Every aftermarket fuel gauge I've ever had, the needle wiggles all over from the sloshing fuel. OEM gauges don't do this. Is there some resister or regulator I can add to the wire to control this? It would seem like Radio Shack would offer some kind of electrical averager, but the only help they provide there is to take your money. Anyone have a fix for this, or am I the only one it bothers? Thanks
Mine does the same thing. When it didnt wiggle all over, the float was stuck, and i thought the sender was bad. Had to take it all apart and sand the float down a little, so it moves easier.
Just recently i read somewhere that you can put a capacitor in line to absorb some of the spikes in resistance from the sender. My gauge does the same, hopefully some electrical wizard will chime in with some better info on this. Cesar
VW used one (most shops called it he vibrator) and it helped smooth out the reading. It was used in 68 and up bug for sure and I think the others as well.
I like a little bit of gauge movement with fuel slosh, it lets me know if my tank is "empty" or "Really Empty"... (i.e. no slosh, no gas) I miss that on my late models....
Would the constant voltage regulator from a Ford pickup in the mid '60's vintage do it. I have one on my coupe to step it down to the 6 volt guage. It seems to iron out the slosh on mine. Toolroomer
Using the voltage regulator would require a gauge made for that. Tim- baffles DO make a difference. 39All Ford - I'm with you, I like needle movement. Bottom line if you want less slosh movement, either use "balanced coil" gauges, or add baffles.
I think the old Ford constant voltage regulators pulsed the voltage. It cuts off and on continuously. In a big tank it may not help, but the float needs to swing east and west not north and south.
I just check the gas level when I'm sitting still, it will stop moving. I bought those foam blocks from Speedway but found out they blocked the guage float.
hell i just wish i had a fuel gauge!!i have never run out of gas in any of my cars while on the road, but i have run out of gas in the driveway in every one of them.my luck aint gonna hold out much longer.
Okay, so the answer is there is no clear cut answer. I'm surprised there isn't some electrical do-dad to smooth out the surges. Oh, and my tank does has baffles.
wow! No answer to the sloshy needle? Did anyone ever find a solution? I dont really mind a little movement, but when Im at half tank its flappin like metronome!! Also, my tank is empty when the needle reads half tank. Whats that all about??
Here's the type that cured my fluctuating needle problem..Got it from ISS PRO gauges..they make all lengths for different depths,amperage ,etc... www.isspro.com
I remember reading that OEM gauges that are steady have internal mechanical dampning. Drag on the needle/internals for us non-engineers.
Baffles make a difference, as does location of the float, and direction. If the float is centrally located it will show less movement. If it's on one end or side of the tank it will be greatly affected by slosh. It's like a teeter-totter effect when the gas sloshes around, so something closer to center will not be affected as much.
turbo26t nailed it! best sending unit made! THEY WORK LIKE YOU ALL WISH.even with foam. but you pay to play!
Having the float centered in the tank helps a lot. If it off to one side or in front or back it will fluctuate more.
VWs used a bi-metal fuel guage that was inherently dampened due to the time required to heat up. The "vibrator" was really a voltage regulator because of the sensitivity of the bi-metal design. The newer gauges are balance coil gauges, really a meter reader, and are quick to react. The only fix besides controlling the sloshing in the gas tank are the tubular fuel senders as posted above. Small holes are drilled in the outer tube so it takes several seconds for the fuel to flow in and out of the holes and for the float to respond.
If you supply the resistance of the sender unit then a couple of capacitors might help. Assuming you are using a balanced coil gauge type, the sender wire is connected to the junction of both coils, other end of one coil being connected to ground and other coil end to 12V. Object is to find the time constant (Resistance x Capacitance) that will slow down the movement. sender equals 0-90 ohms. Half of that is 45 ohms. So if you put a capacitor across the sender terminal to ground, and another across the sender to +12V you may be able to smooth out the gauge. The capacitors would probably be fairly large in value, but not voltage. I would think you could use 1000 mfd polarized types. You have to remember that the cap to ground would have + on sender terminal, where the other cap would have the + on 12V terminal. RS# <form action="/compare/index.jsp?categoryId=12648753" method="get" style="margin:0,0,0,0;display:inline;" name="compare"> </form> <form action="/compare/index.jsp" method="get" style="margin:0,0,0,0;display:inline;" name="compare0"> <input name="product_0" id="product_0" value="12460901" type="checkbox"> <label for="product_0" class="prodLoopSmallCopy_dark"></label> </form> Model: NTE NEV1000M25EF | Catalog #: 55047205 Note: The marking on the cap for the - terminal. Wire it like this on gauge: 12V term + 1000mfd - sender unit term. + 1000mfd - ground
The Jalopy Journal
