fuel gauge

[fe-ute56]

can anyone tell me should the brown wire from the fuel gauge to the sender unit. have power in it .because mine does and my mate reckons it shouldnt .
also my fuel gauge goes to full when the key is turned on and i know my tank is empty     thanks  

[mcl1959]

Power goes from positive to the nut side of the guage through the guage to the sender unit which is then to earth. The power is only there when the ignition is on, so power will be in the brown wire at all times when the ignition is on.  Usual culprit is the sender which dies, but on occasions it can be the guage.  Not to hard to change either one to test.

Ken

[fe-ute56]

how do i test fuel gauge in the car ?
when i put test lamp on the brown wire from dash it glows dull not bright . does this mean faulty gauge ?
thanks

[Dr_Terry]

Hi guys.

It's easy to test the fuel gauge in the car. As mcl1959 says, the sender is usually at fault & it usually goes open circuit.

The sender has the resistance as follows:-

Empty = 0 Ohms
Half     = 15 Ohms
Full      = 30 Ohms

Firstly, just short the tan wire to chassis/earth with the ignition ON. The gauge should read just on the empty dot. If this is case, the gauge is OK.

If you want to get fancy, go to Dick Smith or similar & purchase 15 Ohm & 30 Ohm resistors, cheap as chips. Then you can check how accurate the dash gauge is at half & full.

By the way, this test is good for all Holdens up to mid HQ & HB/LC/LJ/TA Toranas.

Dr Terry.

[earlyholdenfan]

Thanks for this insight Dr Terry and Ken, I was wondering if the same figures apply to the 6volt system in FJ?
Matt