Hybrid View
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05-05-2008 03:18 PM #1
Interesting discovery (Yikes!!!)
The roadster pickup has recovered from its massive gasoline bath, so after work today I went out for a little cruise around town. Everything is working good, but no gas gauge!! Now, I have to tell you, the gas gauge has never worked all that well, since about 3 months after I got the car on the road, 4 years ago. Its an Autometer sending unit and gauge, but with a round tank, the readings are eratic at best. However, even eratic is better than nothing. I did a little investigation and discovered that the only thing grounding the tank was the copper gas line!(aluminum gas tank anchored to oak truck bed.) When I cut the gas line to put the solenoid shut-off valve in it, I reconnected it to the solenoid valve with a neoprene gas line. This is not a good thing!!! I connected a booster cable to one of the tank brackets and to a good ground, and the gas gauge came back to life. Tomorrow I will wire up a proper #10 ga. ground wire to the tank.
Last edited by brianrupnow; 05-05-2008 at 03:21 PM.
Old guy hot rodder
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05-05-2008 04:44 PM #2
Just a suggestion, you dont need a 10 ga wire for ground. The gas gauge is a voltmeter and a 16 ga wire is plenty big for the current.
mike in tucson
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05-05-2008 04:49 PM #3
for a gas tank I would go with the bigger wire to get rid of static elect during refueling to prevent explosions---especially when free falling the stream of gas
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05-05-2008 05:31 PM #4
I will go with #10 ga. because its big enough, and thats what I have.Old guy hot rodder
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05-05-2008 07:17 PM #5
Yeah, even in boats, which have strict rules dictated by the Coast Guard, a 16 gauge or at most a 14 gauge is fine. And the risk from explosion in a boat is many times greater than a car. But if you feel better with 10 there is no reason not to use it.
Don
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05-05-2008 07:42 PM #6
Huh....I was under the impression that you had built this truck yourself. Not from anything you had said, I guess I just "ASSumed" you did. Guess its time to give it a good going thru to see if there were any other "short" cuts!...
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05-05-2008 08:17 PM #7
Talk about overkill.Ken Thomas
NoT FaDe AwaY and the music didn't die
The simplest road is usually the last one sought
Wild Willie & AA/FA's The greatest show in drag racing
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05-05-2008 08:24 PM #8
I don't care who built the truck, just glad your ok!" "No matter where you go, there you are!" Steve.
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05-06-2008 06:49 AM #9
Brian, keep reporting this stuff because it is useful to me. It is common for consumers to sue and/or not buy some brand of automobile for some construction flaw (Pinto gas tank worries for instance) but when you construct the whole car yourself there are so very many things to check it is difficult to check everything. I am thinking of my zero dish steering wheel with no protection at all for my chest excep a lap belt so maybe I need a shoulder belt too, etc.
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder
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05-06-2008 07:16 AM #10
Brian, you bring up a good subject here. Proper grounding is extremely important for an electrical system to function properly but to often overlooked is the grounding or bonding of the fuel tank to disipate static electricity. Many people accept the installation of the tank through steel hardware and attachments alone will be sufficient, in many cases it may not be especially if the structure has been painted or powder coated. I have a SS tank installed on powder coated frame rails, the gauge circuit is grounded from the sender to the frame rail but I am going to take another look at my tank installation and look at installing a bonding strap. Being in aircraft maintenance, I can tell you that bonding of everything having to do with the fuel tank and fuel delivery system is imperative. Thanks for bringing this up.
....Doug.
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05-06-2008 07:34 AM #11
For all of you too new to remember---Yes, I did build it myself---and the build was fully documented here on clubhotrod 4 years ago. Very few of you new guys will appreciate what a complete build it was. And yes, even I am not infallible. I missed putting a ground strap on that tank right from day one, and if you ever completely build a car from the ground up, as I did, you will know how easy it is to miss one thing out of the 10,000 things involved in building a car completely.---BrianOld guy hot rodder
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05-06-2008 08:52 AM #12
Note to self. Check to see if gas tank is grounded. Those wooden body supports may not be enough. . .
Jack
Gone to Texas
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05-06-2008 09:03 AM #13
Brian - at least you found it before the fire.Bob
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail....but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying..."Damn....that was fun!
The first model car I built was a 32 Ford roadster by Revell in the mid 50's.
How did you get hooked on cars?