27 replies to this topic

[dmandan]

 

 

 

Have a close look (might need a magnifying glass) at the PCB as when the tracks crack, they can be very hard to see.

 

 

Mines a 94 cooper with 3 clocks, the pcb tracks should show resistance if they've gone right? i gotta say electrics are my kryptonite...

 

 

With your Multimeter set to Ohms, if the track is good, it will display close to zero. If the Track is open it will display as it does when the probes aren't touching anything.

 

 

yep thats how i did it, no Resistance on the pcb tracks.

 

anyone suggest what to do next?

[g0myw]

http://www.theminifo...howtopic=146533

I found this page a help with my mpi dash woes.....

[Benoit_Dupont]

No each gauge earths through its own sender, that's how they work. What they are actually measuring is electrical resistance to earth which is also why they need a very clean and constant, known voltage to supply them. Earthing the fuel gauge sender wire will test the health of the gauge as you say but if the gauge rises to full when you do this is means you need a new fuel sender unit usually. The position of the needle on the gauge will only reveal a problem in the stabiliser if you know the resistance to ground and the precise calibration of the gauge. A faulty voltage stabiliser will make the gauges inaccurate, only a completely dead supply (which can be because the stabiliser is completely broken or because there is no supply to it) will stop them working altogether.

Is it the stabiliser you can't find? It's built into the clock pod in your car, it's internal and not a discreet component. It can't really be replaced. I suspect the problem is in the PCB.

 

Yes, I second that. Vaulty stabilizers often lead to jumpy needles for instance. I had that issue on several old cars.

[Benoit_Dupont]

by the way i'm not sure that the MPI fuel gauge works the same as the other ones. Is it stil a resisitive thing or an active sensor ? 

[GraemeC]

Works exactly the same - effectively the same sender as all Minis (other than the really early ones) apart from there is an extra bend in the float arm to clear the pump gubbins

[Spider]

Check you have 12 volts on the Plain (dark) Green and also the plain White wires on the plug when the Key is On.

Given that Stabalisers aren't expensive, perhaps change it out and see how you go.

[dmandan]

Check you have 12 volts on the Plain (dark) Green and also the plain White wires on the plug when the Key is On.

Given that Stabalisers aren't expensive, perhaps change it out and see how you go.

 

So i have 12v in the white wire but nothing on the others, any of them, i checked continuity on the wire back to the fuel sender and it's fine. 

 

I tried the suggested fix of adding a solid voltage regulator, i'm very much beginner with electrics so could be user error, but that didn't solve the problem either.

 

Can anyone suggest where to go next without forking out for replacement gauges?

 

Are there any fuses affecting the fuel and temp gauge?

[Mark506]

I'm experiencing similar issues with my smith's fuel/temp gauge. When I first got the car the fuel gauge would read 1/4 tank when filled up, and dropped as normal from there, but now it just shows empty all the time, and the temperature gauge is permanently at the top of the gauge, my thoughts are this could mean a fault within the gauge, although that's with limited knowledge, so perhaps someone can give a a better idea?

 

Cheers

[Spider]

I'm experiencing similar issues with my smith's fuel/temp gauge. When I first got the car the fuel gauge would read 1/4 tank when filled up, and dropped as normal from there, but now it just shows empty all the time, and the temperature gauge is permanently at the top of the gauge, my thoughts are this could mean a fault within the gauge, although that's with limited knowledge, so perhaps someone can give a a better idea?

 

Cheers

 

Sounds to me like there's two different faults there.

 

You can work through this for the Fuel Gauge;-

 

http://www.theminifo...hs-fuel-gauges/

 

and it could be that you have the wrong sender for the Temp Gauge or the sender wire is shorted to earth.

[surfblue]

sorry to tag onto this thread but it seemed the right place at the minute.

i too am experiencing problems with my fuel sender and temp gauge. i have a smiths centre speedo and smiths temp gauge.

when i am at tick over the gauge's are ok, with the temp sender going up as per engine temp when left sitting on idle, sometimes a bit over N but i will get an electric fan for that.

when any revs are built up, thats when te problems start. as soon as i build up the revs, the fuel gauge drops to zero and it seems after driving above 4000rpm the temp goes up close to H when coming to a stop. I initially put the temp down to many issues which has caused me to get an alluminium rad, change the sender twice and put the smaller pulley on to increase the cooling at low revs but even with the cooler ambient temperatures this time of year its still doing it.

could it be the voltage stabilizer causing both problems as i have heard they can cause strange issues?

Hi folks,

It looks like this query wasnt answered.
I have the same symptoms.
Recently drove the car for the first time this year and temp gauge showing over heating.
Pulled the thermostat out and checked it in boiling water. It didnt ope. Assumed id found the problem, fitted a new one. Didn't drive the car until yesterday and did exactly the same. Interestingly when stopped at traffic lights the gauge very quickly returned to near normal and shot back up after driving off.
I've also had fuel gauge issues which a new sender didnt cure so im guessing these might be linked?

[Ethel]

It's a possibility.  You can crank up the voltage, while cranking up temperature less, if it's out of gear. You could also find increasing the load, by turning on headlights etc drops the voltage even lower at idle. The best test would be to measure the voltage either side of the regulator at different rpm points.

 

 

... as both gauges are supplied by the same voltage stabiliser, if one over/under reads the other should too by at least some degree.  

[68+86auto]

I haven't really found a good way to test the stabiliser without the proper tester.

 

If you have a variable DC power supply available you can use that in place of the stabiliser and also to vary the voltage going to the stabiliser. Once it would've been easy to build a simple solution but I don't believe components are easy to buy in the UK anymore.

[surfblue]

Ill just buy a new sender and voltage stabiliser, they're not too expensive.