Cleaning fuel sending unit, or best replacement options

[burch]

Hey Everyone -

I've read through a bunch of old threads regarding fuel senders, wanted to get an idea of what my options are currently.

My OEM fuel sender functions somewhat. After filling the tank, it may take a long while (more than one drive) for the needle to get back up to 'F'. The sender however drops from 1/2 tank to 0 very very quickly. This would lead me to believe that there is potentially gunk inhibiting the float from moving (somewhere near the top of the post). Is it possible to soak the unit in something to clean it up, or even to disassemble and clean without breaking the likely brittle outer casing?

If there is no hope of cleaning it to revive, I'm going to be looking at new sender options. At this point, I'm still looking for the separate sender, as I'm not yet moving to the integrated system from DMCH. In some of the past posts, it seemed that there were issues with the DMC standalone senders (though that may well have been rectified), and the Hervey unit doesn't do anything with the low fuel light (not a deal breaker, but nice to have).

I understand that the senders will never be 100% accurate, and I do a pretty good job of fuel management by mileage today. Just wondering what your thoughts and experiences have shown.

[sdg3205]

Hey Everyone -

I've read through a bunch of old threads regarding fuel senders, wanted to get an idea of what my options are currently.

My OEM fuel sender functions somewhat. After filling the tank, it may take a long while (more than one drive) for the needle to get back up to 'F'. The sender however drops from 1/2 tank to 0 very very quickly. This would lead me to believe that there is potentially gunk inhibiting the float from moving (somewhere near the top of the post). Is it possible to soak the unit in something to clean it up, or even to disassemble and clean without breaking the likely brittle outer casing?

If there is no hope of cleaning it to revive, I'm going to be looking at new sender options. At this point, I'm still looking for the separate sender, as I'm not yet moving to the integrated system from DMCH. In some of the past posts, it seemed that there were issues with the DMC standalone senders (though that may well have been rectified), and the Hervey unit doesn't do anything with the low fuel light (not a deal breaker, but nice to have).

I understand that the senders will never be 100% accurate, and I do a pretty good job of fuel management by mileage today. Just wondering what your thoughts and experiences have shown.

I think you kind of answered your own question.

I prefer OEM over the DMCH reproductions, and personally, I'd look for a good, used OEM sender at a good price. With a lot of people moving to the combo unit, there are some good senders floating around. Heck, even I have 2 spares. You can probably get a good used one for less than the cost of a rebuild.

[burch]

I think you kind of answered your own question.

I prefer OEM over the DMCH reproductions, and personally, I'd look for a good, used OEM sender at a good price. With a lot of people moving to the combo unit, there are some good senders floating around. Heck, even I have 2 spares. You can probably get a good used one for less than the cost of a rebuild.

Good point, Dave. I'll keep an eye out for a used sender, if anyone is looking to sell, shoot me a message!

[Bitsyncmaster]

My sender is for the Zila unit and I took it apart to clean it. It has a very fine nichrome wire that I just very carefully cleaned with some scotchbrite pad. Not sure how the OEM sender is built.

[David T]

My sender is for the Zila unit and I took it apart to clean it. It has a very fine nichrome wire that I just very carefully cleaned with some scotchbrite pad. Not sure how the OEM sender is built.

The OEM unit also has a fine wire that has to be cleaned up. The OEM unit can be disassembled and cleaned. You have to make sure the float can move freely inside the tube, the fine wire is clean, and the brass contacts are pressing against the wire. You might also have to silicon the rivets at the top of the unit so fuel and fumes can't leak out. Make sure the rubber gasket at the top is properly positioned. and tighten up the large nut tight. The OEM unit isn't the best but it can be made to work pretty well. Start by removing the screen on the bottom and then undoing the tiny nut. Carefully pop off the bottom and remove the outer tube.

[dn010]

Hervey's sender is nothing more than a $20 stainless marine sending unit without the low fuel light, you can find them for various prices on Amazon or google just search "marine fuel sending unit" or similar, you'll just need your old connector to make it work.

I have had the DMCH sending unit since they were first available and I haven't had an issue until recently where it stopped functioning. It is very similar to the marine sender in that it uses updated electronics in the tube and magnets inside the "float" piece that ultimately translates to where the fuel is however DMCH has the low fuel feature. I took the DMCH unit apart and noticed that fuel had leached inside the center tube where the electronics are and after a bit of soldering it is working again - for how long, who knows. I prefer the DMCH unit but I also have a spare original in case of failure.




Hey Everyone -

I've read through a bunch of old threads regarding fuel senders, wanted to get an idea of what my options are currently.

My OEM fuel sender functions somewhat. After filling the tank, it may take a long while (more than one drive) for the needle to get back up to 'F'. The sender however drops from 1/2 tank to 0 very very quickly. This would lead me to believe that there is potentially gunk inhibiting the float from moving (somewhere near the top of the post). Is it possible to soak the unit in something to clean it up, or even to disassemble and clean without breaking the likely brittle outer casing?

If there is no hope of cleaning it to revive, I'm going to be looking at new sender options. At this point, I'm still looking for the separate sender, as I'm not yet moving to the integrated system from DMCH. In some of the past posts, it seemed that there were issues with the DMC standalone senders (though that may well have been rectified), and the Hervey unit doesn't do anything with the low fuel light (not a deal breaker, but nice to have).

I understand that the senders will never be 100% accurate, and I do a pretty good job of fuel management by mileage today. Just wondering what your thoughts and experiences have shown.

[Bitsyncmaster]

The fuel gauge takes a lot of power (current) to run. But I see why they did it that way. The two coils running from the same 12 volt power would follow each other if the power was a different voltage.

The sender current is 90 ma. at "FULL" and 320 ma. at "EMPTY". I would think that kind of current in the sender would be a fire hazard (could create a spark). I guess that is why the sender is encased in an aluminum tube.

FYI: the gauge reads full (centered on the 4/4 mark) with 83 ohms to ground on the sender pin. I did that test at 14 volts but as I said, very little change with 12 volts. Zero ohms moves it to empty.