G71 Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 the gas gauge on my 71 is pinned past full not responding. any ideas as to what the likely problem is (gauge itself/sending unit etc?) or any trouble shooting steps. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 I see dropping your tank in your future. Usually this is caused by the sending unit. I don't really think it is a hard job but others will chime in on this. I think the issue is getting it in properly so once the new one is installed your gauge reads properly. From what i have read, sometimes the arm gets bent while installing causing improper readings. Like I said, others will chime in on your question with a good answer. rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bell Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Rob is probably right. But before you drop the tank, make sure the ground wire that goes from the sending unit to the body is actually to the body, not dancing in the wind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 The sending unit is at the ground end of the circuit. It basically controls whether the gauge has a good ground, or a poor ground. Sadly, I can't remember which way the gauge moves. The sending unit wire can be grounded and the gauge will read fully in one direction, and the sending unit wire can be disconnected to send the gauge fully in the other direction. I had issues with several replacement sending units, as the arm for the float would come in contact with the filler tube for the gas tank. Our filler tubes extend from the rear of the tank almost all the way to the front, to prevent fuel from sloshing out under acceleration... the sending units I found are designed to fit on top of a tank with clear space underneath. Some trial & error bending of the float arm was required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G71 Posted May 20, 2020 Author Share Posted May 20, 2020 thanks so i will check the ground first, if its good should i assume its the sending unit? whats the likely hood of the gauge being faulty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC1of80 Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 Highly unlikely it's the gauge itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72-CLASSIC_RIDE Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 I had a similar issue with my car several years ago where my fuel gauge would peg out, especially if been sitting for a spell. The issue was corrosion on the fuel sending unit and my fix fortunately was driving the car. Each Winter during storage fuel gauge would max out and each time I would have to pull out car, rocking forward and back that would free up fuel sender and then work properly. So several years now, it has not been a problem at all. This Winter, car has been pretty much sitting since early October and am wondering if fuel gauge may stick again. We will see. Not sure how often you drive yours but you might try seeing if the Sender itself is just hanging up and can be freed like I did with mine. Just a thought........... Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 5 hours ago, G71 said: thanks so i will check the ground first, if its good should i assume its the sending unit? whats the likely hood of the gauge being faulty? Locate the wire going to the sending unit and you can stab it with one of those pointy circuit testers hooked to a good ground, The added load of the bulb in the circuit tester should cause the fuel gauge needle to move. Give it a couple of minutes...the gauge moves slowly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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