HOW TO HOOK UP AN AFTERMARKET FUEL LEVEL GAUGE

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

>>> TUNE THEM IN <<<

Once you get these nice matching gauges/senders, spend a few extra hours with the old iron-square and a ruler, PRECISELY tuning in the floats and their rods.

My old factory gauges, on the few occasions in which they actually did work, would show way over FULL for a hundred or more miles, then start steadily dropping toward EMPTY within the next fifty miles, then go another hundred or so after the needle bottomed out; not very useful at all.


The aftermarket gauges, after I took pains tuning them in, will go to FULL when the tank is indeed FULL and be at 1/2 when the tank is indeed at 1/2, and when that needle touches EMPTY, there ain't more than vapors left in there; DEAD ACCURATE , just the way I like things.


Which leads me to another observation; on my trucks, at least, every single aftermarket part that I have installed has by far outlasted and performed much better than any of the original stuff; if Ford had of used good parts from the beginning, we wouldn't get to do near so much of this fun and learning stuff.

 

[EMD_DRIVER]

The switch in the dash did not switch gauge-senders; like already noted, the dash switch controlled the electric valve and the switching of the gauges was performed inside the valve.

The way I read the original post, it almost sounds like the switch inside the selector valve is bad... Perhaps the valve itself.

I live close-by and would be glad to try to help..

 

[smokin90]

The way I read the original post, it almost sounds like the switch inside the selector valve is bad... Perhaps the valve itself.

I live close-by and would be glad to try to help..

thanks for the help but your not reading that right hes saying that the tank selector switch in the cab does not switch the gauge it switches the electric valve on the frame and the switching of the gauge is done within that i am reading that right MIDNIGHT RIDER

 

[smokin90]

Once you get these nice matching gauges/senders, spend a few extra hours with the old iron-square and a ruler, PRECISELY tuning in the floats and their rods.

My old factory gauges, on the few occasions in which they actually did work, would show way over FULL for a hundred or more miles, then start steadily dropping toward EMPTY within the next fifty miles, then go another hundred or so after the needle bottomed out; not very useful at all.


The aftermarket gauges, after I took pains tuning them in, will go to FULL when the tank is indeed FULL and be at 1/2 when the tank is indeed at 1/2, and when that needle touches EMPTY, there ain't more than vapors left in there; DEAD ACCURATE , just the way I like things.


Which leads me to another observation; on my trucks, at least, every single aftermarket part that I have installed has by far outlasted and performed much better than any of the original stuff; if Ford had of used good parts from the beginning, we wouldn't get to do near so much of this fun and learning stuff.

yea i know what you mean where did you get the aftermarket senders

 

[EMD_DRIVER]

thanks for the help but your not reading that right hes saying that the tank selector switch in the cab does not switch the gauge it switches the electric valve on the frame and the switching of the gauge is done within that i am reading that right MIDNIGHT RIDER

Ok... If you want to run an aftermarket gauge off the factory senders, you should hook the aftermarket gauge to the factory gauge (Not switch) wiring...


Am I close now?

 

[bike-maker]

yea i know what you mean where did you get the aftermarket senders

X2

my rear tank just started reading all screwy. It would be nice to use senders with an ohm rating that matches the 80-86 trucks; these are one of the 3 standard ratings in the world of aftermarket fuel level gauges.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

X2

my rear tank just started reading all screwy. It would be nice to use senders with an ohm rating that matches the 80-86 trucks; these are one of the 3 standard ratings in the world of aftermarket fuel level gauges.

J.C.Whitney has after-market senders that are compatible with the 1980-1986 FORD dash-gauge.

FELLRO86 did an excellent TECH article on retrofitting these senders onto the FORD tank bulk-heads.

I followed his write-up on my front tank and it works flawlessly.

The J.C.Whitney senders appear identical to the SUNPRO senders that I have used on everything else, but the OHMs rating may differ.

Here is FELLRO86's article :

http://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&userid=170072&albumid=16937


Carry on.

 

[damac]

J.C.Whitney has after-market senders that are compatible with the 1980-1986 FORD dash-gauge.

FELLRO86 did an excellent TECH article on retrofitting these senders onto the FORD tank bulk-heads.

I followed his write-up on my front tank and it works flawlessly.

The J.C.Whitney senders appear identical to the SUNPRO senders that I have used on everything else, but the OHMs rating may differ.

Here is FELLRO86's article :

http://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&userid=170072&albumid=16937


Carry on.

We are going to blindly follow that in the next few weeks after we get the ip/injectors overhauled.

You wouldn't think having gauges that don't work would be necessary but along with broken pickups we have ran that truck out of fuel a dozen times

I'm going to redo all that plumbing at that time and go over the venting system and the selector valve, so hopefully I don't have to revisit the topic again in my lifetime

I just hope the 2 of us can get the bed off. Its stuck in the driveway and we wer hoping we could nudge it off to the side to work on the tanks.