Gas Gauge/Sending Unit problem
Grounding the sender wire should cause the gauge to "shoot" way past full, and you don't want to do that for long, only as a "quick test" that the gauge responds
Just for the record, what year/ model are you working on?
Go to MyMopar and download (free) a factory service manual. You may have to settle for Plymouth vs Dodge
Think of the gauge circuits as "end to end" and as a "system"
The cluster gets switched power from the ignition switch to the harness connector on the PC board. Those pins can be a problem, they are crimped. They can corrode and become loose. SO DOES the temp gauge seem to work? IT is fed from that same power
Next, power goes to the IVR, instrument regulator/ limiter. You have a Ralleye cluster? or standard cluster? (No oil gauge) Standard cluster uses an IVR which plugs in. Again it feeds both gauges, so does the temp gauge work OK?
Next, power from the IVR goes to the gauge stud, and they can be loose/ corroded where the nuts tighten on the PC board traces. Loosen/ tighten the nuts a couple times. The sender trace on the board goes to a harness connector pin, down to the kick panel connector for the tail harness, and to the rear of the car. Even the sender connector at the tank can be corroded.
There's about a gigazillion LOL threads on this subject:
67dart273, gauge tester - Google Search
HOW TO TEST. You either need test resistors, or you need to take a multimeter and measure the tank sender resistance with whatever fuel is in the tank. Here is an aftermarket tester with the resistances in YELLOW
Bench Testing a gauge cluster
Grounding the sender wire should cause the gauge to "shoot" way past full, and you don't want to do that for long, only as a "quick test" that the gauge responds
Just for the record, what year/ model are you working on?
Go to MyMopar and download (free) a factory service manual. You may have to settle for Plymouth vs Dodge
Think of the gauge circuits as "end to end" and as a "system"
The cluster gets switched power from the ignition switch to the harness connector on the PC board. Those pins can be a problem, they are crimped. They can corrode and become loose. SO DOES the temp gauge seem to work? IT is fed from that same power
Next, power goes to the IVR, instrument regulator/ limiter. You have a Ralleye cluster? or standard cluster? (No oil gauge) Standard cluster uses an IVR which plugs in. Again it feeds both gauges, so does the temp gauge work OK?
Next, power from the IVR goes to the gauge stud, and they can be loose/ corroded where the nuts tighten on the PC board traces. Loosen/ tighten the nuts a couple times. The sender trace on the board goes to a harness connector pin, down to the kick panel connector for the tail harness, and to the rear of the car. Even the sender connector at the tank can be corroded.
There's about a gigazillion LOL threads on this subject:
67dart273, gauge tester - Google Search
HOW TO TEST. You either need test resistors, or you need to take a multimeter and measure the tank sender resistance with whatever fuel is in the tank. Here is an aftermarket tester with the resistances in YELLOW
Bench Testing a gauge cluster
