21 replies to this topic

[mister bridger]

You posted a picture of you using the meter and it looked OK. You had the meter set to Ohms, you had the red and black probes in the correct meter sockets. I couldn't tell where the meter leads were being held against the sender but one lead should be on one sender post, one meter lead on the other.

At the extreme limits of travel the wiper inside the sender MAY be off the resistance coil. If that's true, the meter will read infinite Ohms instead of somewhere between 0 and 100 Ohms. On threaded posts like that I put ring terminals on them and stick the meter probes into the wire hole in the ring terminals. It's easier than holding things in place while you try to move the float arm.

OK, so let's say you give up and go for the later gauge conversion. It sounds like you're well under way with the gauge face. Turning our attention to the sending unit, you need only to put the new one in the hole in the tank and secure as normal. Your old harness will have ring terminals for the old sender. You'll need to replace those with female spade lugs to work with the new sender.

At the front of the car there are a couple of things you'll need to do. The later (resistance wire type) fuel gauge does NOT care which wire goes where. Connect the green/black wire from the sender to one gauge terminal. If you buy the voltage stabilizer from Jupitus, he'll have to tell you which wire colors he used, I can't. On the OLD gauge there would have been two green wires on the "B" terminal. What you will need to do is join those two wires together AND join them to the stabilizer's input terminal. (I am not a big fan of cutting wire ends off and splicing them together. Electronic shops may have spade type connector parts that will let you join multiple wires. I would find one of those and make sure it's insulated when you're done. This will allow you go change back at a future date if you change your mind). The stabilizer will have an earth connection wire, be sure to use it. Finally, the output wire from the stabilizer will go to the remaining terminal on the fuel gauge. That's it, you're done.

You could still bid on the sending unit in the U.S. However, the way you're describing the gauge's behavior doesn't give me a lot of confidence in it. As I mentioned in your previous thread DO NOT throw those old parts out. I know you said that the old sending unit is spot welded closed. It can still be worked on by someone who really wants it. If you don't want to keep the old bits, post a "free to good home" message on the Specialist Mini Forums for the early cars:
http://specialistmin...ku.com/forums/5
Were I in the U.K. I'd pick the parts up from you just to see how they differ from the early and later components.

Don't let this thread end here. Be sure to post updates of your progress and obviously feel free to ask more questions.

Thanks that seems pretty clear now - even to me! I've got a later gauge and the stabiliser from Jupitus so as soon as the sender arrives I'll fit it and let you know what happens. Many thanks.

[dklawson]

I'm posting the following information as a record for the future. Though unlikely, some other person with a rare transitional gauge system might be looking for information. The picture links may disappear also.

For the record, Mini sending units that have threaded stud electrical terminals AND use the bayonet mounting ring (not 6 screws) are applicable to cars built in mid- to late-1964. These sending units fit the later type fuel tanks. They also are for gauge systems that do not use the voltage stabilizer. These senders are compatible with the early "moving iron" magnetic fuel gauges. They are NOT compatible with the later bimetallic gauges.

I wrote the seller who had a new-old-stock sender of this type on eBay. He made resistance measurements and reported that his sending unit measured about 4 Ohms = Empty, 84 Ohms = Full. This is consistent with the general, nominal range discussed earlier in this thread, it is the same as the early-type bolt-on sending units used with the early gauges. It confirms that this type of sending unit will not work with the later gauges.

[mister bridger]

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Don't let this thread end here. Be sure to post updates of your progress and obviously feel free to ask more questions.

Ok I now have a working fuel gauge! All updated to the later voltage satbilised system. Thanks to all for your input (particularly DKL!)

[Jupitus]

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Don't let this thread end here. Be sure to post updates of your progress and obviously feel free to ask more questions.

Ok I now have a working fuel gauge! All updated to the later voltage satbilised system. Thanks to all for your input (particularly DKL!)

Oooo nice one - is that with my solid state stabiliser too?

[dklawson]

Oh, I'm sure it's with your stabilizer Jupitus! I dropped your name on another thread. This could turn into a cottage industry for you if you're not careful.

Thanks for the update and letting us know that the system is working again. Before you walk completely away from this thread, how about a couple of "after" pictures showing the new fuel gauge where you transferred the gauge face and added the stabilizer?

[Jupitus]

Oh, I'm sure it's with your stabilizer Jupitus! I dropped your name on another thread. This could turn into a cottage industry for you if you're not careful.

Thanks for the update and letting us know that the system is working again. Before you walk completely away from this thread, how about a couple of "after" pictures showing the new fuel gauge where you transferred the gauge face and added the stabilizer?

I actually just ordered a new bunch of parts for making these, but my price is going to have to be bumped up a little as I think I am actually making a slight loss at present

[mister bridger]

Oh, I'm sure it's with your stabilizer Jupitus! I dropped your name on another thread. This could turn into a cottage industry for you if you're not careful.

Thanks for the update and letting us know that the system is working again. Before you walk completely away from this thread, how about a couple of "after" pictures showing the new fuel gauge where you transferred the gauge face and added the stabilizer?

Yes that's Jupitus' stabiliser doing the trick! Not much to see from the photo really - gauge looks the same as before except the reason it reads full is because it is!!! Was easy to swap the faces - just dilled out where the face is rivetted through the body of the gauge, swapped them over and fixed it back on with a dab of araldite. The mounting screws hold it all together anyway. The stabiliser is tucked away in the speedo pod and hidden by the sound proofing.