64 Falcon gas sending unit / fuel gauge

[Donald_Fite]

First time Ford owner... Not use to the wiring in this old girl...

When I start the car the gauge always goes to full. I traced the wire out to the trunk and unplugged the wire from the sending unit. When I turned the key on the gas gauge doesn't move. I assume the gauge is working properly and the sending unit is bad? Anyone else have any ideas to test it before I order a sending unit?

Thanks for the help!

Don

[falcon63]

If you short the wire to ground at the tank, your gauge should read full.That means the gauge and wiring is ok.Then it would be your sending unit in the tank if...I have the same problem but haven't got to it yet.

[Donald_Fite]

That's what I was thinking. I also found this on Falconparts.com and thought it was interesting. The horn didn't work and it ended up being the ground where the bracket mounted to the radiator support. Who would have thunk..

Fuel & Temperature Gauges Along With The Constant Voltage Regulator

One item that is often overlooked is the Grounding System. The Engine and Chassis must both be properly grounded for the gauges to work properly. Ensure the Battery Ground Wire is properly connected to the Engine and that the Engine Ground Strap is properly connected to the Firewall. Just because the Engine Temperature Gauge is functioning correctly, you can't assume the Fuel Gauge Circuit Ground is O.K., because the Fuel Level Circuit gets it's ground from the Engine - Firewall strap and the Engine Temperature circuit gets it's ground from the Battery Ground Cable.


I think I'm going to look and see if the fire wall is grounded to the motor. I don't think it is but I could be wrong..

Thanks for the response...

[Donald_Fite]

Well, I don't see any ground from the body to the motor or battery. Does anyone know where the original grounding strap went on the car?

[yank with ute]

Back of the head on the passenger side (U.S. cars) to the firewall.