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Re: [Healeys] Gas Gauge

To: Michael Salter <michaelsalter@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Healeys] Gas Gauge
From: Oudesluys <coudesluijs@chello.nl>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2015 20:17:10 +0200
Cc: "healeys@autox.team.net" <healeys@autox.team.net>
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Michael,

I understand your concerns but I do not think you have to worry as the 
capacitor is on the gauge terminals, the voltage remains 12V max. and 
the current is depending on the resistor in the fuel gauge sender and 
gauge itself, both resistors are fairly high so the current will be low 
with not more risk of sparking compared to the original system that can 
theoretically spark as well in the potentiometer of the sender.
The capacitor is just there to reduce the violent differences in voltage 
across the gauge terminals
Anyway a capacitor is supposed to reduce sparking, as with the capacitor 
across the distributor points.

Kees Oudesluijs


Op 26-8-2015 om 18:01 schreef Michael Salter:
> Kees,
> I would have to disagree with your recommendation of adding a 
> capacitor to the circuit to try to stabilize the needle on any fuel 
> gauge system as has been mentioned previously on this list.
> Capacitors are energy storage devices and the sudden discharge of that 
> energy creates sparks.
> A fuel tank is normally filled with a mixture of fuel vapour and air. 
> Certainly the ratio of air to fuel vapour has to be correct for an 
> explosion to occur (around 6% vapour) but, should it be within the 
> correct range which I agree is fairly unlikely, and the capacitor 
> choose to discharge the consequences would be, shall we say, unfortunate.
> Entirely up to you but I certainly don't like the idea and would 
> definitely not recommend it..
>
> Michael S
> BN1 #174
>
> On Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 7:49 AM, Oudesluys <coudesluijs@chello.nl 
>
>     If a sender is not working properly it may be that a wrong type is
>     fitted with a float lever rod that is to short, to long or bend in
>     the wrong way. If it is to short the dial will indicate the full
>     range from empty to full while the tank is not full when it reads
>     empty correctly or the other way around. If the lever rod is to
>     long the dial will not read its full scale indicating partially
>     full when full and/or partially full when empty. Lengthening or
>     shortening is a fairly easy operation but needs some experimenting
>     and a dead level floor.
>     Also a bend lever may lead to faulty readings similar to those above.
>
>     On the early coil type gauges you can fit a big capacitor to
>     counteract more or less the continuous restless moving about of
>     the needle which you do not have on the later bi-metal gauges that
>     give a steady reading.
>     Kees Oudesluijs
>
>
>
>     Op 26-8-2015 om 13:27 schreef Michael Salter:
>>     Actually a Healey fuel gauge can be made to work very accurately.
>>     The gauge in my 100 is as steady as a rock and a very accurate
>>     indicator of the tank contents.
>>     The only change I made was to add a tiny connecting link between
>>     the float arm and the body of the gauge sender as in the attached
>>     pic.
>>     Prior to doing this I had no idea that a gauge of this type could
>>     work so well.
>>
>>     Michael S
>>     BN1 #174
>>
>>     On Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 1:18 AM, John Spaur
>>
>>         Yes! Will you ever be able to adjust it so it works even
>>         remotely close to
>>         accurate? I don't think so. There are many posts covering
>>         issues with the
>>         fuel gauge and tank unit. My gauge and sender were
>>         "calibrated" by a couple
>>         of shops. The sender is a restored original. Afterwards, it
>>         would still
>>         stick on full, then when over half a tank was used it would
>>         drop to 1/2,
>>         then 1/4 and stop.
>>
>>         I finally calibrated my gauge, with a little more success
>>         than the
>>         professionals, using the calibration unit in this link:
>>         http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/electric/fg_01.htm BTW, I pulled
>>         the sender out of
>>         the car and calibrated it on the bench. You will need to
>>         approximate the
>>         high and low limits which are determined by the depth of the
>>         petrol tank.
>>
>>         Be warned, it still is almost fruitless. I believe the
>>         problem is caused by
>>         how the fuel gauge T and B coils line up with the armature.
>>         The fuel gauge
>>         needle is connected to the armature and swings based on the
>>         magnetic current
>>         supplied by the sending unit. Over the years the coils have
>>         tilted and
>>         cannot be properly aligned with the armature when the nut is
>>         tightened. This
>>         throws off the adjustment.
>>
>>         Let me know how it goes.
>>
>>         Regards,
>>
>>         John Spaur
>>         '62 BT7
>>
>>         _______________________________________________
>>         Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>     -- 
>>     /If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical
>>     problem./
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>     Geen virus gevonden in dit bericht.
>>     Gecontroleerd door AVG - www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com>
>>     Versie: 2015.0.6125 / Virusdatabase: 4409/10513 - datum van
>>     uitgifte: 08/26/15
>>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> /If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem./
>
> Geen virus gevonden in dit bericht.
> Gecontroleerd door AVG - www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com>
> Versie: 2015.0.6125 / Virusdatabase: 4409/10513 - datum van uitgifte: 
> 08/26/15
>


