Pulled the sending unit outta the tank. Cleaned and painted the tank, and want to see if the sending unit is still good. Tried a few things but couldn't get any movement from the meter.

Brad
Sierra Vista Arizona
1954 Lincoln Capri

Have you tried grounding the sending unit wire to the vehicle?  If the fuel gauge works in doing this, then double check the ground on the fuel tank itself.  If no response to the fuel gauge when grounding the wire taht goes to the sending unit, then the wire coming to the back of the vehicle and/or the gauge itself is suspect. Other comments always welcome.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Here’s an old post, it won’t answer your question, but gives you a starting point.

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic22135-1.aspx

Those are King Seeley gauges, as the post says they don’t work on the straight resistance most others do. That said, I think if I had a unit on the bench and went between the wire lug and ground I’d get some kind of reading on a VOM for resistance. But I’ve never done it so I don’t know.

If you run searches for King Seeley gauges you’ll find more information. Much of it will be other makes, especially Jeeps, but the trouble shooting info will apply. If no one surfaces here with an answer, that’s the next step. Final step is the gauge and sender on the bench with a 6 volt battery.

With that Lincoln Y block you’ll probably want a fuel gauge. LOL

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

This would be a bench test since the unit is outta the tank and I have no idea what condition the wiring is in and no motor or battery. That said, I've watched some videos about testing other types of sending units but none are like this one. I need to know where to put each probe from the meter and move the float to check the numbers. I've put them in pretty much every place I could think of and didn't get anything other than 0 and 1. The car has been sitting since 65 and the tank was pretty sludgy. The sending unit is pretty clean now and moves freely so I'd like to reuse it.

Brad
Sierra Vista Arizona
1954 Lincoln Capri

There should be continunity through the sender while on the bench. I don't remember at all what the ohm value should be but perhaps something less than 100 ohms but more than 0? Maybe someone can chime in.  It's not a rheostat unit like the 57 and newer senders most are familiar with. It works on the principal of a bimetallic strip heated by a fine wire wound around the bimetal strip and a set of contact points. As the bimetal strip is heated, it will move enough to open the circuit thus allowing it to cool and reclose the contacts. The float arm simply adjusts the closing force of the movable contact. The gauge is similar in that it also had a bimetallic strip heated by fine wire wound around it and mechanically linked to the pointer.  If you do have continunity through the sender, then you may have to wait until the system in in the vehicle with all wires attached and battery installed, then go from there. There are ways to perform a bench test but you would need a fuel gauge and a 6 volt source or a potentiometer to limit the current in absence of a fuel gauge. However, in that setup, values of the components would have to be known so as not to accidently damage the sender.  It's been many years so hopefully I made some sense here - good luck.

64F100 57FAIRLANE500

B-Rad.....I thought that you had said in a previous post that you intended to go to a 12 volt system for your Lincoln.  Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think that you are going to be able to use your 6 volt sending unit if you do convert your electrical system to 12 volt. There is a reproduction 12 volt sending unit available for a '56 Ford car but I am not sure if the bolt pattern on the flange will match up with your tank.  The last 12 volt sender that I saw had a bolt pattern on the flange designed to fit only the reproduction gas tanks.  Maybe someone else who has done a 6 volt to 12 volt conversion can give you better advice on getting your stock 6 volt fuel gauge working on 12 volts.  

I was under the impression that I could put a restriction, or whatever it's called, in the wiring to the sending unit like the dash

Brad
Sierra Vista Arizona
1954 Lincoln Capri

55 and earlier was 6 volts. 1956 only, at least on the Fords, was 12 volt gauges. One year only. In 57, the gauges were 6 volt and used a voltage reducer from 12 to 6 for the gauges only. Not the clock, radio, heater etc. So that oem unit should allow your 6 volt gauges to work after the 12 volt conversion.

The other items will either need to be changed, or fitted with a voltage reducer of enough capacity to carry the load. I don’t think that works on the radio, due to the positive/negative ground change. But I know there’s solutions for the radio out there.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Yeah. That solution is here already. The radio was removed before I got the car. Any idea if a reduced will work on a fuel sending unit? If I change the bulbs in the dash, will that solve the 6 to 12 problem? Gauges?

Brad
Sierra Vista Arizona
1954 Lincoln Capri

Typically the voltage reducer goes on the hot wire that feed both the gas and temp gauge. Just how that works on the Lincoln you’ll have to find by tracing out the wiring diagram.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