Fuel gauge calibration.
- Thread starter HolyCount
- Start date
I have a similar problem Kev.
Its all to do with Ohm rating and getting them to match! I have a 0-100 Ohm sender unit but my Acewell i believe is a 0-55Ohm rating and can't be calibrated.
The sender will read 100 ohms when the tank is full and 0 ohms when the tank is empty, i looked at the acewell senders but didn't like the setup and the arm seemed way too small. However the sender i have is awesome and will work with the gauge i have. Mine will read full when full and empty when empty. The problem i do have however is that the sender reads over 55 ohms when full and when is just over half full is still reading 55 ohms so the gauge will show as being full, the gauge will then rappidly fall until the tank is empty. Does this make sense Kev?
Jason
Its all to do with Ohm rating and getting them to match! I have a 0-100 Ohm sender unit but my Acewell i believe is a 0-55Ohm rating and can't be calibrated.
The sender will read 100 ohms when the tank is full and 0 ohms when the tank is empty, i looked at the acewell senders but didn't like the setup and the arm seemed way too small. However the sender i have is awesome and will work with the gauge i have. Mine will read full when full and empty when empty. The problem i do have however is that the sender reads over 55 ohms when full and when is just over half full is still reading 55 ohms so the gauge will show as being full, the gauge will then rappidly fall until the tank is empty. Does this make sense Kev?
Jason
Hi,
I just noticed some traffic to my website from this thread, thought I should put a link or two..
we make a fuel gauge wizard.. matches pretty much any sender to any guage
https://www.spiyda.com/magento/index.ph ... izard.html
or if you have a 500 Ohm gauge there is a unit specifically designed for that which is easier to set up
https://www.spiyda.com/magento/index.ph ... d-500.html
We also do LED fuel gauges .. ( 4 LED and 8 LED ) and low fuel warning lights..
and I will soon be doing a package comprising VDO dip tube sender (cut to length) + LED fuel gauge (for around £75 TBC)
Chris (-=Spiyda=-)
I just noticed some traffic to my website from this thread, thought I should put a link or two..
we make a fuel gauge wizard.. matches pretty much any sender to any guage
https://www.spiyda.com/magento/index.ph ... izard.html
or if you have a 500 Ohm gauge there is a unit specifically designed for that which is easier to set up
https://www.spiyda.com/magento/index.ph ... d-500.html
We also do LED fuel gauges .. ( 4 LED and 8 LED ) and low fuel warning lights..
and I will soon be doing a package comprising VDO dip tube sender (cut to length) + LED fuel gauge (for around £75 TBC)
Chris (-=Spiyda=-)
Welcome Chris, if I didn't have the MGF gauge in the dashboard I would love to have one of your 3 led ones, the wizard is proving very tedious to get right. The gauge is so well damped it takes ages after making adjustments, it will work just needs lots of patience, something I lack
Alan...
Alan...
Phaeton":1halb30i said:Welcome Chris, if I didn't have the MGF gauge in the dashboard I would love to have one of your 3 led ones, the wizard is proving very tedious to get right. The gauge is so well damped it takes ages after making adjustments, it will work just needs lots of patience, something I lack
Alan...
I might not be so welcome when you have calibrated the wizard... !!
I know your pain
I went to quite a bit of trouble to design it to have a slow response to give a steady needle reading as the fuel sloshes about in the tank (anti-slosh)
but that does make it very laborious to set up if it is not ready calibrated to your gauge..
disabling the slow response isn't as straightforward as it seems.. but i may revisit it in the future..
when I calibrate them on the bench I have a few tricks which make it quicker.. but unfortunately thay don't translate to on the vehicle !
Besides the two types of wizard the LED gauges and the low fuel warning lights, I also customise VDO tube senders
I can shorten senders or supply senders ready shortened.
Because shortening them changes the resistance, they then need to be used with a wizard or LED guage..
They are not cheap though, a package of sender and wizard or LED gauge comes in at £80
I suppose the one thing about fuel gauges is that once you've cracked it, they are pretty reliable.. so its a one off job..
Chris
Phaeton":3o2lqb0p said:Welcome Chris, if I didn't have the MGF gauge in the dashboard I would love to have one of your 3 led ones, the wizard is proving very tedious to get right. The gauge is so well damped it takes ages after making adjustments, it will work just needs lots of patience, something I lack
Alan...
What I do is use a VDO gauge from a Lotus to set wizards up..
They have so little damping I actually make a seperate anti-slosh circuit to damp the needle movement..
but it does mean that they are ideal for calibrating units..
I literally have a series of marker lines on the dial which are the full half and empty points of other gauges (if that makes sense)
the other secret to calibrating a wizard is to write down every change you make and what the effect is..
eg
turn gain 1/2 turn right ... on empty needle stayed in the same position ... on full needle moved 1/8
and of course my final secret... if the sender is on the vehicle, have some resistors of the same value as the sender at various points..
(but use 0.5 watt or higher (or several resistors in series) for low resistance settings) to simulate the sender, much easier thab adding or removing fuel !
Chris
