Fuel and Temp Gauge not working. (1 Viewer)

[Big DB]

My '82 DLX Truck has been sitting for close to 20 years. I am in the process of getting it back in commission. The fuel gauge and the temp gauge are not working. Any feed back on where there might be a rusted ground connection on those or other thoughts. The fuse is good. I also cleaned the single contact on the temperature sending unit, which did not look that bad to start with.

 

[SteveH]

You likely will have to drop the tank and pull the sending unit and test it, and its ground wire. Unlikely that the sending unit survived a 20 year sleep. I had to order a sending unit on eBay from Indonesia for my '82 4x4, as they are not available in the US from any source I could find.

 

[gnob]

If they're both not working, i would start at the dash cluster.

 

[jsabowabo]

Concur with checking the dash. You can also check to see if the gauge is working pretty easily, ensuring it's got 12v switched power. If it does, then see if the gauge responds to removing its sending unit signal, that should make it read full. Applying ground to the sending wire coming from the gauge should make it read empty.

Odds are the gauges are fine and it's the sending unit / sensor in each location.

 

[Big DB]

Concur with checking the dash. You can also check to see if the gauge is working pretty easily, ensuring it's got 12v switched power. If it does, then see if the gauge responds to removing its sending unit signal, that should make it read full. Applying ground to the sending wire coming from the gauge should make it read empty.

Odds are the gauges are fine and it's the sending unit / sensor in each location.

The sending unit for the Temp. Gauge is easy to get to on the engine. Is that contact on the ground side or the hot side of the circuit? There is only one contact there.

 

[gnob]

Get a diagram, please. Please please please.
Fuse>gauge >sender>ground.