StuartA
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| posted on 17/6/03 at 11:09 AM |
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Fuel gauge/sender reading reversed
Got our lovely new gauges a few weeks back and went to try out our fuel gauge and sender last night. Wired it all up as per the diagrams, but the
gauge is reading empty when float is at the top and vice versa. Took it all apart, tried rewiring, checked earth points etc, all to no avail. Check
resistance from the sender and it all seems correct (logically speaking, least resistance at 'full' . Does this sound to everyone like the
gauge is dodgy? That is the conclusion we reached. Anyone else had this problem?
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Spyderman
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 posted on 17/6/03 at 11:23 AM |
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Do you have a side mount or top mount sender unit?
I you have the wrong one it will do this.
Have you tried bending the float arm so that it reverses it's motion?
This will depend on how it is built of course.
Terry
Spyderman
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 17/6/03 at 11:28 AM |
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the float with my vdo sensor can be mounted either side of the rotating spindle that controls the voltage - and only one way is correct. other
reverses the reading.
atb
steve
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StuartA
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| posted on 17/6/03 at 11:39 AM |
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It is a top mounting sender, and it is definitely 'mounted' correctly. The actual arm that the float is on could theoretically be mounted
the other way up, reversing the reading, but we have done it as per instructions.
We haven't actually modified it at all yet, as we wanted to try it before putting it in the tank. If we can't get it reading correctly
without modifying then it will go back as it wasn't exactly cheap! I was just wondering if we had done something really daft with the wiring
(although I can't think what).
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DaveFJ
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| posted on 17/6/03 at 12:10 PM |
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Most instruction 'manuals' seem to be there to be interpreted, not neccesarilly believed........
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 17/6/03 at 02:40 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by protofj
Most instruction 'manuals' seem to be there to be interpreted, not neccesarilly believed........
i write manuals for the equipment my company manufactures (as well as designing it) and most people dont read the manuals.
The bigger the manual, the less it gets read!
I cant imagine the electics are wrong, cos its basically a resisitor, that doesnt have any polarity.
I recon your float is mounted wrongly....
atb
steve
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StuartA
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| posted on 17/6/03 at 04:07 PM |
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Just for the record, we measured resistance of the sender unit in both the 'empty' and 'full' positions. At
'empty' resistance was strongest (which seems to be logically correct... less juice going to gauge, should read empty) and vice versa.
There are only two ways the float can be mounted, pivot at the bottom or at the top... instructions say bottom so that is how we mounted it!
Admittedly if we mounted the other way up then it would work correctly, so perhaps the instructions are incorrect. I guess we are going to have to
talk to the manufacturers (which is a pain as they are difficult to get hold of)
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Mark H
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| posted on 17/6/03 at 06:27 PM |
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Aftermarket/kitcar suppliers hard to get hold off - can't believe that!!
Mark Harrison and
Q986 KCP back from the dead...
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MB
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| posted on 17/6/03 at 09:44 PM |
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I had exactly the same problem. I was using a sierra type sender. A slight modification to the sender sorted out the problem:
If you take the top off the sender, there is a circuit board with an arc of pick-ups which the float will contact to give different resistances at
different levels. At one end of the arc there is a wire soldered to it. I just de-soldered the wire and attached it to the other end of the arc.
There is a solder tab on the pcb you can use.
My sender / gauge now works fine
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StuartA
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 09:37 AM |
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Well we sussed the problem out... the sender was installed correctly, but for the wrong type of meter!!! Huge apologies Steve, as it turns out the
solution was just to turn the thing upside down. 
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 09:53 PM |
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no need to apologise - nowt wrong and you are talking to someone thats been on TOL for over 2 years! I can take it.
atb
Steve
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 10:09 PM |
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An easy solution is to turn your tank upsidedown
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 10:17 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
An easy solution is to turn your tank upsidedown
in your job I bet you see that a lot....with the car in the same orientation too......
atb
steve
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 10:30 PM |
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Yes, your'e right, only today I had a Fiat Punto sporting which had been innnocently hit from behind on a roundabout at about 20mph and it
flipped - total loss, the roof at the front collapsed, the engine revved to 80,000rpm upside down and committed suicide, as usuall with modern cars,
the driver escaped with only an indignant look on her face.
The only worrying thing is that it is identical to my normal road car, which is as stable as you could ever want, but evidently with abnormal loads
(the git in the XR3i) does a vertical 180 at very low road speeds. There is more to this dynamics thing that just the car itself
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 10:55 PM |
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are you saying it literally turned over like a forward roll......the back just went over the front?
atb
steve
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 10:59 PM |
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no, with the additional side forces as it when around the roundabout, coupled with the nudge from the XR3i, it rolled about its axis, but 80% of the
weight in the front, it skidded down the road on the bonnet and front part of the roof
worrying!
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James
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| posted on 20/6/03 at 10:03 AM |
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You've worried me now- think I'll just walk everywhere from now on!
I doubt I'll ever actually finish the Locost anyway so that won't be a problem!
James
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