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    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">Michael,<br>
      <br>
      I understand your concerns but I do not think you have to worry as
      the capacitor is on the gauge terminals, the voltage remains 12V
      max. and the current is depending on the resistor in the fuel
      gauge sender and gauge itself, both resistors are fairly high so
      the current will be low with not more risk of sparking compared to
      the original system that can theoretically spark as well in the
      potentiometer of the sender. <br>
      The capacitor is just there to reduce the violent differences in
      voltage across the gauge terminals<br>
      Anyway a capacitor is supposed to reduce sparking, as with the
      capacitor across the distributor points.<br>
      <br>
      Kees Oudesluijs<br>
      <br>
      <br>
      Op 26-8-2015 om 18:01 schreef Michael Salter:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote
cite="mid:CAB3i7LJJM8i_GL1XTRWt+qdrbxVB+xGtU+z+36Odm4e+0YECDA@mail.gmail.com"
      type="cite">
      <meta http-equiv="Context-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
      <div dir="ltr">
        <div class="gmail_default">Kees,<br>
        </div>
        <div class="gmail_default">I would have to disagree with your
          recommendation of adding a capacitor to the circuit to try to
          stabilize the needle on any fuel gauge system as has been
          mentioned previously on this list.<br>
        </div>
        <div class="gmail_default">Capacitors are energy storage devices
          and the sudden discharge of that energy creates sparks. <br>
          A fuel tank is normally filled with a mixture of fuel vapour
          and air. Certainly the ratio of air to fuel vapour has to be
          correct for an explosion to occur (around 6% vapour) but,
          should it be within the correct range which I agree is fairly
          unlikely, and the capacitor choose to discharge the
          consequences would be, shall we say, unfortunate. <br>
        </div>
        <div class="gmail_default">Entirely up to you but I certainly
          don't like the idea and would definitely not recommend it.. <br>
        </div>
        <div class="gmail_default"><br>
        </div>
        <div class="gmail_default">Michael S<br>
        </div>
        <div class="gmail_default">BN1 #174<br>
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="gmail_extra"><br>
        <div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 7:49 AM,
          Oudesluys <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a moz-do-not-send="true"
              href="mailto:coudesluijs@chello.nl"; 
target="_blank">coudesluijs@chello.nl</a>&gt;</span>
          wrote:<br>
          <blockquote class="gmail_quote">
            <div>
              <div>If a sender is not working properly it may be that a
                wrong type is fitted with a float lever rod that is to
                short, to long or bend in the wrong way. If it is to
                short the dial will indicate the full range from empty
                to full while the tank is not full when it reads empty
                correctly or the other way around. If the lever rod is
                to long the dial will not read its full scale indicating
                partially full when full and/or partially full when
                empty. Lengthening or shortening is a fairly easy
                operation but needs some experimenting and a dead level
                floor.<br>
                Also a bend lever may lead to faulty readings similar to
                those above.<br>
                <br>
                On the early coil type gauges you can fit a big
                capacitor to counteract more or less the continuous
                restless moving about of the needle which you do not
                have on the later bi-metal gauges that give a steady
                reading.<br>
                Kees Oudesluijs<br>
                <br>
                <br>
                <br>
                Op 26-8-2015 om 13:27 schreef Michael Salter:<br>
              </div>
              <blockquote type="cite">
                <div>
                  <div class="h5">
                    <div dir="ltr">
                      <div class="gmail_default">Actually a Healey fuel
                        gauge can be made to work very accurately. The
                        gauge in my 100 is as steady as a rock and a
                        very accurate indicator of the tank contents.<br>
                      </div>
                      <div class="gmail_default">The only change I made
                        was to add a tiny connecting link between the
