Seasonal stuffing

[chris.richard]

I've repacked my silencer, filled one tank with foam (had to cut it into little bits eventually - big bits needed a hammer and 1/2" extension to hammer them down the inlet, and took half an hour each)
I've started on the nearside tank, and removed the VDO sender to pack it properly. Since the guage didn't read reliably - it never read less than half full - I dismantled it too. Has anybody else been inside one? There are two fine wires from the top connections to the float, one has come adrift from the float, but I'm a bit lost for reconnecting it, and can't work out exactly how it works. Does the fuel short the wires and give a lower resistance the fuller the tank?

[Chris J]

Chris,

Is there any way of identifying exactly which VDO sender model it is?
Part No.s sizes etc?

I've got two tanks without senders. I'm pretty sure I can get a new one at the right price, as long as I know which one.

[BAS]

Hawk supplied me with a new VDO sender, but it needs to be modified by soldering in a different resistance wire to match the gauge, Veglia in my case. Not hard to do but a bit fiddley. This is the wire Chris found, it runs the full length of tube and back. The float runs up and down the two wires with a couple of contacts. So the hire up the tube the less resistance there is.

Hope this helps.

[colin artus]

Its a single wire strung over the plastic spreader at the end of the rod. I have a roll on the shelf somewhere - I could post you some if you fancy fitting it yourself; enough for a few attempts as its quite delicate (263 ohms per yard ).

[chris.richard]

That would be great thanks Colin - I'll PM you.

So the wire goes from the soldered contact at the top, down one side, fixes to the spreader,then back up to the solder contact again, and runs through the contacts on the float? That makes sense. I couldn't work out how it worked, coz my wire is in 2 bits and not connected to the spreader!

[chris.richard]

Success! A bit of a fiddle - the wire is so damn thin you can hardly see it! (Thanks for the wire Colin!) There are two solder connections, one of which tensions the wire - it's best to put a cocktail stick or something under this to detension it when doing the soldering - the wire needs to be tight for the float to slide. I tested it by turning the tank upside down for full, then turning the right way up, and the guage moves smoothly as the float slides. It's important not to get any kinks in the wire when unrolling and fitting it.