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Post Info TOPIC: What I've been up to + gas gauge help
cooz65


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What I've been up to + gas gauge help
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This past week has been nothing but car repairs. On my moms van I did rear shocks, front struts, and rotors and pads. I learned really quickly that swapping the coils on struts is a real pain! Even with a spring compressor, you can't get the very top and bottom coils compressed to get it to go over the new strut, so on went ratchet straps to compress the rest. It might have just been worth it to buy the whole assembly and beat the hassle of swapping. 

On the Elky, I dropped the gas tank, installed a new sending unit, and patched a small hole. The last patch we had used was a putty type and it held up pretty well but when we dropped the tank that came off. This time I bought more of a fiberglass epoxy patch kit. Stuff got hard as a rock and looks pretty solid so hopefully that holds. 

My gas gauge has never worked on the Elky, and I was somewhat assuming it was the sending unit. It needed to be replaced either way as the ground wire was barely attached. So new sending unit and still no gas gauge. I pulled out the instrument cluster and on the back, there is a L shaped connector. One of the wires is at 12V while the other is at 3.3V. At the back on the sending unit, the wire is at 3V. Can anyone confirm if those sound right? If so, could it be then that my gas gauge is bad? Is there a way to test that? 

Thanks for the advice! Knowledge is Power!

P.S. I think I need POSI. Did a one wheel wonder last night with my buddy. O the smile on his face. nana



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1965 Elky, 350-200R4

1970 Mercury Colony Park 

1952 Allis Chalmers WD

"It's not about how fast you go, it's about how fast you get going"

~ Steven ~ Stacy, MN
Enganeer


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What is the resistance? 65+ sending unit is 0 to 90 ohm (64 is 0-30ohm)

Ground the gas tank terminal post of the tank sending unit using a jumper wire. If the dash gauge now reads empty, the gas tank sending unit is defective. If the dash gauge needle fails to move, the dash gauge is defective or your dash is not grounded.



-- Edited by Enganeer on Thursday 25th of June 2015 07:56:45 PM

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John E - Rogers, MN

Instructions? All I need is the exploded view.
70 El Camino soon to be ls1/t56
64 Malibu SS
John D


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One thing commonly lost on 64/65's is a good ground for the instrument cluster. The entire assembly is attached to plastic, and they used some stamped tin "spider" lookin' things to go around the switches, and the LH radio shaft. The factory radio was a major source for the entire cluster ground (it was all steel, and bolted in to the metal dash). Just for good measure, take some 18ga. black wire and a few ring terminals and ground the cluster directly. Use one of the 1/4" cluster screws, and go to clean metal under the dash.

If I recall correctly the fuel guage (electrically) isn't grounded to the cluster. It's hot on one side, and the ground is variable via the sender. Do as Enganeer suggested and ground out the wire coming forward. You should see results at the gauge. If the gauge moves = bad sender. If it doesn't = bad wire going forward (evil ribbon cable/connectors is best guess) or bad gauge. If this is the case, use a jumper and ground the post on the gauge directly. If it moves = bad wire, no move = bad gauge.

I have a few gauges laying around, don't buy one if that's the case.

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John D. - St. Louis Park, MN.

1965 El Camino - LT-1, 4L60e, 4wh discs, SC&C susp.
2013 F-150 Platinum - Twin Turbo 3.5

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