                        float arm and the body of the gauge sender as in
                        the attached pic.<br>
                      </div>
                      <div class="gmail_default">Prior to doing this I
                        had no idea that a gauge of this type could work
                        so well.<br>
                        <br>
                      </div>
                      <div class="gmail_default">Michael S<br>
                      </div>
                      <div class="gmail_default">BN1 #174<br>
                      </div>
                    </div>
                    <div class="gmail_extra"><br>
                      <div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at
                        1:18 AM, John Spaur <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a
                            moz-do-not-send="true"
                            href="mailto:jmsdarch@sbcglobal.net";
                            target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" 
href="mailto:jmsdarch@sbcglobal.net";>jmsdarch@sbcglobal.net</a></a>&gt;</span>
                        wrote:<br>
                        <blockquote class="gmail_quote">Yes! Will you
                          ever be able to adjust it so it works even
                          remotely close to<br>
                          accurate? I don't think so. There are many
                          posts covering issues with the<br>
                          fuel gauge and tank unit. My gauge and sender
                          were "calibrated" by a couple<br>
                          of shops. The sender is a restored original.
                          Afterwards, it would still<br>
                          stick on full, then when over half a tank was
                          used it would drop to 1/2,<br>
                          then 1/4 and stop.<br>
                          <br>
                          I finally calibrated my gauge, with a little
                          more success than the<br>
                          professionals, using the calibration unit in
                          this link:<br>
                          <a moz-do-not-send="true"
                            href="http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/electric/fg_01.htm";
                            rel="noreferrer" 
target="_blank">http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/electric/fg_01.htm</a>
                          BTW, I pulled the sender out of<br>
                          the car and calibrated it on the bench. You
                          will need to approximate the<br>
                          high and low limits which are determined by
                          the depth of the petrol tank.<br>
                          <br>
                          Be warned, it still is almost fruitless. I
                          believe the problem is caused by<br>
                          how the fuel gauge T and B coils line up with
                          the armature. The fuel gauge<br>
                          needle is connected to the armature and swings
                          based on the magnetic current<br>
                          supplied by the sending unit. Over the years
                          the coils have tilted and<br>
                          cannot be properly aligned with the armature
                          when the nut is tightened. This<br>
                          throws off the adjustment.<br>
                          <br>
                          Let me know how it goes.<br>
                          <br>
                          Regards,<br>
                          <br>
                          John Spaur<br>
                          '62 BT7<br>
                          <div>
                            <div><br>
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                      <br>
                      <br>
                      -- <br>
                      <div>
                        <div dir="ltr">
                          <div>
                            <div dir="ltr"><i><span>If you can't fix it
                                  with a hammer, you've got an
                                  electrical problem.</span></i><br>
                              <br>
                            </div>
                          </div>
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        -- <br>
        <div class="gmail_signature">
          <div dir="ltr">
            <div>
              <div dir="ltr"><i><span>If you can't fix it with a hammer,
                    you've got an electrical problem.</span></i><br>
                <br>
              </div>
            </div>
          </div>
        </div>
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