key on, same thing~ Needle pegged to full. Later, I discovered that I had never tightened down the front cab bolts. After I put the truck in gear and tried to go backwards, it automatically spun its tires in the gravel that is the floor of my "garage". After this happened, the next time I turned on the key to work on the timing, the needle only went to 1/4 tank. (which is about how much gas I have in there, I think.) ??? Tomorrow I will put more gas in it to see if the needle moves or not. Thanks again, Tubby. I appreciate all the help, suggestions, and PICTURES!
WAY Down East You're always very welcome for any help I can provide . I was on Dutchneck Road of that helps... There were the most amazing lightning storms ~ rain followed us from Utah all the way across America , 18 states we traveled and heavy rain in EVERY ONE Thankfully we got occasional sun shine too . Paul : if you re wired my 1923 house , I'd re wire your truck , parts included .
https://talk.classicparts.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14664&stc=1&d=1436031182 This is my fuel gauge wiring and im also having the problem with the needle going all the way to full. Is there any other suggestions? thank you. 12 volt conversion with new wire harness and fuel gauge.
The voltage reducer you are using is just what I had in there. I switched to the Runtz from speedway, which I got in the mail the next day. I think what finally got mine to working is the ground connections I redid. I had grounded the tank to the underside of the cab, but I also grounded that to the frame. Also, the Runtz has a ground wire that goes to one of the gauge cluster mounting stud. Plus, I found out I had never tightened down the front cab mount bolts! (Further enhancing the grounding system, I would guess.)
