I fixed my Gas Gauge. Maybe it will work on yours

[Pawned]

Your Gas Gauge MAY BE fixable. I did it one my 71 Duster with my gas gauge. Depending on the condition of your gauge it may not be adjustable.
The following is copied from another thread because there is so much chatter on it that is not needed for my fix. I am also omitting posts I made where I sound like a real jerk to others.
First I found that the 5VDC that the stock regulator puts out is not enough for my gas gauge. If 5 vdc works for you, wonderful. If you need more voltage the following steps is how I set mine up.
This may take a couple posts as it is quite long and only so many pix can be put on a post




Picture 1
shows the variable voltage regulator I ordered from China (cost $1.15 delivered ) .
Pix 2
Is the back of the dash board cluster. I actually removed a piece of plastic to the left of the hole to be able to align the regulators adjust screw with the hole in the dash
Pix 3
shows the placement of the hole I drilled in the dash
Pix 4, 5, 6
shows the wires attached and the board is tacked in place with hot glue
Pix 7
The adjustment screw is placed behind hole so I can adjust the regulator without removing the cluster.
Pix 8
Wires run thru the hole I cut in the metal can.
Pix 9
Orange wire is + output of adjustable regulator. Soldered to fuel gauge side of cut trace
Orange/wire wire is – output of regulator soldered to ground
pix 10 and 10b
blue wire is input to regulator. It can be soldered to any +12 vdc source. I chose to solder it to pin 1
on the pin connector.
Blue/white wire is – input. Attach to any ground
Pix 11
shows 5vdc regulator still feeding temperature gauge. I also placed a piece of plastic on the back of the regulator board so there is no chance of grounding out to the metal can
Pix 12
shows where I cut the trace between the two meter inputs so they can be fed by different sources.


Continued below

 

[Pawned]

This is how I set up my cluster to accept the voltage regulator to run the gas and temp gauges from different power sources. I thought I had fix everything at this point, I was VERY Mistaken. But these steps are needed if your gauge needs more than 5vdc to get the gauge to work.

 

[Pawned]

I found the holy grail.
I was wrong before when I thought the meter could not be changed. Wrong again bucko..

Look at the picture of the inside of the meter. no much to it. Until I realized I could set the F where I wanted and same with the E.
It did take 6vdc to be able to get the meter to full.

I had it working on a test jig. It goes to full and empty at both ends of the sending unit. I think it will show some fuel levels between that, but I do not know yet.




There is a mechanical adjustment inside the gauge can that you can not see. Put a tiny screwdriver into the holes in the back and move those teeth . That sets the limits on the meter. I put the sending unit to full and then move those teeth to set the meter to F.
Then I put the sending unit to empty and then adjust the other set of teeth to the E.
I did have to increase the voltage to 6vdc to get the unit to travel to the F.

I needed to do this a bunch of times to get it set up the way I wanted it.
Do you see what I am referring to in the pix of the meter?



Look and think. I will not leave you hanging. If I get it working 100% I will give a full explanation.

I just looked at the pix, not focused very well. but is still can be seen


--------------


I took the car out for a drive to test out the gas gauge running in the car in everyday use and NOT just on the test jig.

I does work beautifully. I am happier than a pig in poop.
Even though the meter is adjustable, it would not travel to the full stop without adding a little more voltage.
It was a coincident that the final voltage I needed is exactly what I was working with before. 6.03vdc

I did take a piece of 16 ga steel and cut a piece off appx 3/8" x 3/4" and drilled a hole in it. I then tapped it out to 6 x 32 treads. I soldered a piece of wire to it and connected the other end to the output of the Variable Voltage Regulator I am using.
I drilled a small hole in the cluster and then epoxied the 6 x32 hole over the hole in the cluster.
I am using that as a Test Point. Up until now I had to take the cluster out to adjust the voltage to a specific voltage. When I want to check the voltage on the Gas Gauge I put a screw into the hole and attach my volt meter to it.



I am fairly certain I left out some information. If you need any more info, please ask.

 

[swifter]

I admire your perseverance and you will to not give up--Steve

 

[RedFish]

Just 1 question... Are the 2 final pics the same gauge ?

 

[Pawned]

Redfish, YES, the second one is more in focus.

Steve, I have said it before I either solve a problem or die, which ever comes first

 

[Pawned]

One other item that I brought up earlier that should be addressed. My sending unit in the open air today in PHX, AZ was at a temp of 76 degrees. I ran the sender in the full position and am using 6.03VDC, not the 5VDC stock regulator.
Running in the open air, after 30-45 minutes the sender reached a temperature of 91 degrees. When in the car, surrounded with the gasoline, I highly doubt that it will raise the temp 1 maybe 2 degrees.
I feel this is safe enough for me in my car. You need to make your owned decision whether or not you wish to use the higher voltage if need be.

I think I need a disclaimer: I do not accept any responsibility for anyone actions, but my own. If you decide to make the modification to your vehicle as I described, you assume all the risk. I am not responsible if the 'fix' does not work or the car is damaged to any extent.
In other words; All information I have posted is for entertainment purposes only

Edward

 

[67Dart273]

I actually assumed you knew about the mechanical gauge adjustments. I would not be concerned about sender temp, as it's normally immersed in fuel. Even if you manage to generate a spark in the fuel tank, there's no combustible mixture. The tank is saturated with fuel vapors and is far FAR beyond a combustible AF mixture.

 

[Pawned]

I am not concerned about the temp of the sender. But I want to lay it all on the table. I brought it up before and wanted to leave no stone unturned.

This is the first car I have worked on in over 37 years (since my first Duster). If I did know about the manual adjustment, I forgot it along with everything else I knew 37 years ago.
You would have saved me many hours chasing my tail, if you brought it up before now

 

[Pawned]

As long as I am on a roll, I am making my third and last attempt at painting the front left fender on Natalie. I am sure it is the last attempt, because I am pretty sure I have my spray guns operating properly.
I am taking a break while the color sets and then will shoot the clear coat.

As I finally had a win on the gas gauge that flustered my for about 8 months. I figure I will finally have a win with the paint.

 

[Pawned]

Well, 4th attempt coming within a week. Last 2 times the gun did not spray enough clear coat. I thought I had the gun spraying correctly, just in case I went slower strokes. The clear coat is too light in a very few places but ran on a lot of the fender.

I need to find a happy medium