Since I discovered that I couldnt buy a new fuel level
sender, I decided to fix the old one. This sender came
out of my spare set of tanks, which came from a friends
parts car, which had been sitting for who knows how long.
The sender appeared open when first measured. I unbent
the tabs and opened the case surrounding the works.
With my ohmmeter I determined that there was continuity
through the entire resistor, the wiper was connected to
the arm, the contacts werent dirty, and all appeared
OK. Still there was something open in the path to
ground. There was this white powdery deposit all over
the case and the arm, so I used my little Dremel wire
brush to clean it away from the surfaces where the arm
rotates against the case. Operation restored. It seems
that the path that connects the wiper to ground is the
contact between the arm and the case. Theres a spring
on the shaft which should have helped, but it was
coated with crud, too. As this white stuff appeared, it
insulated the arm, leaving the circuit open. Im
thinking of adding a wire to provide a positive ground.
Has anyone else experienced this scenario? Is this
white stuff typical?
Sorry, Steve. No photos. I should have known there was
tech tip potential here!
Stu
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