510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Paint, body preparation and modification, interior work and electrical
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D52E
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by D52E »

I started experimenting with the dash fuel gauge and some resistors. I hope to get more time in the coming days to try and fit the 240Z sender with modifications.

10 Ohms the gauge showed Full.
35 to 40 Ohms showed 1/2 tank.
90 Ohms the gauge showed Empty.
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bertvorgon
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by bertvorgon »

Cool, we will be doing a test tomorrow AM, with gauge and sender out.
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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bertvorgon
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by bertvorgon »

this is a double post from my spring maintenance thread, but, It is in keeping with the fuel gauge issue.

. We took the fuel/temp gauge out of James's test mule, to actually see what it looks like, compare it to the wiring diagram, and test a fuel gauge hooked up to it. We applied 12 volts to the circuit board, hooked up the fuel sender ( my original 73' sender ) with jumper wires, and ran the gauge through its full to empty range, worked as it should.
One thing the DQ article just mentions, but does not fully describe, is the very small relay contacts under the fuel gauge, that you almost do not even notice, that need to be cleaned, besides the circuit board contact points. The DQ mentions using 600 grit paper and I would concur with that. The pin # is 3, on the plug for the circuit board, which is a yellow wire, which heads back to the fuel sender in the tank. This whole thing looks so simple, it is amazing, a flashback to another time in our world of electrical things.
I would suggest also, that if you have taken the time to take the instrument cluster out, to change ALL the bulbs while you are there, why not, when you think that bulbs age over time, this is a great time to maybe brighten things up a tad.
I am going to park this project till I have a full day to take my cluster apart, as I have a lot of things to undo and move out of the way, to get it out. After watching the gauge action when our connection was iffy, it mimicked what my gauge is doing, so I am pretty confident that either my gauge is dead, or, the connections are bad, as the DQ article suggests.
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"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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bertvorgon
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

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more
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"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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510wizard
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by 510wizard »

Thanks for taking the time for documenting the fuel/temp gauge in the cluster, showing all the connections. One recommendation is to use some "Deoxit" from Caig Laboratories on the contacts, I have being using their products for over 35 years and the stuff is great. Deoxit will clean and preserve any connection.

http://www.caig.com
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D52E
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by D52E »

I was able to get some progress on this one today.

Picture of un-modefied part.
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I cut the retaining crimp on the float.
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Straightened the rod.
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Straighten the small bend in the rod and shortened the rod a little bit more. First try was a bit long after I tried the unit in the tank.
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I shortened the rod a little more and bent it to the point where it showed 10 Ohms full and 90 Ohms empty when I tried it in the fuel tank.
Image
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bertvorgon
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by bertvorgon »

That is great, in looking back at my pictures, it looks like 8" is the magic length.

Keep us posted, this could be a savoir for a lot of tanks. I am going to take a day as soon as I start driving my car, and rip the instrument cluster out, and try cleaning mine.
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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D52E
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by D52E »

I assembled my tank today with the new modified 240Z sending unit. Initial test of the modified sending unit appears good.

The tank had between 1 to 2 gallons in it when I started. The gauge showed about 1/16 inch below "E".

After adding 6 gallons the gauge read about 1/8 inch below the mid-point.

After filling the tank with 11.7 gallons total the gauge read about 1/8 inch above "F".

I will try to post more feedback after a couple of fuel tank loads.
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bertvorgon
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

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That sounds about right. I remember with my car at least, gauge would drop to the mid point quite quickly, then take a long time to drop further, and with a 1/4 tank showing, I still put on a lot of miles.

When we did this test, with the sender at the top of it's travel ( full ) the needle was well past the full mark.
To me the gauge is only a point of reference, so as long as it is READING the whole sweep, it would not take long to have an idea as to how much fuel is left when it hits the "E", as you saw.

I used to be able to travel at least 50 - 60 miles with the fuel on E, before it ran out. I have the luxury of being able to do that as I have my 2 gallon auxiliary tank in my trunk, so I can just switch over on the fly.

Do keep us posted.

Do you have the Part Number for the 240 unit?
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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D52E
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by D52E »

I will keep you posted. The 240Z part number is 25060-E4100.

There appears to be plenty of stock at the Nissan distribution warehouse in the USA. Dealer retail price is currently $55.72 USD.
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by qwik510 »

bertvorgon wrote:That sounds about right. I remember with my car at least, gauge would drop to the mid point quite quickly, then take a long time to drop further, and with a 1/4 tank showing, I still put on a lot of miles.

When we did this test, with the sender at the top of it's travel ( full ) the needle was well past the full mark.
To me the gauge is only a point of reference, so as long as it is READING the whole sweep, it would not take long to have an idea as to how much fuel is left when it hits the "E", as you saw.

I used to be able to travel at least 50 - 60 miles with the fuel on E, before it ran out. I have the luxury of being able to do that as I have my 2 gallon auxiliary tank in my trunk, so I can just switch over on the fly.

Do keep us posted.

Do you have the Part Number for the 240 unit?
I would love to see how you have the auxiliary tank and associated plumbing hooked up. Any pics of the setup?
Enjoy The Ride!
David
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bertvorgon
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by bertvorgon »

Follow this link for the fuel system....we will keep this thread intact for the sender issue.

http://www.the510realm.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=25272
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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D52E
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by D52E »

Update 1:
I have used 3 tank loads of fuel with this sender so far. Each time I allowed the fuel level to get down to the "E" mark and I have not run out of fuel. So far it has been working well. Hopefully I can add another update in a few more months after I have had more time to see if any issues develop.
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bertvorgon
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by bertvorgon »

That's great. I am still contemplating pulling my dash apart to see if I can fix my gauge issue.

When yours has hit E..how much fuel has it taken to re-fill the tank?
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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D52E
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Re: 510 Fuel Level Sending Unit - Substitute 240Z Part?

Post by D52E »

I have forgotten to take note of the fuel fill gallons. Hopefully i can remember next time...
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