37' Terraplane sending unit

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in HUDSON
OK, I have 6 volts going to the gauges, lights and everthing else, but have a 12 volt sending unit in the new gas tank I had made. The car is 12 volt with an alternator. Can I somehow get the sending unit to work with my 6 volt gauge or do I need to get a 6 volt sending unit? If anyone has a solution and possibly some wiring and electric tricks, I would appreciate the help.

Comments

  • Uncle Josh
    Uncle Josh Senior Contributor
    Technically, the tank unit doesn't 'send' anything. What it does, is vary the resistance from the gauge to ground, based on how full the tank is. It isn't voltage sensitive and will work with either one.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Uncle Josh wrote:
    Technically, the tank unit doesn't 'send' anything. What it does, is vary the resistance from the gauge to ground, based on how full the tank is. It isn't voltage sensitive and will work with either one.

    UJ Thanks for responding. I ran a wire to the unit and one from the unit to the frame. The ground to the frame sparked when I first touched it to the frame. The gauge went to full. I had no fuel in the tank. I tried to switch the wire to the gauge to the other post on the gauge. The gauge will not respond. Any thoughts on that?
  • Uncle Josh
    Uncle Josh Senior Contributor
    Boy, I dunno. Dead short should show a full tank, as it does. Unit isn't in upside down is it? Could it have been inadvertantly damaged? Take the unit out and check for variable resistance. then hook it up and move it to different positions by hand and see what you get.
  • Park_W
    Park_W Senior Contributor
    Hudson fuel gauge sending units 'til about 1950 were not just a resistor ... they have thermostatic contact points in them. It's not totally irelevant what kind of sending you use ... whatever it is, it has to be compatible with the gauge it's operating with. What's the car and the gauge? On my '47 I'm using (successfully) a sender from Dennis Carpenter which, though a pure resistor type, is designed to work with the earlier Ford gauges, which are same as the Hudsons. It does sound like your sender is either faulty or is for some other reason sending a "tank full" signal when it's empty. Any chance the sender was installed "upside down"?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    UJ and Park, that is possible. I will pull it and check. Thanks for your response. Park, I have a 37' Terraplane Model 71. I got the tank sender from Nappy NAPA. If it is incompatible..... One more lesson I've learned. I just filled the tank. $45.00 !!!!!. I'm going to cruise around for a few days, then work on it this weekend. I'll let you know what happened.
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