Re: Ken's 1953 Packard Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan
Posted by kens53clip On 2010/1/6 9:09:07
11/15/09-12/27/09
The gas gauge in the Packard was working but was underreporting the actual amount of gas in the gas tank. The temperature gauge on the Packard was not working at all. The 1951-1954 Service Manual (available on Packard Info) in Chapter 13 on Instruments, page 2, indicated that underreporting fuel could be due to the Instrument Voltage Regulator being defective.
The 1951-1954 Service Manual in Chapter 13 on Instruments pages 2 and 3 gives a way to test temperature gauges with a fuel tank sending unit and two leads with clip terminals on each end. When I took the old fuel tank off the Packard to replace it with the new fuel tank, I took the fuel tank sending unit (which I had fairly recently installed) out, used it, two wires and four clothes pins (not having 2 leads with clip terminals) and did the test described in the Service Manual. The result was that the temperature gauge did work, the wiring to the temperature gauge was good, but the Temperature Sending Unit was not good.
With this knowledge in hand, I ordered an Instrument Voltage Regulator and a Temperature Sending Unit from Max Merritt.
The Instrument Voltage Regulator is attached to the back of the instrument cluster. Since the instrument cluster remained loose from my replacing the bulbs (knowing I would probably go back in for the gauges), I removed the instrument cluster, unscrewed the old Instrument Voltage Regulator and screwed in the new Instrument Voltage Regulator.
The Temperature Sending Unit is screwed into the driver's side of the engine and has a wire attached to it. Obviously, you should detach the wire and then unscrew the old Temperature Sending Unit. Was surprised to find a 16 mm. metric wrench fit the old (and new) Temperature Sending Unit nearly perfectly. Did not know anything was metric about a Packard. Was also surprised when I got it unscrewed that I had a small coolant leak from the engine where the old Temperature Sending Unit had been. So it would help to have a small container underneath it to catch leaking antifreeze unless you are very fast to put in the new Temperature Sending Unit.
With both the new Instrument Voltage Regulator and the new Temperature Sending Unit installed, the temperature gauge appears to be working properly and the fuel gauge appears to be giving a truer reading of the fuel level in the gas tank.
Parts required:
Instrument Voltage Regulator-Max Merritt
Temperature Sending Unit--Max Merritt
Attached is a photo showing the new Temperature Sending Unit installed. It is the brass protrusion from the driver's side of the engine above the solenoid and the starter.
Attach file:
(62.93 KB)
The gas gauge in the Packard was working but was underreporting the actual amount of gas in the gas tank. The temperature gauge on the Packard was not working at all. The 1951-1954 Service Manual (available on Packard Info) in Chapter 13 on Instruments, page 2, indicated that underreporting fuel could be due to the Instrument Voltage Regulator being defective.
The 1951-1954 Service Manual in Chapter 13 on Instruments pages 2 and 3 gives a way to test temperature gauges with a fuel tank sending unit and two leads with clip terminals on each end. When I took the old fuel tank off the Packard to replace it with the new fuel tank, I took the fuel tank sending unit (which I had fairly recently installed) out, used it, two wires and four clothes pins (not having 2 leads with clip terminals) and did the test described in the Service Manual. The result was that the temperature gauge did work, the wiring to the temperature gauge was good, but the Temperature Sending Unit was not good.
With this knowledge in hand, I ordered an Instrument Voltage Regulator and a Temperature Sending Unit from Max Merritt.
The Instrument Voltage Regulator is attached to the back of the instrument cluster. Since the instrument cluster remained loose from my replacing the bulbs (knowing I would probably go back in for the gauges), I removed the instrument cluster, unscrewed the old Instrument Voltage Regulator and screwed in the new Instrument Voltage Regulator.
The Temperature Sending Unit is screwed into the driver's side of the engine and has a wire attached to it. Obviously, you should detach the wire and then unscrew the old Temperature Sending Unit. Was surprised to find a 16 mm. metric wrench fit the old (and new) Temperature Sending Unit nearly perfectly. Did not know anything was metric about a Packard. Was also surprised when I got it unscrewed that I had a small coolant leak from the engine where the old Temperature Sending Unit had been. So it would help to have a small container underneath it to catch leaking antifreeze unless you are very fast to put in the new Temperature Sending Unit.
With both the new Instrument Voltage Regulator and the new Temperature Sending Unit installed, the temperature gauge appears to be working properly and the fuel gauge appears to be giving a truer reading of the fuel level in the gas tank.
Parts required:
Instrument Voltage Regulator-Max Merritt
Temperature Sending Unit--Max Merritt
Attached is a photo showing the new Temperature Sending Unit installed. It is the brass protrusion from the driver's side of the engine above the solenoid and the starter.
Attach file:
(62.93 KB)
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