The key to this is getting the correct voltage to the gauge. The stabiliser unit on the back of the gauge is set at 5.2 volts (maybe a throwback to 6 volt days). I've ordered a device from Maplin which may do the trick, though I'm still wating to see what JK says.
Right, went out with good intentions of stripping the whole thing down and playing with the adjuster....took the dash out, looked at it , thought about it, realized it did actually tell me when I was going to run out of fuel, and that was the important bit. Put the dash back in and went back inside for a coffee and a warm up.
if you do end up changing it out and cut a hole out to do it, be careful when twisting out the fuel sender. 15 years later I still have a scar on the back of my hand where I slipped and sliced it on the sheet metal I had just cut tuesday_wildchild
Use a cutting wheel . And cover the window glass with paper or you will burn specs into them. Three cuts and a slice , make the cuts in the low end of the grating. Heres mine .
Didn't fancy the Sparks using a 'Catherine wheel' above the tank so I did mine with a drill and jigsaw. Good tip on the glass, keep the curtains out the way too! Good tip about cutting at the low points. I've got hold of some donor load deck panel to make a cover for mine and wishing I'd cut along the lower 'troughs' since my cover will now need to be a lot longer to keep the screw heads out of the way in the low grooves. My tip? Use a short drill bit if you go that route! You've got about 2 inches but you don't want to test that!
Thanks @chad for posting that page... On the back of it, the good news that I have confirmed that my fuel gauge and voltage stabaliser are functioning correctly. The bad news is that my fuel gauge and voltage stabaliser are functioning correctly, which means that it's the sender that is telling porkies. ...that'll be the sender that is in the tank, that is behind the firewall that is behind the engine.... Oh well...I'm sure I'll sort it some time P.
As long as it tells you when it's almost empty....thats the important bit! You know when it's full coz your shoes are wet!
I have no idea where empty is!! I get about half way through the red zone and refill, which is usually 40l...so there is not doubt a good 20l still in the tank...
We'll see...TBH, I'll pull the engine for a rebuild this winter, so I'll live with it at least until then... It has a new sender (I forgot to check/adjust it to the gauge when I fitted it...d'Oh...) so it shouldn't need replacing anytime soon. I may just pull the tank...fix the sender...and just put it all back together....
In my very rambling earlier post I was trying to point out that the sender isn't linear as it moves in an arc from near horizontal to nearer vertical, so the gauge is probably reading a half full tank as quarter full even on a good sender. Add in inaccurate manufacturing and bending of the arm and/or stoppers on each side of the winding-they're just bent metal tabs-which could give a full movement range from 5-80ohms, as with a new one I tested, and your float could be some way from the bottom of the tank when it's at its lowest point. The gauge, when working correctly, is looking for 10-70ohms from the sender. 80ohms would therefore read less than empty on the gauge. And the float could be bouncing on the bottom of the tank at that point or still 2" above it. I've got to run mine pretty low to see if my set-up is accurate, since I've only tested it with a variable resistor (my sender was 10-70 when I put it back last time), so I'll be carrying a jerry can for a while! Hope that makes more sense?
@Gingerbus .... I complexly agree...I just forgot to check & tweak the sender before fitting it. I'm sure the fix (for me at least) is just to adjust the bend of the arm and the limiting tab(s) until I get the (approximately) the correct resistances at the 'full' & 'empty' angles. Its just a trickier on on my Bay, compared to my other ACVWs...
Hello, I'm brand new here and a first time poster on any forum (had the van for almost 20 years). I appreciate this thread is from 2016 and not too sure if posting now is a faux pas, but I used some of the information here and successfully tested my fuel gauge, so thank you posters of 2016! Just in the interests of helping someone else who might view these now or in the future, I thought I'd show some photos of my testing. I removed the brown (with a black stripe) cable from the back of the gauge. Tested resistance from the brown sender cable to earth/ground and nothing. If I understand the circuit correctly, if the sender and cable is OK, I should read some resistance. Anyway proceeded to test the gauge by putting a crocodile clip on the terminal where the brown sender cable was sitting and through three resistors in turn down to the instrument cluster earthing "crown". 47 Ohms gave an empty tank reading, 22 Ohms half full and 10 Ohms a full tank. So.... fuel gauge is OK - now to an access panel for the sender!
Ooh this is a memory test! So I gather what you’re saying is that your sender looks open circuit to earth, so to check the gauge, to simulate a working sender load on the gauge you’ve added resistors on an earthed wire and got roughly the correct corresponding indications on the gauge. Sounds good and sensible before hacking a hole in the rear deck! Good luck with that stage, measure twice cut once as they say and try not to create any sparks, and file and tape off the edges of the hole before gashing your arteries on it .
I found this in my notes researched when I hacked my deck, quoted from the original which I have no idea where I got it from so I can’t give them credit, but it worked for me. Might be of some use: “I actually found in the Official VW Type 2 Repair Manual the recommended location for cutting a hole in the rear deck to access the fuel sending unit. At one time VW appearently actually even sold a special cover plate for closing off this hole. The hole needs to be 1.25 inches to the right of center and as far forward as it can go on the flat part of the rear deck. VW shows a hole that is 2.75 x 3.125 inches, but this seems a little small. To give better working room the hole needs to be about 4 inches wide (across the width of the vehicle) and 3.5 inches long (with the length of the vehicle). The book shows an oval shaped hole, but several mechanics that I talked to say they cut a retangular flap, leave one edge of it attached, and just bend it back down when they're done. A 4" round hole would also work well.” I did obtain a repair hatch cover kit someone was making for these but never got around to fitting it, so I’ve still got the piece of scrap deck panel I got hold of screwed down over the hole now.
Hayburner sell an access hole cover with a frame and a hatch to go over the hole. https://shop.hayburner.co.uk/collections/type-2-bay/products/bay-window-fuel-sender-access-hatch
Yes exactly that. A lot of me was hoping it was a dodgy gauge as this would be the smaller job so testing this first seemed sensible. On the other hand, it seems replacement gauges or instrument clusters are hard to get hold of?! Removing the engine isn't really an option this year, so an access panel it is. I have a cover kit coming from JK so appreciate the notes on the location of the hole. I might post some pics of the job (good or bad) in a few weeks time.
