Fuel Gauge Reads Backwards.
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=19010
Printed Date: June-26-2024 at 6:43am
Topic: Fuel Gauge Reads Backwards.
Posted By: 79Tique
Subject: Fuel Gauge Reads Backwards.
Date Posted: August-11-2010 at 10:53pm
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Anyone know what causes a fuel gauge to read full when empty and empty when full? I tried swaping the positive and neg wires on it but that was not the problem. ------------- Work to live, not live to work. |
Replies:
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: August-11-2010 at 11:03pm
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Gabe???,
The only reason there's a negative wire on that thing is due to the lighting. The neg has absolutely nothing to do with the gauge!! Someones put in a mismatched sender/gauge!!! Tell me more. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: 79Tique
Date Posted: August-12-2010 at 5:57am
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Pete,
Thanks for chiming in. The gauge is in my buddies Alpina boat. I'm installing a Perfect Pass for him and he asked if I knew what is up with the backwards reading fuel gauge. So I'm looking in to it for him. The Alpina is a 1999 powered by a Mercruiser 5.7 MPI just like many Malibu boats of the same vintage. It's a pretty "plane Jane" boat with really basic equipment. He told me the gauage reads empty when full and full when empty. He also said it moves steadily and consistantly as the tank empties like it's working properly but just backwards. I thought it seemed like something is connected backwards. Of course he left me the boat with 1/2 a tank so it's hard to know if I have corrected the problem. The gauge at the dash has a pink wire on one side a blue wire on the other and black in the center. I tried swaping the wires around but the only way the gauge works at all is with the wires the way I found them. I was suspecting the problem was at the tank from the start but thought I would start with the easiest part to get to first. I can't find much information about these boats but I thought some hear might have some ideas. ------------- Work to live, not live to work. |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: August-12-2010 at 9:04am
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Gabe,
See what you can find out from the manufacturer of the gauge regarding the Ohm range needed at the sender. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: harddock
Date Posted: August-12-2010 at 9:56am
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Try to maintain 1/2 tank at all times
Seriously, the problem is on the sender end. ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=4487" rel="nofollow - 1998 Ski Nautique |
Posted By: 79Tique
Date Posted: August-12-2010 at 1:54pm
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Thanks guys. I see what I can find. ------------- Work to live, not live to work. |
Posted By: 79Tique
Date Posted: August-15-2010 at 3:02am
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This is what I found. I pulled the sender unit out of the tank and sure enough when the float arm was up it made the gauge read empty and full when down.
I decided to take the sender apart and reasemble it with the mechanism inverted. Put the sender back in the tank reconnected the wires and the gauge reads correctly now. ------------- Work to live, not live to work. |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: August-15-2010 at 6:48am
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Gabe,
It's always a great feeling when you are able to fix something!  Yes, many of the "universal" senders can be reversed. I'm glad you were able to determine that.------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: 65 'cuda
Date Posted: August-15-2010 at 12:23pm
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Couldn't you have just run the boat upside down? ------------- Gary http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=941" rel="nofollow - 1965 Barracuda SS |
Posted By: 79Tique
Date Posted: August-15-2010 at 3:40pm
Yeh sure does Pete. On that note I never followed up on a thread I started a while back about my 94 "burning" oil. At that time the boat had about 450 hours on it, ran great but used oil like crazy. Some folks told me I could try things but in the end the motor would need a rebuild. An auto mechanic friend and I pulled the valve covers and a few other things and found no valve seals at all. My mechanic friend said he had never seen that. We used the cotton rope in the compustion chamber trick to put new valve seals on and now the boat burns little to no oil. We're now at a little over 700 hours and running great and going through a lot less spark plugs. ------------- Work to live, not live to work. |
8122pbrainard wrote:Posted By: 79Tique
Date Posted: August-15-2010 at 3:52pm
I thought about it but I would have had to take the tower off to get the boat on the trailer then. Although that probably would have been easier than all the floor disasembly/reasembly I had to do to get to the gas tank. On this brendella/Alpina the tank is in the floor right about where the dash is. To get at it you have to pull a floor panel, to pull the floor panel you have to remove the pylon, to pull the pylon you have to pull the side floor panels, to pull the side panels you have to take out all the seats.  At least with all that out of the boat it was real easy to run the wires for the perfect pass. No wire snake needed. 
------------- Work to live, not live to work. |