Fuel gauge float repairing

imported post

Hi there! The ones that have the old wings, like myself, do you have problems with the fuel gauge (incorrect and intermittentreadings, slow needle response, etc.)? Well, I did. So few days ago I removed the seat and took the float assembly off of the tank. I carefully removed the cover (it is held by three "teeth") and saw a quite simple "sliding resistor" there. Oneouter connectoris connected to the resistor's beginning, while the other (which is later grounded)is connected to the assembly's body. The copper "tongue", which slides along the resistor, is connected to the body as well (so the wholecircuit looks this way/gauge output -1stconnector - resistor - cooper "tongue" - body - 2nd connector - ground/). And the main problem are the contacts. First, the resistor's coil, where the "tongue" slides along it, becomes corroded, as well as the tongue itself, so the resistance is too high - and the reading is too low. Second, the tongue is (electricaly)connected to the assembly's bodythroghsome kind ofcooper spring, which also corrode withage,giving too much resistance or even no contact at all. Now, there is a little screw on the float's pivot (where the copper"tongue" is fixed). Unscrew it and you will be able to rotate the tongue and move it out of the resistor. Get a fine sand paper and gently sand the resistor's edge (where the tongue is sliding along the coil) and sand the tongue as well. Be carefull not to damage anything. You can also bend the tongue a little to reinforce it's pressure to the resistor. The second problem (tongue - to - body contact) is still there. The pivot can't be removed so cleaning the cooper spring's contactsurface is next to impossible. Here is how I solved that: I took a thin, few cm long wire and soldered one end directly to thetongue and the other end to the body, so the tongue nowhas a direct connection with the assembly'sbody. The wire must be elastic (thin) and long enough not to affect the float's operation and it must not touch the resistor! Now rotate the tongue back to the coil (resistor). Don't tighten the screw yet. Move the float all the way up to restits shank againstthe limiter and then move the tongue to the resistor's beginning. Measure the resistance between outer connectors. It should be 10 to 15 Ohms by the manual. Hold the float in position and move the tongue a little to achievethe specifiedresistance. Now slightly tighten the screw on the pivot and move the float all the way down. The tongue should now slide near the resistor's end. The resistance should now be 65 to 75 Ohms by the manual. If not, then unscrew the screw and try to move the tongue a little and then retighten the screw, to eventualy achieve the specified resistances both whenthe float is on top and on bottom of travel. In my case that wasn't possible as the resistance on the resistors end (float on bottom) was too high. Now, it could be solved by shorting the resistors coil at the end, but I didn't want to do that. So, I finished with 10 Ohms on top and 95 Ohms on bottom of the float's travel. Not exactly by the manual, but it works fine, the gaguge reads "full" on top and "empty" an bottom and now it works smooth and nice, unlike before. So, now just put the assembly's cover back and connect the wires to the connectors (pay attention of their order). Turn the ignition on and lift the float all the way up- the gauge should read "full", put the float down and it shoud read "empty". If everything is OK put the float assembly back in the tank and put the seat back on.



So, that's how I did it. BUT, I am not very happy with that kind of slideresistor at all. What if a bad contact or something else causes a sparking? What could make a single spark inside the gasoline tank? Well, the answer is EXPLOSION AND/OR FIRE. I am really not happy to know that!! So, if you do any repairs on the float's assembly, be very carefull not to leave anythingwhich could make a spark and (I must say this, don't resent)YOU ARE DOING IT ON YOUROWN RESPONSIBILITY! Still I am sure thatthebest solution is to buy a new float assembly....