Fuel Sending Units and A-Body Fuel Tank Map

[RedFish]

Trying to figure out what to do to make my fuel gauge work, at least showing Full when full and Empty when it's got a gallon or 2 in it.

Would appreciate if any experts could help me with a few questions and perhaps suggestions.

My Dart has the original OEM Fuel Gauge at dash and I still have the OEM sending unit that had a fatal corrosion problem at the middle of the steel tube due to our ridiculously bad gas around here. Now I am reviving the Dart and had to replace it with a new aftermarket sending unit that never gave a correct reading, most of the time it reads empty as if there is a bad connection or unplugged something.

I had to replace the gas tank due to corrosion too, using a plastic tank available here, which requires sending unit tube bending adjustments to reach bottom (it was 2" far from bottom) and also float adjustments.

Can I make readings playing with the send unit outside the tank? Dis that and melted the plastic plate that holds the resistance wire in the sending unit...

What I am curious about is if there is anything between the sender unit and the reader at the dash, it seems to be something (from factory) added to the instrument cluster and connected to the temp and gas gauges at the dash, as shown on pics, any idea what that is and what it does?
Thanks for any input.

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What you have pictured there is quite different from the domestic Dart instrument panel. That instrument panel is Philco/Ford design. Where our Chrysler panels have copper trace on phenolic circuit boards, our Fords have that same copper trace on plastic film you have there.
The "unit connected" you show attached with 2 button/snaps is the PhilcoFord version of instrument voltage regulator. It does the same thing as Chryslers instrument voltage regulator, reduces 12 volts to approx. 6 volts so their same gauges originally designed for 6 volt systems continued to work in the later 12 volt models.

 

[DLJ]

What you have pictured there is quite different from the domestic Dart instrument panel. That instrument panel is Philco/Ford design. Where our Chrysler panels have copper trace on phenolic circuit boards, our Fords have that same copper trace on plastic film you have there.
The "unit connected" you show attached with 2 button/snaps is the PhilcoFord version of instrument voltage regulator. It does the same thing as Chryslers instrument voltage regulator, reduces 12 volts to approx. 6 volts so their same gauges originally designed for 6 volt systems continued to work in the later 12 volt models.

Ok, thanks a lot! If that is a voltage regulator/reducer, I need to make adjustments with the reader unit assembled in the cluster.

This is a 4 door Dart assembled in Brazil in 1976. It is all stock from factory and mostly identical to the 69's made in the USA, with some differences like brake system (Varga disk on front and drums on rear), rim wheel bolt pattern is like fords 5x4.25" on 14"x5.5" rim wheels, etc.
I guess Chrysler pulled old parts from discontinued models in the USA and assembled them in other countries which would buy them as current models, with some improvements.

I've been playing with the fuel reader unit trying to adjust it but no luck. I have 2 OEM readers and they both have different readings... when connected directly to the sending unit both read full tank when it should read 1/4 tank and when they should read empty they show like 1/2 tank or so. Then I had another look at the cluster and found that unit was connected to the gauges.

Thanks a lot for the info!

 

[timk225]

I'm about to clean out the fuel tank on a '73 Duster, and I was going to just change the whole sending unit assembly, but if it can be cleaned up, then just replacing the fuel strainer would be ok. When can I get a replacement fuel strainer?

I've looked at that Meter Match thing, and it looks nice, but 4 set points? FOUR? What is this, 1997 and Windows 95 time? There's no reason that Meter Match can't have at least 57 set points with today's computer technology, so we can geek out adding a quart of water to a tank at a time, got to get that fuel gauge TUNED!

I'd try tuning the thing with the fuel tank sitting flat on the ground, but the tank bottom is not perfectly flat in the car. Got to install the tank, measure the degrees of angle of the bottom of the tank at normal vehicle ride height, take the tank out, and replicate that angle on a test bench!

 

[Dana67Dart]

I'd try tuning the thing with the fuel tank sitting flat on the ground, but the tank bottom is not perfectly flat in the car. Got to install the tank, measure the degrees of angle of the bottom of the tank at normal vehicle ride height, take the tank out, and replicate that angle on a test bench

Then add fuel and the angle will change.

It's an approximation only.