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RE: Fuel guage sender ohms, second try -Reply -Reply

To: mgs@Autox.Team.Net, gardner7@pilot.infi.net
Subject: RE: Fuel guage sender ohms, second try -Reply -Reply
From: Matt Kulka <Matt.Kulka@hboc.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 13:16:49 -0500
> At 10:23 PM +0000 1/13/98, Scott Gardner wrote:
> > My brother's BMW had the 1/4-tank marks spaced unevenly
> >along the face of the gauge, but they were accurate.  Perhaps this
> >was to compensate for problems with the gauge?
>
> A fuel tank sender is a variable resistor.  The uneven spacing of
lines on
> a guage is because the resistance output of the sender is not linear
per
> quantity of fuel in the tank.
> 
> CTP
> 
>Which begs the question, "Why aren't all cars done this way?".  Is 
>there a way that other automakers use to get linear output from the 
>sender?  I would think that this would be a pretty mature technology 
>by now.

I haven't seen the BMW gauge, but I'll be the marks are farther apart
towards the empty end.  When the tank's full, you don't often care if
it's 7/8 or 15/16 full.  On the other hand, it may make a big difference
whether the tank's 1/8 or 1/16 full.  The precision is put where it
makes a difference.

Matt Kulka
Who used to own a 
'60 VW Beetle - which was built without a gas gauge at all.


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