by Wheelie Mon Apr 29, 2013 5:20 pmI bought the eBay Sender that is supposed to fit our vans and it fits but I can't get it to work. When I ground the sender wire the guage shows full which usually means the wiring is good. When I test the ohms at the sender they read from 10-73 ish ohms empty to full. I always before installation bench test and that is what I found. Also I added a ground to the sender itself and attached it to the frame and another ground to the guage cluster. When its plugged in I get nothing from the guage as it only reads empty. The guage is getting voltage on the "I" terminal. I also verified that the sender wire is good from the guage to the tank with no shorts. I also tried the adjustable rheostat trick to see if adding resistance would help to no effect. Anyone for any input on this or insight? Thx!
+5
RodStRace
Dawgboy
slowflapper
dix
Wheelie
9 posters
Ebay Fuel sender issues
Wheelie- Number of posts : 322
Location : Plano, TX
Registration date : 2013-02-22
dix- Moderator 1st Class
- Number of posts : 8769
Location : pittsburgh pa
Age : 67
Registration date : 2008-05-29
At the end of the sender you have a rubber hose to splice the sender to the supply fuel line . use a jumper wire around the rubber hose splice. from the factory there should have been a jumper there...
_________________
still vannin since 1974
Wheelie- Number of posts : 322
Location : Plano, TX
Registration date : 2013-02-22
I already did that. I grounded the crap out of that thing today. I even made a jumper wire straight from the battery post.
slowflapper- Number of posts : 957
Location : GA
Age : 55
Registration date : 2010-07-29
float got a hole in it? maybe it's sunk to the bottom of the tank?
Dawgboy- Number of posts : 278
Location : San Diego, CA
Registration date : 2013-04-20
I bought one of those too... I just rewired my van and it worked for 1 day... I was assuming I needed to redo the ground, but now you have me guessing on the quality...
Wheelie- Number of posts : 322
Location : Plano, TX
Registration date : 2013-02-22
When this tank runs out im going to pull the sender and see if its something I can fix. I am going to get it working before reinstalling it. I will let you know what I find.
RodStRace- Number of posts : 3046
Location : Chino Valley
Registration date : 2010-01-21
Many have said that the replacement senders across the board are not up to OE quality levels. Lots of complaints about getting them to work, being accurate and lasting more than a few months.
Best of luck to you, just know you are not alone!
Best of luck to you, just know you are not alone!
slowflapper- Number of posts : 957
Location : GA
Age : 55
Registration date : 2010-07-29
RodStRace wrote:Many have said that the replacement senders across the board are not up to OE quality levels. Lots of complaints about getting them to work, being accurate and lasting more than a few months.
Best of luck to you, just know you are not alone!
like Rod said, I got one of those ebay senders myself and it reads 1/4 or so less than whats really in the tank. I just left it that way so when I'm at E I really have a 1/4 tank left
I actually keep it to at least 1/4-1/2 on the gauge so there's plenty extra
Wheelie- Number of posts : 322
Location : Plano, TX
Registration date : 2013-02-22
Im used to poor quality chinese repop crap for sure. I get a daily dose working at the shop on all these old corvettes and their reproduction parts. It's very frustrating! Especially when the sender is on the side of the tank and the tank is nearly full like on the van.
Dawgboy- Number of posts : 278
Location : San Diego, CA
Registration date : 2013-04-20
Well... The plus side is at least you don't have to pull the tank! I still have my old one, mebbe I will try it again with my new harness...
Wheelie- Number of posts : 322
Location : Plano, TX
Registration date : 2013-02-22
So I finally got around to getting the sender out and tested and it is still working. I am trying to find out the factory ohms at empty and full. I can bend the tabs to adjust I just need those specs. I also think that my fuel guage internal voltage reducer burned up inside the original guages still in the van because my new guage set appears to actually show 5 volts at the A terminal which is spec. There is an internal resitor inside the guage that reduces the 12v input to 5 volt for the fuel and temp gauges.
oo3- Number of posts : 290
Location : new orleans
Registration date : 2008-06-01
if you are showing 5 v at the correct terminal on the back of the gauge it is not the regulator-( not a resistor) it could be okay - perhaps the winding for the gauge itself is burnt up - have had 2 of those repop senders ( on 2 different vehicles - 1st on even after adjusting still had a good 5 gallons when it showed e - the second on my current vehicle runs out of gas before it shows e ! have not tried to adjust yet though - oo3
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12245
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
Wheelie- Number of posts : 322
Location : Plano, TX
Registration date : 2013-02-22
I have read all those posts and still not sure I got the answer I was looking for.....so in my last post I stated that I needed to know what the stock dodge guage needs to see ohms wise at empty and then at full. So is it 73ohms empty and 10 ohms full just like my sender? I cant find any specs in my service manual...
