IanR Posted June 9, 2008 Report Share Posted June 9, 2008 Hi Folks, It has been a really nice day up here so of course I tool Elsie out for a run today. Did about 40 miles I suppose having filled up from half full before the start. I was driving briskly (honest officer) over quite undulating roads with a lot of suspension travel. By then the tank was showing just over 3/4 full from full initially, but next time I looked it was hard against the full zone. Now since I am not privvy to in-flight refuelling I thought this a bit odd. Sudden duff fuel gauge .. no votes,, failed voltage regulator, well possible but the temp gauge seemed normal, so no votes. Sunken float in the tank .. no votes again as it would then have recorded empty. Back home, a piece of piano wire bent appropriately was inserted into the tank to try and locate the float wire .. At first I could not locate it and then I found it .. jammed against the top of the tank . (well not the float wire you understand but the float). I cant see this.. at present it is just an assumption but I could shift its position and got a response form the fuel gauge. I have my suspicions about this, mostly surrounding a batch of "NOS" tank sensors on sale on fleabay about 2 years ago. Many were sold including one to me. It seems difficult to believe that the wire has bent but the float could have expanded if it was a cheapo repro not as advertised as NOS. Dont think the unit can be exracted with the tank in situ, (if anyone knows different would appreciate a nod before the weekend) so plan to loosen bolts and tilt the tank back to change for the original float sensor which I still have. I have never heard of anything like this (unless you know different) but will let you know what the "NOS " unit looks like on extraction. Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robgeev Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 Ian, yes just remove filler neck and tilt tank, the inlet pipe is a swine to refit mind you! Perhaps the sender just needs working a bit? My TR6 one siezed from lack of use! Rob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 The other classic is slosh tank sealant that hasnt quite gone off and the sender sticks to it Happened to me in the early days of the stuff years ago when the kit to do it looked like a chemistry set! Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IanR Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Hi Folks, Promised to give an update of the tank sender jamming in the up position. I cast doubts on the "NOS" sender I bought some time ago but ofter getting it out it is good as new. The problem lay not with the sender but the combination of the sender and the alloy fuel tank I am using. The sender I extracted had a near straight rod to the float whereas the original has a bend in the arm. This meant that the float on the NOS unit was closer to the tank side than the original would have been. I decided to modify the NOS unit by bending the arm and offering it up to the tank for clearance checks, but I could not get it to fully clear. I finally chose to replace the original unit but even that I had to bend it slightly to avoid what I suspect are internal baffles. It seems OK for the minute, hope it stays that way. PS You CAN extract the sender but not from the boot side. Removal of the rear trim in front of the tank reveals a slightly larger space and I got it out without much hassle. Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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