Replacing Fuel Sending Unit
If you plan to replace your fuel gauge or sender, it is important to know the resistance of both your sender and gauge to determine they will work together. Every fuel level gauge is designed to work with a specific fuel level sender, and every sender is designed with a specific resistive input range, (measured in Ohms).
On the top of your sender, you will find a couple of wires, because there are so many variations from one to the next, you can always refer to your Owner’s Manual or Shop Manual to determine which wire is linked from the sender directly to the gauge. To measure the resistance, disconnect the plug at the sender and use the digital multi-meter set to Ohms.
NOTE: Depending on how your sender is grounded, do one of the following:
- 1.) If the sender is grounded through the fuel tank - connect one lead of the multi-meter to the sender wire and the other lead to the body of the sender.
- 2.) If the sender is not grounded through the fuel tank - connect one lead of the meter to the sender wire and the other lead to the ground wire of the sender.
We offer a very commonly used Stewart Warner fuel level sender, which features an adjustable float to work with a variety of applications: part number 665385B.
Most fuel gauge senders attach with a 5-screw pattern. Two of these screws are farther apart than the other three. Position yourself such that the 2 wider-spaced holes are closest to your chest; a right side sender will have the arm (or "float") extending to your right, and a left side sender will have the arm extending to your left. This only matters when replacing an existing sender. A first-time installation can use either one, just drill the mounting holes accordingly.
Selecting, installing and troubleshooting fuel level gauges is very simple with a little background knowledge. Check out this video from our friends at Auto Meter to get up to speed on nearly everything there is know about fuel level gauges.
