Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

My fuel gauge stopped working today (or maybe last night). I don't know where to start to diagnose. I did look at wires behind the dash, and they appear okay. Yesterday, I filled the tank. I am sure it was too full because the pump did not shut off until probably 4-6 oz. of gas spewed out.

Anyone knowledgable on what I need to do?

Thanks in advance.

Most likely the sender unit. To confirm, open the trunk and you will find a channel about an inch wide running the width of car between trunk floor and front of the back lower sheetmetal. Almost in front of license plate, there will be some connectors and wires going thru a hole to under car. Should be an orange wire coming out of harness and connected to another going thru the hole. That will be the gas sender lead. Disconnect and ground the part going into the harness. If key is on, the gas gauge should start to move toward full. DO NOT LEAVE GROUND CONNECTED more than a few seconds. If gauge does move, then problem is the sender and will either have to be repaired or replaced. If gauge does not move, then it's the wire, gauge or instrument regulator. The senders are prone to internal corrosion & rust, floats disintegrating so it sits on tank bottom, and any number of other failures. Unfortunately you have to drop the gas tank to remove it.

Very interesting and thanks, HH. I will take a look manana.

you will need a big O ring to seal the tank back up when you are done. I foxed mine by taking the sending unit out, finding the thin brass "flex" strip broken, and soldering on a patch, after abrading the brass to accept the solder. Be careful with the toy tabs on the housing of the sending unit, they should be heated before you bend them.

"Bending toy tabs?" For what reason?

Based on personal experience, I'd bet the float has a leak and has become full of fuel. This happened in my '56 Patrician, bought a new sender, and it turned out to be just the float. The floats are still available new from your local Ford dealership. I think I even put the cross-reference # in the "Packard parts X-ref" here on the site.

On a side note, if you need a new sender, look on eBay for a '57 Ford sending unit. It's identical to the Packard, and costs a LOT less than the exact same thing from any Packard parts dealer. It comes with a new O-ring too!

Kinda curious about the tabs myself. Don't recall ever having to bend anything--just turned the ring to "unscrew" it from under the 3 flat tabs and line up the notch. Maybe something easily broken off prior to any I've seen or already bent & I didn't have to bend anything so more details please. Some I've worked on had a cork gasket instead of O ring when removed so just made a new one instead of trying to find the ring.

Well, whadda ya know! The gauge just started working again. I don't know why. But so long as it works, I'll ignore any possible problem.

Probably a loose wire or stuck float was the culprit.

Well, this morning, it went back out for about 5 minutes and then started working again. What do you think? Could it be a funky float, or is it more likely electrical, or is a crapshoot between both?