I've been having problems with my fuel gauge and the mechanic who works on my car says it needs a new fuel sending unit. The problem is that he says he can't find it anywhere, not from Ford or any other supplier. I have a '87 5.0 with the base digital dash. Does anyone know if anyone sells them or if there's a substitute part?
I believe that part has been discontinued (although, strangely enough, the full digital one is still available). Your only hope is a used or NOS one. If you go used, try to find one from a southern car, as it's pretty much a guarantee that if your car sees salt the top of the sender is rotten
You can try giving these guys a call:
http://www.fuelsender.com (http://"http://www.fuelsender.com/")
http://www.fordparts.com lists two types, one w/o electronic cluster and one with it. Is the one for the buttstuffog cluster the same as the one for the base digital dash?
Nm. I called FordParts and they say the part is discontinued and they can't get one.
By the way, does anyone have the part number for it?
Eric: I called fuelsender.com and they want $75 to rebuild a unit. That's fine with me, but I prefer not to be without the car for the time it would take for the turnaround. If I can get my hands on a rebuildable one that I could send to them then it would be perfect.
With all the Fox commonality I still can't believe that Ford used a T-Bird/Cougar-specific unit instead of a Mustang one. What on Earth were they thinking...
The similarities these cars have to Mustangs is amazing. The differences are incredible. There are so many subtle differences it's actually hard to believe they're the same platform sometimes, especially on 86-88 models. The suspensions look the same but have virtually no directly swappable parts: Front control arms, struts, springs, K-members, engine mounts, rear control arms, shocks, springs, axles, rear brakes, gas tanks, seat brackets, and of course all body and interior parts are all different. Even cars with the same drivetrain (SVO Mustang VS Turbo Coupe) have significant differences - the SVO uses a cable clutch while the 87-88 TC uses a hydraulic setup. Even the floor pan, that most basic part of the platform, is different - in addition to the obvious difference in length, the Mustang uses different seat mounting points and T-Bird SFC's will not work on Mustangs. It always amazes me how Ford could make a business case for using the same platform across different cars, but changing that platform enough so that almost no major parts are shared, thus making platform sharing redundant anyway.
Chevy guys have it so easy...
Oh, and BTW - did your mechanic actually drop the tank and look at and/or test the sending unit? It's common for the electrical connectors on them to become corroded and cause gauge malfunction. If that's the case with yours you should be able to clean the connections up and get back in business
If you've cleaned the connections and still have problems and can't be without your ride for an extended period of time, can you snag one out of a junkyard cheap and have it rebuilt?
Please let me know how you make out. I have a similar problem with my fuel gage in my '83 Heritage and have not had time to work on it.
to bring this one back, today on the way to work my fuel gauge worked fine but on the way home it didnt work at all. isnt there a relay for the sender? if I remember right on my friends 85 he replaced a relay and made his work. keep in mind that this is a southern car
relay is on the firewall on the drivers side.
where exactly?
got a pic of the engine?(pm me)
O hows my old snowflakes coming?
/hyjack
snowflakes??? they are sitting in the garage at dads collecting dust. lol I think you might be asking the wrong person.
not you!
can anyone confirm this about a relay for the fuel sending unit/gauge?
anyone?
I can.... I KNOW it is. My dads came loose and wouldnt kick on the pump till be pulled it and put it back in. I just dont know which of the 2 it is
would one from an '87 XR7 work? I got one sitting here, and yes it's rusty on top.
my pump is running but the fuel guage isnt working... and this is what I am trying to figure out.
see 3.8, 5.0 and 2.3 configurations on the 87evtm
pull up you pm and do the resistor test for the guage.
use your meter and check for the resistance value on the connector leading to the sender. your gonna have to remember how much gas you think is in the tank. just measure the resistance at the connector c491 under the package shelf and report back.
apon doing those tests, when I did the resistor test the needle did not move. when I used my ohm meter on the tank side of the plug I got a reading of 82.5. I am thinking that the problem is in the guage it self so I am back out to do more taking apart. I will find this problem and fix it..... :evilgrin:
well after taking the dash apart and finding nothing wrong I am starting to think that my float is stuck. when I was doing the testing at the plug in the trunk I tested the yellow wire with my test light and it was blinking... I dont know if there is supposed to be steady voltage there or if it was supposed to be doing that. so now I guess I am looking for a new sending unit :(
well after taking the dash apart and finding nothing wrong I am starting to think that my float is stuck. when I was doing the testing at the plug in the trunk I tested the yellow wire with my test light and it was blinking... I dont know if there is supposed to be steady voltage there or if it was supposed to be doing that. so now I guess I am looking for a new sending unit:(
Correct. As you can see in the first diagram Jcassity posted above, the sender grounds the gauge, which gets its power from the Instrument Voltage Regulator, which provides a "fake" 5v by pulsing the 12v input. Ground the yellow wire at the tank's plug, and the gauge should quickly swing right up past "full".
bump..
So to check the gauge you just need to not have the plug connected and run a jumper from the yellow wire to a ground but leave the other in the sender? That should send it to full?