OK. 69 Riviera. Electric fuel pump in the tank - from the factory! 69 and 70 has them. The sending unit holds the pump. I replaced the fuel pump and now the gauge is stuck on Full. I removed the pump again to check it. As I was holding the pump in my hand I was able to hit the key and see/feel/hear the pump run, but no matter where I moved the float thegauge didn't move. Still pegged on Full. Ground is good. Wires are good from what I can tell. It just stopped working when I switched fuel pumps. Fuse is good - I replaced it anyway. I HOPE it isn't the dash gauge. Getting it out is really impossible. I'm looking for another sending unit. I'm sure I'll get seriously gouged on that. But in the mean time, is there some way to tell if the dash gauge is good and what steps do I take. Thanks all!
Jeff, I did battle several times with the fuel pump and gauge on a 70 Riv I had years ago. You may want to do some testing of the wires and that large plug that connects to the sender. My guess is that somewhere you have a bad connection. Also check your wiring of the fuel pump and the flat wire that connects to the sender unit. I will look around, as I think I saved the sender assembly to my old Riv. No promises as it could be sitting anywhere ( I moved 3 years ago and still havent' found all the stuff I took..lol). Regards, Mark
fuel gage Jeff, The first thing I would do would be to figure out if it was the gage or the sending unit side. Most likely if the gage worked before you switched the pump, it will have something to do with changing the pump. To check to gage: At the contector plug use a extra wire to ground the fuel gage to sender wire stright to ground then turn the ing. switch on and observe the fuel gage. Then unground the same wire and note the difference. If the gage goes from full to empty with the two conditions of the wire to ground, then the gage is fine. * Note: This is a safe way to check the gage because General Motors cars use 0 to 80 Ohm resentance for the grounding of the gage. Checking the sender is a little different. The best way would be to use a Ohm-meter to check the resentance to the wire to ground while moving the float arm up and down. If you let me have your phone number, I could talk you through it better in person.
Thanks soooooo much guys. This club is the best. Mark, If you can locate the sending unit I'll gladly buy it off you. You have no idea what the Riviera parts guys are charging for these things... and the guy's attitude was horrible. You'd think he had the freakin' fountain of youth or something. Michael, My cell # is 215-801-3853 home # is 215-364-2616 If I don't answer the cell it is because it is a weekend and I probably took it off to crawl under the car or to cut the grass or something. I'd like to get a little more info... on the gauge, are you saying to just take the wire and ground it? And the gauge should go to empty? With the wire off, and the key both off and on, the gauge never moved off dead full. I have a nice Ohm meter but have no idea how to use it. My sending unit is a 90 Ohm unit, with 3 coils in it (according to the shop manual). Is that normal? Yards
Jeff, I found the sender/pump assembly. It doesn't look too bad, though some of the insulation on what may be the power line to the pump has separated. See pic below. It has been stored inside and has been out of the car since 1987! :eek2: Let me know what you think it is worth. I am not looking to get rich. Just a fair price. A pic is attached below, if it works. Regards, Mark
Jeff, I have had that same problem until this past spring when I found the culprit. You know were the wires enter the sending unit. Underneath the top of the unit the wires are held on by small spring clip washers. I had found that one had worked it's way loose over the course of removing and replacing the unit several times. I would loosen the unit from the tank while watching my gauge from the trunk, and it would work, then it would'nt. Maddening! good ground, everything looked ok. Then noticed the loose clip. Hammered it back down tight with a dab of JB weld to prevent it from loosening again. No more problem. Maybe the same situation in your case. Dale
Thanks Dale! I'll check that. Hey Michael, Mark sold me his sender. If Dale's tip doesn't do the trick I'll use Mark's. If all fails I'll call you and pick you brain on troubleshooting. Thanks for the call. That was really cool! Thanks again y'all.
Dale!!!!! That was it!!!!! AHHHH Hahahahahahahahahah!!!!!! Bitchin'!!!!!!!!! Thanks a million. Now I have a spare from Mark should I ever need it. It is stored and marked so I can always tell what is in it. Save, dry and clean. Thanks again both Dale and Mark.
