• Welcome to For Trucks Only !

    We are a community of American Brand Pickup Truck and SUV owners. Join now! Its Free!

Fuel sending unit question - tank behind the seat

70DartMike

70DartMike

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 23, 2011
Messages
119
Reaction score
9
My gas tank is behind the seat, and my sending unit is separate from my fuel line. I've got the wire on the sender to read how much fuel there is, but is it supposed to be grounded anywhere? There is a wire that has been cut short, but is right next to the sending unit, which is grounded to the cab. Is it supposed to go somewhere on the sender, and if so, where?
The sending unit is new but I still get no fuel reading.
 
The wire that is grounded to body should be grounded to the sending unit. Ford is the same as Dodge with that respect. Take a small screw band clamp and put it around the metal tubing of the sending unit. Take that wire and place it under the clamp and tighten it down.
 
So let me know if I have this right.. I'm taking a wire from the cab to the sending unit post, as well as a wire from the fuel line to the sending unit post? Or.. is it just a wire from the fuel line to the sending unit post.. ?
 
Last edited:
Alright, without having one from the fuel line to the sender, I just hooked one up from the cab to the sender, and gas gauge still doesn't work.
 
Your making it to complicated. Your sending unit should have a threaded stud. A wire goes from the threaded stud to the fuel gauge. The sending unit has to be grounded. Not on the stud but somewhere on metal surface of the sending unit.
 
Haha, I know I was making it too complicated. That's why I asked what to do. Thanks for the explanation.
 
With the surface of the sending unit grounded, it still doesn't work. I am still not getting the gauge to move at all.
 
Not with me. I swapped this gauge cluster over with another that I know to be working, and it didn't work in this truck either.
 
Well, I have the brand new sending unit installed, and wired correctly. It's grounded, and has the sending line running to a NEW gauge, which is aftermarket. On the back of the gauge, there are leads for Sending Unit, Ground, Ignition +, and Light +. I just jumpered the light + to the ignition +. All the wiring is new, gauge is new, sending unit is new. Last night the gauge read 3/4 of a tank, and I ran out of gas.. What is going on here? I could understand if it was the other way around, but how does the sender read 3/4 if the float isn't even floating on anything? Am I supposed to calibrate it somehow?
 
Alright, well, it turned out to be numerous problems. The new gauge was an aftermarket one, which wouldn't work with my stock sending unit. I took it out, and pulled the dash apart. Turns out the wire behind the dash had been disconnected, so I ran my sending unit wire to it and spliced them together. Then the stock gauge moved a little, but not much. I pulled the new sending unit out, and it turns out the stupid float wasn't floating! A brand new float with a hole in it?? Yeesh. Anyways, used an old float, put it back together, and gas gauge works.

Thanks for your help and suggestions bremereric.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top