[Green Hornet]

61 Bonneville survivor...

When I turn on the key....the fuel gauge goes about a 1/4 tank past the full mark...

I attempted to ground the the main wire going to sender and also checked sender ground and gauge still does the same..

Haven't looked under dash yet....

Any input is appreciated..

[pfilean]

I think those symptoms say that the wire to the tank sender is open circuit ( i.e showing a full resistance to the gauge). Could be that it is not connected to the back of the gauge or is broken somewhere.

[Green Hornet]

Originally Posted by pfilean

I think those symptoms say that the wire to the tank sender is open circuit ( i.e showing a full resistance to the gauge). Could be that it is not connected to the back of the gauge or is broken somewhere.

Ok...got on this again today....

The connector that plugs into the back of fuel gauge was a yellow wire and a brown one...

The brown one goes to the sender...

Feeding a ground wire to sender terminal does not change gauge reading....and we have voltage at the yellow wire.....going to gauge..

My guess is the gauge is dead..

[pfilean]

That may be the case. Just for grins and giggles check continuity between each terminal on the back of the gauge and ground. There should be continuity through both coils in the gauge. You probably don't have continuity in one coil. Gauges occasionally come up on ebay. I don't see one listed with Ames.

[Bill Hanlon]

Just in case, run a scrap piece of wire from the terminal on the gauge where the brown wire attaches and ground the other end of the scrap wire. Make sure the yellow wire is still attached to the gauge. If the gauge now reads empty, the brown wire is bad.

[Green Hornet]

Originally Posted by Bill Hanlon

Just in case, run a scrap piece of wire from the terminal on the gauge where the brown wire attaches and ground the other end of the scrap wire. Make sure the yellow wire is still attached to the gauge. If the gauge now reads empty, the brown wire is bad.

I did try that yesterday...and gauge was still dead....

[Green Hornet]

Changed out the gauge today...

It appears the the original gauge innards were not grounding.

The brass carriage was loose..

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by Green Hornet

Changed out the gauge today...

It appears the the original gauge innards were not grounding.

The brass carriage was loose..

Glad you got it working again. The gauge in my 62 reminds me of how marginal the gauges in those days were. It works but is just a rough guess of how much fuel is really in the tank. It fluctuates 1/4-to 1/3 tank on corners and hard acceleration or deceleration. Goes about 1/5 tank indication above full when you fill the tank. Runs about 150 miles from full to 1/2, then about 80 miles from 1/2 to empty. Nostalgia is a good thing?