[Shop-talk] erratic fuel gauge and a legitimate shop talk question

[crothfuss at coastalnet.com]

GM Fuel senders.  

   I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I've replaced so many GM fuel sending units that I don't even bother with resistance checks and gage sweep tests anymore.  The contacts that GM uses on the fuel gage sender are very prone to breaking/burning/corroding off.  When you pull the sender out and compare it to the new one you'll notice the long slender "fingers" on the new sender and what looks more like a fist (without fingers) at the end of the old senders contact.  Without the fingers, the sender can rock slightly on it's shaft and completely lose contact with the rheostat on the sender, causing erratic readings. 

Shop safety.

   Worst case of shop safety violation I ever saw was by a friend of mine.
He was in the shop alone, welding a muffler on his car.  He needed to turn the coathanger he was using as a welding rod around, so he stuck it in his mouth.  That burned his tongue and lips, which caused him to sit up abruptly.  As he sat up he smashed his glasses on the shock absorber mount.  When he recoiled from this he hit his melon on the concrete floor and knocked himself out, torch still burning, but thankfully, at a safe distance from anything.  

   In my shop now we have a two-man rule.  So nobody ever works alone in the shop, and nobody works on a lift without someone knowing they are there, and within ear shot.  We've had no troubles with this rule in place.

Chuck