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Fuel guage not working at all
https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9515		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  jill200sx [ Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Fuel guage not working at all
I found threads about not working properly fuel guages but not just a not working thread, so please dont be mad at me :oops:

My fuel guage isnt working at all, doesnt move ever. Its dead.
So after reading up what to do, figured Id drop the tank and suss out the float and sender unit.
But when I got under the van I discovered the wire to the sender unit had just come off :) So I thought Yay! I'll just connect it up and fuel guage just might work.. but no :(
I cleaned the terminal and tried again, but no :(

So now, I could drop the tank and pull the sender unit out and check the float (wont be the float coz I get no reading at all), but Im thinking it must be electrical, like there is No power getting to the sender.

Im thinking check at the fuel guage (dash) end. When I had the dash out the other day there was a single wiring loom that went into the back of the cluster, it all seemed fine. Does the plastic printed circuit have anything to do with the fuel guage? If so, I can understand it may have been damaged at some stage.

PS there is only one wire to the sender unit right?
Author:  Harley [ Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Fuel guage not working at all
jill200sx wrote:

PS there is only one wire to the sender unit right?


All I can tell you is theres about 3 wires at the gauge end and two on the sender.
The rest is up to magic. :D
Author:  jill200sx [ Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:54 pm ]
Post subject: 
really? I only have one at the sender end :(

I'll check what colour it is and see what Im missing
Author:  J_A_M [ Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:03 pm ]
Post subject: 
yea, 2 at the sender...van should be same as sedan.
Author:  jill200sx [ Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:16 pm ]
Post subject: 
Im looking at the Hayes Manual wiring diagram:
"Wiring Diagram 10 - Mini 850 Saloon, Van and Pick-up - 1976 onwards"
Firstly - Ive got a 78 van, so will this be the correct diagram to be looking at?
Secondly - in that diagram it has only one green wire going to the sender unit, and one green wire coming out of the sender unit. Does that mean I should have 2 same coloured wires going into it or do they mean the one wire. Plain green, no trace.

I hate wiring diagrams
Author:  kazzzy69 [ Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:19 pm ]
Post subject: 
'tis called a stick..
much like the checkin the oil stuff..
besides who needs petrol..
what makes a mini different from every other car?
when you stop at the petrol station, you fill it up with oil and check the petrol!
hehe
nah..wish ours worked...we just fill it up when we think we've done a few ks (or miles) or every coupla days..'course lobby just runs out
"kazzzy...come n pik me up..and bring the 'tin"
hehe...silly fuel gauges
Author:  Hanra [ Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:10 pm ]
Post subject: 
One wire at the sender is fine, it is earthed through the tank. The sender is just a variable resistor, so u should measure a voltage at the sender. Between 12v and 0 i guess. The float will measure high impedance at one extreme either full or empty. When it measures high, u will have around 12v on that wire, as it moves the resistance decreases and more current flows, causing the voltage to drop.
Author:  Zizzle [ Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:17 pm ]
Post subject: 
Hi Jill,

I've got an old van and had the same problem.

First grab a multi meter and try to measure the resistance of the sender. Just measure from the single output terminal to the tank. Hopefully you get a reading and you have a bad connection or bad earth from tank to the body.

If it's open circuit then pull the sender out. Mine was open circuit. Pull the cover off. You should recognise it as a big variable resistor. My resistance winding was broken near one end, so I just discarded the broken bit, rewound a little and connected the wire back to the terminal. Check with the multi meter again while out of the tank.

Unfortunately my problems were deeper as the meter in the speedo was gone too. I ended up pulling the guts out of it and replacing it with a modern gauge winding out of some discarded electronics. Hooked up a simple zener diode regualor too so that I always got a steady reading. But a clubbies will probably be in a better state.

You should be able to measure some voltage at the tank on the wire that goes back into the car. Ground it and see if your fuel gague moves. If it does then the rest of the circuit is fine. If no voltage, or grounding doesn't make the guage move then that may be where the problem lies.
Author:  fuzzy-hair-man [ Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:22 pm ]
Post subject: 
I presume your temperature guage is working?

if not then it is probably your voltage regulator this can stop both gauges working (ignore this if youv'e already checked, it was in the other threads I think)

Can someone tell me if you can do the same trick as with the temperature sender ? ie:
disconnect the lead and earth it out briefly if the gauge rises then the problem is with your sender unit otherwise it is a gauge problem (or maybe both) :roll:
Author:  jill200sx [ Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:35 pm ]
Post subject: 
fuzzy-hair-man wrote:
I presume your temperature guage is working?

if not then it is probably your voltage regulator this can stop both gauges working (ignore this if youv'e already checked, it was in the other threads I think)

Can someone tell me if you can do the same trick as with the temperature sender ? ie:
disconnect the lead and earth it out briefly if the gauge rises then the problem is with your sender unit otherwise it is a gauge problem (or maybe both) :roll:


yup, my temp guage WAS working, but I disconnected it at the block and replaced it with another temp guage.

Thanks Zizzle, I dont have a multimeter so will ask the autosparky to have a look at it.
I'll give him your notes to make it easy for him ;)
Author:  jill200sx [ Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:44 pm ]
Post subject: 
Auto sparky confirmed it was the fuel sender unit, so dropped the tank this afternoon. Auto sparky wants to send it away for repairs, but Im thinking just replace.. anyone know roughly what a new sender unit is worth?
78 van has only ONE wire to the sender unit.

I found a little bit of fuel in the float too, so hopefully they give you a new float with the unit?
Author:  jill200sx [ Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:48 pm ]
Post subject: 
fuzzy-hair-man wrote:
Can someone tell me if you can do the same trick as with the temperature sender ? ie:
disconnect the lead and earth it out briefly if the gauge rises then the problem is with your sender unit otherwise it is a gauge problem (or maybe both) :roll:


Just replace the temp sender unit with a temp guage fuzzyhairman. I got mine from Supercheap, same as most auto shops stock, but you will need a "spacer" nut/bolt to bolt it into as without it the new temp probe hits the block on the other side of the water jacket ;)
Author:  aaron [ Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:54 pm ]
Post subject: 
Karcraft, all new sender unit, $85 for a van, 65 for a sedan for those interested. get your sparky to quote before comitting to get the old one fixed. $85 is pretty cheap.

Cheers

Aaron
Author:  jill200sx [ Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:56 pm ]
Post subject: 
yup, thanks aaron, sounds good to me :)
Author:  aaron [ Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:59 pm ]
Post subject: 
no worries jill. always happy to help a fellow van-er! :lol:
we really should have a club just for vans!

Cheers
A
aron
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