Interesting. So here is a broken fuel gauge. Super fine wire burns out and breaks. Where can you buy such super fine wire? Looks a pretty simple fix, doesn't it? Red is broken, green isn't. Green is simply glued either end. 1979 Super Viking, 2lt type 4, Automatic
This is probably nichrome wire and you’ll find it on ebay. You need to measure the diameter, but it’s readily available. I’ve not used it but I was contemplating rewinding my fuel sender. Attaching the ends is the challenge as it won’t solder and needs to be crimped somehow.
The thing is that nichrome is used as a resistance wire in heating elements. If you get it to solder, the joint will then probably melt.
here’s an article showing correct readings of a completely brand new system taken out of the van - hope it helps? https://sparkysvan.com/2019/09/26/petrol-gauge-running-on-fumes/
Good point, although I doubt the wire in a fuel gauge would get hot enough to melt solder (unlike your Nan's old electric fire). Crimping or possibly conductive glue might be the answer.
Would magnet wire do the job? When I say magnet wire, I mean the stuff used when winding transformers.
I somehow don’t think so. Transformers, well at least the ones I used to unwind as a kid, were made of copper, which has a low resistance. In the gauge your’re looking for high resistance to cause it to get hot and move the meter by expansion.
Ah, ok, they work on a heated element principle, not a moving coil. Thinking about it, I guess a coil meter would be to undamped to work well in a car, you want a meter that responds slowly.
A couple of places that might repair it https://speedycables.com/instruments/gauge-repairs-conversions/ https://www.classicsparesengineering.co.uk/about-us.php
I think they stick with bimetallic gauges because they’re cheap to make (and naturally heavily damped). When I gave mine a workout, it took a good couple of seconds to respond if you changed the applied voltage. Good if you’ve got fuel sloshing around in the tank.
My fuel gauge is so slow I might drive 1/4 mile in the morning before it gets to where it's meant to be.
When i sorted mine i used the adjusters in the rear of the gauge all works well now ! tested using a measured amount of fuel 1/4 and 1/2 a tank
I sent you to BusOK to get a new gauge, but it seems they only have the grey ones. Looking at the pic above, how easy is it to swap over the front scale?
I drilled out the tiny rivets, and could easily use a tiny screw to reattach. I've not done it, but would be easy. Saying that though, the grey one looks fine in the car, albeit a little higher so top of gauge is more hidden. I'll double check the size and position of the face tonight...... You've got me thinking now! Sent from my SM-N970F using Tapatalk
If you're fitted a grey-face mechanism, which I think are moving coil meters, in place of the later black bimetallic one, chances are the gauge is going to leap all over the place as fuel sloshes around in the tank.
