9 replies to this topic

[daenesh]

hey guys, hows it going? well im having an issue with my fuel gauge reading.. filled the tank to almost full but it reads half or slightly above half.. I have a 998 clubby but the gauges are as the picture below which i changed recently.. the float is new and is right at the top level of the petrol so no issues on that.. i've heard something about the resistance.. could that be the problem? thanks for the feedback guys!

 

 

Edited by daenesh, 06 August 2014 - 12:30 PM.

[cal844]

Voltage stabiliser??

[daenesh]

where is it located and how do i adjust it?

[daenesh]

No I don't have a voltage stabiliser fitted.. But I have additional earthing wires..

[daenesh]

Anyone??

[dklawson]

Your car DOES have a voltage stabilizer fitted for the gauges.  The question is where is it and is it really at fault.

 

I cannot tell from the faces shown in your picture which brand of gauges these are.  Look carefully at their faces for them to say either Smiths or Nippon Seiki (NS).  The Smiths clusters have the voltage stabilizer as a replaceable part on the back.  The Nippon Seiki gauges build the voltage stabilizer into either the fuel or temperature gauge (sorry... I don't remember which).

 

What is your temperature gauge doing?  Is it also reading low?  If so, the problem may indeed be the voltage stabilizer.  

 

A quick screening test of the fuel gauge and sender is to remove the green/black wire from the sender and hold it to the black wire terminal on the sending unit while the key is in the run position.  If the gauge goes "above full", the stabilizer and gauge are working.  

 

All the Mini sending units used with the voltage stabilizer have the same resistance range so that will not be your problem.  However, the later models did use a sending unit with a different shape float arm.  If you install the wrong sender in the tank the float arm can get stuck so the gauge always reads the same regardless of the fuel level.

Edited by dklawson, 30 July 2014 - 03:39 AM.

[daenesh]

ah i see what you mean.. its a nippon seiki.. i think it was from an injection car but my tank and arm are the original type for a clubman.. so a quick look through the gas tank cap shows the fuel is full and the fuel sender arm is right at the top as well.. 

 

so i think maybe it has to do with the voltage stabilizer as my temp reading is low too.. will connect the sender wires together and see if the fuel gauge goes to the top.. if it doesn't, how do i resolve this issue?

[GraemeC]

I think connecting the sender wires together will probably give you full scale deflection on the gauge even with a dodgy stabiliser.  Even at their limit, the fuel and temp senders don't have a resistance anywhere near as low as a shorting them to ground, doing so is usually enough to overcome the failings of the stabiliser.

 

As Doug says though, the NS clocks don't have a discrete stabiliser, the only way of swapping it out is to replace the fuel/temp guage (I too can't remember which one the stabiliser is built into, but a search on the forum should find some earlier topics that show it).

[dklawson]

There is a workaround for the NS stabilizer.  Below is a link to the article from the FAQ section of this board.

 

There have been both success and failure reports from people who tried the steps in the link below.  Pay particular attention to what you are doing and make sure you make your connections correctly to the right pins on the regulator chip.  The worst you can do is make no improvement.

 

http://www.theminifo...tage-regulator/

[daenesh]

thank you so much guys.. really appreciate all the swift comments ..will give it a go and hope it works out..