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12245
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
Well,,,,,,,you have the most complicated fuel sender system there is,,,,,12 volts go to the gauge, the current limiter reduces the voltage to 5 volts for the gauge to work,,,,,,,they use a jumper wire around the fuel hose to ground the sending unit,,,,,,,,then there are companies that claim to build the correct sending units,,,,,and lots of aftermarket gauges and sending units out there.....so you have to see what you got,,,,,,,,you could get a 73 ohm resistor and ground one end of it then hook the sending unit wire to it and turn the key on,,,,,,this is the signal that the sending unit sends when it sees an empty tank,,,,,,a 10 ohm signal is for a full tank,,,,,,this would test the gauge and wiring,,,,,,then put an ohm meter on the sending unit and see if it sends the same signal out as you move the float by hand,,,,,so see what you get,,,,,,,its just a process of elimination,,,,,but see if that 73/10 ohm setting is the correct one for your van.....the gauge and sender need to be a matched set,,,,they need to talk the same language,,,,,,so see if this information gets you closer to solving your problem,,,,,,,,
Wheelie- Number of posts : 322
Location : Plano, TX
Registration date : 2013-02-22
Wow,the stock ohm specs is all I really needed. :)I understand how it works a little better now though :)I have noticed its real similiar to using a ballast resistor used on chevy etc. that have to step down the voltage to run the coil. I have just never seen one this bass awkwards. Working on corvettes all days gets me a little snow blind when I swap over to other makes. 
The original fuel guage burned up so Im going to use the 5v computer chippy thing that gives it a good solid 5 volts and bypass that betallic spring regulator.
The original fuel guage burned up so Im going to use the 5v computer chippy thing that gives it a good solid 5 volts and bypass that betallic spring regulator.
dodge A-108- Number of posts : 67
Location : knoxville
Registration date : 2014-11-22
the OEM sending unit is still available part #4051004. and yes, its 11 and 73 ohmsWheelie wrote:I bought the eBay Sender that is supposed to fit our vans and it fits but I can't get it to work. When I ground the sender wire the guage shows full which usually means the wiring is good. When I test the ohms at the sender they read from 10-73 ish ohms empty to full. I always before installation bench test and that is what I found. Also I added a ground to the sender itself and attached it to the frame and another ground to the guage cluster. When its plugged in I get nothing from the guage as it only reads empty. The guage is getting voltage on the "I" terminal. I also verified that the sender wire is good from the guage to the tank with no shorts. I also tried the adjustable rheostat trick to see if adding resistance would help to no effect. Anyone for any input on this or insight? Thx!
RodStRace- Number of posts : 3046
Location : Chino Valley
Registration date : 2010-01-21
I checked with my friend at the dealership today.
The part # is good, but it has been discontinued.
He looked and found ONE listed in inventory in the US and gave me the phone number to that dealer. I called and they said that it was a mistake and that they did not have one.
So unless you have an old school dealer that stocks stuff and is not on the national database (Is that even possible?), you won't find one at a Dodge dealer...
I was really hoping....
The part # is good, but it has been discontinued.
He looked and found ONE listed in inventory in the US and gave me the phone number to that dealer. I called and they said that it was a mistake and that they did not have one.
So unless you have an old school dealer that stocks stuff and is not on the national database (Is that even possible?), you won't find one at a Dodge dealer...
I was really hoping....
gary h- Number of posts : 497
Location : tn.
Registration date : 2012-10-19
Why not find a correct A-100 Sender and have it rebuilt? There should be a few places that still rebuild them, check Hemmings. At least you know what you got rather than the China Garbage! Just Sayin.
