Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Hey gang. Working on my 23rd series instrument cluster. I did some painting of the dials, replaced some nasty wires, and I replaced my temp sender with an NOS unit - works perfectly. Oil pressure and ammeter gauges work perfectly, too. My fuel gauge, on the other hand, is shooting up to full, regardless of being connected to the sending unit - the feed bridge on the right terminal is connected. With the feed bridge disconnected, the gauge is lifeless (as you would expect).

This is also of course with the key turned to the accessory or run positions. It settles back to E when you turn the switch off.

Did something just fail internally on the gauge or is it possibly shorting somehow? I did reinstal all the cardboard disks, and I also remade the paper gasket that goes around the instrument cluster. To the best I can tell, none of the gauges are touching. It worked fine before... what am I missing? Thanks, all.

The sender has two little leaf springs in it. One of them can fall off and perhaps short it internally. Either way it seems like it must be shorted somehow….