fuel gauge stopped reading

[SIVAllan]

Filled up the Tiger this morning - to the brim.

Many miles later the fuel gauge still indicated 11 ++ gallons.

A 100 miles later it dropped to 8 or so - very inaccurate.

I drove over a dirt "washboard" road to see if anything might be stuck and could be shaken loose, to no avail.

How can I trouble shoot this - or is the problem almost certainly with the sender?

A check for loose wires at the fuel gauge and in the trunk at the sender found none, and exhausted my electrical skills

As I'm a few thousand miles from home, in Bozeman Mt, looks like I'll be using a pen and notepad to estimate when to fill up unless a fix appears.

Thanks in advance,

 

[agmason54]

Allan
Pull the the sender.Its a ten minute job.Hopefully its just stuck and needs some lube otherwise get a yardstick and carry a spare gallon of fuel.
To test the sender pull the the wire.The guage should go to empty.Now ground the wire
It should go to full.If the gauge works your sender needs attention...
How is your Fix Or Repair Dailey lump holding up?
later napi
RedCar

 

[SIVAllan]

Allan
Pull the the sender.Its a ten minute job.Hopefully its just stuck and needs some lube otherwise get a yardstick and carry a spare gallon of fuel.
To test the sender pull the the wire.The guage should go to empty.Now ground the wire
It should go to full.If the gauge works your sender needs attention...
How is your Fix Or Repair Dailey lump holding up?
later napi
RedCar

Albert,

It's not the Ford parts that break.

Did your test .... Pulled the wire and the gauge went to empty.

The gauge stayed on empty after grounding the sending unit wire with a test light, which began to blink.

Allan

 

[PROCRAFT]

Sender

Alan.

It seems the senders are a bit unreliable I've been having problems with mine all along after servicing it before assembly I went the yardstick route just as Al says. eventually were going to replace it with a vertical one that has a float and no arm.


Joel

 

[Greggers]

Allan,
I have a working fuel sender that I pulled from my SV. I assume it'll be compatible with your Tiger. If not, I have the (presumably) working fuel gauge as well. I can ship it out to you if you can't get yours to work.

I believe you have my number if you want to text me about it. Otherwise, email.

Incidentally, I found that a spray paint can cap worked nicely to keep the fuel fumes from getting too nutty while the sender was out.

 

[Stephen]

Alan if its the same gauge as Alpine might be bad voltage stabilizer

 

[SIVAllan]

Alan if its the same gauge as Alpine might be bad voltage stabilizer

Stephen,

Yes, that's a possibility.

If so, I'd think the temp gauge would also be erratic.

It *has* done some fluctuating but out in the high elevation desert, driving up and down long grades which I assumed was normal for the environment, but that was only a guess.

I will try and order one.

Allan Ballard

 

[agmason54]

Allan
Just ground the wire and watch the gauge with the key on
You dont need a test light.
Sorry your engine is overheating pulling mountians and at idle....
Have you replaced the thermostat?
Logan pass is only uphill the first 25 miles with snow still on the ground.
later
Albert

 

[SIVAllan]

Allan
Just ground the wire and watch the gauge with the key on
You dont need a test light.
Sorry your engine is overheating pulling mountians and at idle....
Have you replaced the thermostat?
Logan pass is only uphill the first 25 miles with snow still on the ground.
later
Albert

Albert,

I used the test light with its wire and alligator clip as a ground wire as I didn't have a spare wire....

The engine pulled the 9500 feet Continental Divide easily and without issue as easily as going downhill.

It is struggling with insufficient air at high elevation at idle or stop n go and will go to 200 degrees quickly and flirt with vapor lock.

Lower octane helps, rejetting would also help, a spacer under the carb would help.

6600 feet Logan Pass in cool temps is no problem unless stuck in a tourist log jam.

Might be wise to start at first light before the tourists wake up - make that "the other tourists" - or spend the scarce time there at other locations equally awesome.

The temp gauge is a little wonky making me suspect the regulator however Murphys Law will make sure the worst part to deal with is the one that is a problem.

Meanwhile, I got a yardstick - wood not painted -and it is doing ok.

Allan Ballard
Helena, Montana

 

[Tom H]

Allan, when you pulled the sender wire and the gauge went to zero, that was a useful step.

When you grounded the wire thru a test lamp, and the lamp blinked, that was good test and tells you that the Voltage stabilizer seems to be working. The original type stabilizer pulses on / off about 2 times per second to maintain about 10 Volts average voltage to the gauges.

But that test using the lamp will barely move the gauge off zero because the lamp resistance is about equal to the sender resistance when empty.

As Al suggested, you need to ground the wire directly. stick a paper clip into the connector and touch it to the chassis or whatever metal you can find near the sender. The gauge should then go to full, If so the gauge is working and the issue is indeed the sender.

Tom

 

[SIVAllan]

Thanks Tom.

I hooked up with Albert Mason here in Browning. Albert grounded the wire and the culprit appears to be the sender.

Hopefully Greg will be able to send one.

Incidentally, the senders can be rebuilt.

Thanks again,

Allan Ballard
Browning, Montana

 

[Tom H]

Oh wow! You hooked up with Al in Browning. I just missed him by a week 3 years ago when I was passing thru there on one of my road trips. That's neat. Say Hi for me. Did you take any pics of your car in Glacier? Send it in for the 2015 calender.

And yes, the sender may be repairable, depending on what is wrong with it. It's a pretty simple variable resistor. I'll bet the contacts are gummed up.

Tom

 

[agmason54]

Future Has Beens Rock Pukuni Land

Tom
Yes Allan Ballard and I cruised 'Over the Sun Highway' in my Alpine and when we got back to Browning we and got his sender to work then we tore all over the Blackfeet Rez in his Tiger.It was the best Sunbeam day l ever spent.His car was overheating and mine has a dead starter but that did not stop us.We saw the prettiest land in the whole country in two wicked cool cars.In the evening Allans Tiger ran like a champ
He drove me from Heart Butte to Babb with one stop at Kipps beer garden.
His Tiger covered the same distance which took my Alpine all day in a few hours. It was a blast.I even got to introduce Allan to two of my favorite praire flowers- Christy Ground and Elaine Oscar Lazy Boy.It was a trip of a magic day.
Allan is a true warrior and my kind of guy.From now on his name to me is BRAVE!!!We also spoke highly of you more than once Tom.
I took sme pics of Allans Tiger that may be calandar worthy.He deserves it.
Tomorrow Im going to Cutbank to buy a starter from Car Quest for $53.00
lm parked on a hill tonight but tomorrow l will see another FHB with two Alpines unknown amoungst this club...
later
Al MASON

 

[Tom H]

Hey Al and Allan, Neat report. I got the pics you sent via e-mail. I've been over "Going to the Sun" hwy in my Alpine in 2005. Beautiful. To me your pics look too hazy for good calender pic, but send them in.

I love the color of your Blue Alpine. It's the same color as my first Alpine- 1965-1974. Is your old red War Pony retired?

And for anyone following this thread, Al was able to fix Alan's fuel sender by pulling it from the tank, and simply cleaning the area where the moving contact wipes across the wire-wound resistor.

See post #20 here for explanation and photo about the sender:
http://www.sunbeamalpine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15723

Tom

 

[agmason54]

Tom
Allan and l both fixed it.He thinks l scared it.It think it was an act of God but l am a heathen...All we did was remove it and inspect it and nothing else...
bye now
RCtWG

 

[Tom H]

Well if it goes bad again, Allan, read the post I linked and do a little cleaning before you put it back.

Tom