Re: [T3] Fuel Sender

["Mark Seaton" <Markse@mo-sys.com>]

Hi Jason
You can't use copper wire for this as copper is a very good conductor with a
low resistance. You need to get some resistance wire of the correct
thickness- nichrom wire or something. If you could get the bus sender really
cheap you could perhaps use its wire but it seems a long winded way to go.
I've seen type3 senders fairly regularly on ebay.de go for about 20euros/usd
so you should be able to get one reasonably. I think you can probably get
one from T3D but the postage would be high. You must be able to get one
closer by.
I'm not sure but it might even be dangerous to use copper wire as you have
nothing there to resist the current of the battery and you really don't want
any sparks inside your tank! BE VERY CAREFUL when messing around with the
fuel tank!

Good Luck,
Mark Seaton
'73 Fasty, London

----- Original Message -----
From: <jason.smith@sarcom.com>
To: <type3@vwtype3.org>
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 11:15 AM
Subject: RE: [T3] Fuel Sender


> >jason.smith@sarcom.com wrote:
> >
> > > I called VDO and spoke with a technician and he said that
> > the guage of
> > > the wire did not matter, but that it is 18 gauge.  I don't
> > know if I
> > > believe him that it does not matter.  The resistance seems
> > to give the
> > > reading?
> >
> >Jim wrote:
> > He either didn't have any idea what he was talking about, or
> > he thought you
> > were asking about the wire LEADING TO the fuel sender. THAT
> > wire might be
> > 18AWG, but I'd guess more like 20. The gauge certainly is
> > important for the
> > sensor wire. It is about 12" long and must have a resistance
> > of about 100 Ohms.
> > It's about 30-32AWG, nowhere near as big as 18.
>
>
> Unfortunately it was your first suggestion.  I even explained to him why
the
> resistance was important, but he still insisted it did not matter :( Maybe
> I'll call again and get a different tech.
>
> So I got to thinking and trying to find a similar gauge wire.  I had an
old
> computer mouse laying around at work, so I cut the wire open to see what I
> could find.  There were some nice thin wires inside all wound together.  I
> took it home unwound a strand and compared it to the original wire and it
> seemed correct, but maybe a hair thicker, but still thin enough to break a
> few times.
>
> I soldered it to the contacts and wrapped it around the bottom.  That was
> difficult, I am not very good with solder, especially since it has been
> quite some time since I have even used a soldering iron.
>
> Everything seems correct.  I reinstalled the aluminum tube and installed
it
> in the tank.  At first it seemed to work, I had not put all the bolts into
> the tank just 3.  But once I secured all 5 bolts it was apparent that the
> resistance was to great.  The gauge now reads 1/1 all the time :(
>
> I had found some copper wire that was a little thinner.  Would copper work
> OK for this application, getting soaked in gasoline?  I guess I'll keep
> trying until I find the right resistance, I guess I should measure the
> resistance before installing.  I wonder if I can change or adjust the
gauge
> to the new resistance?  Some of the new gauges have a little hole where
you
> can adjust the gauge?
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
> Jason Smith
> 71 Square FI AT
> Columbus, OH USA
> http://jasontsmith.tripod.com/vw.htm
>
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