5000D fuel gage

[ed1]

I guess no one has a 5000 fuel gage(74). The gage reads almost full all the time. Is there any way to adjust the voltage to the gage?
ed1
 

[awhtx]

My 1967 5000D has a "voltage regulator" on the back of the instrument panel for the fuel and water temp gauges. When it goes bad the gauges don't work properly. I don't know if your 1974 model uses one or not. If it does most new ones are around $35 for a little part that looks a lot like a turn signal flasher.
 

[paul]

My whole instrurument cluster on my 75 5000 (actually a 5200) is goofy, it had 19 hours when i bought it 2 years ago, it got up to 61 hours on the tach, I think I've done a little more than that. It would add hours & show rpms when it was cold at first, but doesn't any more. Lot of the lights & gauges are kinda flakey, temp will float around but give an average reading, fuel never has shown anything. Haven't dug into it yet, electrical is not my strong suit.

Have to one of these days. I'm thinking the previous owner put in a new panel, and didn't do it quite right, or iron out the bugs. I'm hoping it's a simple grounding issue or something. I can dream.

--->Paul
 

[souNdguy]

and it's built alot like a flasher.. it's pretty much just a heated bimetallic strip in that voltage stabilizer..

soundguy
 

[souNdguy]

still got the tach that hooks to the w/d ont he genny?

soundguy
 

[ed1]

Yes I still have the gage that came with the tractor. Do you know what the volts should show to the fuel gage? A new gage is 108.00 from NH. I'm thinking it might be the voltage stabilizer.
ed1
 

[souNdguy]

the VS isn't much more than a heated bimetalic strip that makes and breaks contact.. providing an 'average' voltage to the gauges. they don't react fast enough to show the pulses.

a vom meter likely reacts fast enough to see either bat volts or something like 5-8.. not sure on the exact spec..

soundguy
 

[ed1]

Ok, thanks alot. May just live with the fuel gage, easy enough to check.
ed1
 

[Hobo,NC]

[Hobo,NC]

The VR stabilizer is EZ to check with a test lite are a volt meter... the reaction is slow...

The time it switches would depend on the resistance of the fuel gauge,,, the nearer to 0 ohms the faster it will switch,,, think heat,,,, the sender is nuttin more than a dead short,,, the VR protects the dash gauge from going up in smoke by opening the circuit...

I am not sure if the intent was to make the dash gauge more stable as the fuel sloshed around in the tank,,, if not it sure does do a good of maintaining a steady reading...
 

[Hayburner]

[oldhousehigger]

The fuel gage on my 4500 didn't work either before I fixed it. I did a continuity check on the sending unit and found it to be open at the end of the windings nearest the top (empty tank end). The break was between the last wrap of the windings and the insulated connection with male plug on the outside. I unspooled several wraps of the resistor wire off the windings cleaned off the varnish on the end and soldered it to the original connection discarding the broken segment. Yes I used a magnifying glass and it took a while with shaky hands. It’s reading is off a little but better than nada and it was free.
Prior to attempting to check out the instrument panel I took everything apart and cleaned the crud off the contacts.
The gage in the instrument panel I checked by running .2 amps at 12 volts from my battery charger thru the voltage conditioner and then thru a variable resistor I had from the parts museum I seem to have collected. From the resistor to the gage I ran the original wire because resistance makes a difference. The gage actually moved as I reduced resistance showing it worked. I then hooked up the sending unit I had repaired the same way and it operated the gage as well. Both those gages work off a bimetallic strip which changes shape as it heats up with more and more current. That’s one point for us.
The water temp gage worked when tested this way as well but the sending unit does not work and has as of yet to be replaced so still no water temp but at least I know what’s bad.
I installed a T at the block where the oil pressure switch came out and added a fitting to run to an actual new auxiliary oil pressure gage because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy when it shows 40 lbs at an idle.

Bad connections and bad grounds account for most instrument panel problems I have repaired.