Temp Gauge and Fuel Gauge refuse to cooperate

[Dan Magliari]

OK, these gauges on my '69 u20 roadster are starting to get on my nerves. I would appreciate input/comment on possible causes for their not working.

Neither worked when I bought the car, and sooo, I guess I'm lucky to finally be at the point of dealing with them , but after spending a good chunk of time/effort/$, no success

After checking to see everything was hooked up (appeared OK), I replaced my

1. Gauge Relay
2. Temp Sender by Thermostat
3. Fuel Sensor in Gas tank, annnnnnnnnnd....

No Temp registering
No Fuel registering

I'm a bit stumped, and before I spend another awkward hour contorted on my back on the drivers floor board, I was hoping someone might have an item or two to suggest to check.

It looks like these gauges remove from the back (which would be a good deal of grief). Is there any way to descretely remove these gauges shy of pulling the dash?

I'd really really really like to have gauges to go up to Shasta with next month.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Dan

[Jorge022770]

I had that problem once....actually, it happened quite a few times as I was reassembling and rewiring everything. One time it was the ground that hooks to the fuel sending unit in the trunk. Another time, the two wires that connect to the small relay (under the steerig column) were switched.
....then the ground (frame, near the window washer tank) was loose....believe it or not, after a while, it happened again, and with all the pulling and pushing, the wires that hook to the gauges themselves were loose!

So, at least this can be some sort of "checklist"...or what will make me the joke of the day! Let me know what happens.

Jorge

[hport]

Dan,

To check the gauges and wiring, ground the fuel sender wire to the negitive battery post, it should read full. If it does, you have a bad sender or a ground issue between the battery / body and the fuel tank.

The same goes for the temperature sending unit. Ground the stud on the top of the sending unit, does it go full hot. Also wrap a wire around the sending unit threaded section and hook it to the battery negitive, as the factory gaskets had a metallic union between the block and T-Stat housing which supplied the ground for the temperature gauge circuit.

You need a good body ground as well as a good ground from the battery.

Happy Hunting
JC

[spyder]

When you say gauge relay I assume you mean the voltage regulator. Mine was intermittent many years ago and I replaced it with a solid state item and it has worked perfect for years. So, acording to my schematic, the regulator has a "bw" wire going in to it which should have around 12 volts on it with the key on and a "yr" wire coming out of it and it should have some kind of voltage on it. IIRC, this regulator clicks on and off to get an average or "regulated" voltage somewhere between 0 and 12 volts. I would look for voltage on both of the connections on this regulator since it is common to both gauges.

Good Luck!

[Dan Magliari]

I will try tonight & tomorrow to troubleshoot the recommendations. More to follow. Thanks for the advice.

Dan

[SLOroadster]

Dan,
Try switching the 2 wires near the steering colum under the dash. I was digging around under the dash one day and somehow managed to unhook both, and pluged them in backward, causing neither to work. I swapped them and that was it.

Good luck,
Will