At 10:58 AM 4/27/98 -0500, Ken Tharp wrote:
>My first posting to the new Spit list -
Welcome Ken!
>
>My gasoline gauge only works a little. When I fill the tank, it reads a
>little less than 1/2 full. It rapidly slides down to "E" from there - by
>the time I've driven 50 miles on my new tank of gasoline, it says it's
>empty. I work around this by zeroing the trip odometer each time I fill
>up, but it'd be nice if it worked properly. Is there something wrong
>with the float?
Does the coolant temp gauge read low as well? If so, the instrument voltage
stabiliser may be shot. If the temp gauge is OK, then your sending unit
or float is suspect.
If the float is original its likely full of gas. The Big Three vendors
sell the whole sending unit for about $50 US, or you can buy just the float
for $7 from:
r.d. enterprises, ltd.
290 Raub Road, Quakertown, PA 18951 USA
Phone 215-538-9323 Fax 215-538-0158
web site http://www.rdent.com
Ray Psulkowski, proprietor
rdent@rdent.com
> How does one replace the float if that is the problem?
First let your gas supply run below 1/3 tank. Remove the fiberboard
bulkhead in the trunk (boot) (the one with the courtesy lamp in it). Don't
let the lamp wires short as you unplug them.
You'll see the gas tank there, and the sender is the round thing with the
black and green wires. Mark the position of the wires, and also mark a
reference point so that you can get the sender in the same relative
position when it is replaced.
The sender is held in by a locking collar with three "tangs". Using a
screwdriver against one of the tangs, unscrew the collar (counterclockwise)
and remove it. Then you can remove the sender itself. NOTE the
orientation of the various guide tabs on the sender and tank, and how they
fit together. This will make it easier to reinstall.
Try not to bend the float arm as you remove and reinstall the sender.
There is a calibration screw on the backside of the sender, but I don't
recommend touching it -- it is VERY sensitive.
You can test the sender with it out of the tank. Hook up the black & green
wires, and turn on the ignition (engine off), move the float arm up fully,
and watch the dash. Since the gauge is a thermal unit, it takes a minute or
so to read full when you hold it in that position. But a good sender WILL
read full.
The sender float just clips on the arm. Try to look inside the tank to
estimate the amount of gas left, and when you reinstall the sender, check
to make sure the gauge reads the same. Remember that the fuel system won't
pick up the last bit of gas, so if the gauge is a bit pessimistic, that's OK.
Reinstallation is the reverse of this procedure. Don't force anything, it
takes some finesse to get the float arm/sender back in. Make sure the
gasket is in place between the sender and tank. Tap the locking collar
home, hook up the wires, and you are done.
Atwell Haines
'79 Spitfire FM96062 UO
Succasunna, NJ USA
"Now that cars are better, why do they keep lowering the local speed limits?"
|