1966 valiant fuel gauge connector

[moparkrazed]

Hey guys. I just installed the Jew tang and sending unit on the valiant but the plug that goes to the fuel gauge (plugs into the sending unit) is crusty and has a ton of dirt inside. I’m thinking the gauge isn’t working because of the crap inside the plug. Would it hurt anything to cut the connector off and solder the wire onto an eyelet and bolt that to the sending unit? Or would I be better off finding another plastic plug and soldering the wires together with some heat shrink? Thanks for the help as always

 

[Murray]

Let's see if it works first. Clean the crud enough to attach a jumper wire to a good ground. Does this peg the gauge? If not, you might consider fixing this problem before your wiring problem. If you can peg the gauge the that part of the circuit is OK. You can cut off the end of the wire and attach an eyelet with small nut and washer. The problem here is that it is now exposed to the elements. A better fix would be to replace the whole end with something similar to keep it water tight.

 

[RedFish]

Ford and GM owners can buy replacement booted fuel sender terminals. My search never finds Chrysler though. I think the difference is size of the contact post. Chrysler is #10 where those others are #8. A Mustang owner will pay 19 USD and up for a reproduction terminal with some length of wire too.
If you did use a ring terminal, toothed washer and hex nut, You probably could find a terminal boot from some other application that will work.
I dont know if this works, just for example...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CSZIYI/?tag=fabo03-20 Measure up for what you need and Google search, or go to the parts yard, or carefully file 95% of the threads off a #10 post and its close enough to #8 diameter, buy the Mustang part.

 

[moparkrazed]

Let's see if it works first. Clean the crud enough to attach a jumper wire to a good ground. Does this peg the gauge? If not, you might consider fixing this problem before your wiring problem. If you can peg the gauge the that part of the circuit is OK. You can cut off the end of the wire and attach an eyelet with small nut and washer. The problem here is that it is now exposed to the elements. A better fix would be to replace the whole end with something similar to keep it water tight.

Hey Murray I had the same
Thought process and hoped it wouldn’t get too wet. Good news is I found boot that worked and spliced it in. Unfortunately gas gauge does not work. It has a new sending unit, new ground (also sanded down the fuel line). Thinking it has to be an issue with the gauge. Got tired of messing with it and started doing body work again haha. Good news is trunk and roof are almost done, not a straight panel on the vehicle by having fun.

 

[moparkrazed]

Ford and GM owners can buy replacement booted fuel sender terminals. My search never finds Chrysler though. I think the difference is size of the contact post. Chrysler is #10 where those others are #8. A Mustang owner will pay 19 USD and up for a reproduction terminal with some length of wire too.
If you did use a ring terminal, toothed washer and hex nut, You probably could find a terminal boot from some other application that will work.
I dont know if this works, just for example...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CSZIYI/?tag=fabo03-20 Measure up for what you need and Google search, or go to the parts yard, or carefully file 95% of the threads off a #10 post and its close enough to #8 diameter, buy the Mustang part.

Thanks for the post redfish. I was running into that last night. If I had a Ford or GM I’d be set on just about anything I’d need. I was able to find a wire my uncle cut out and had laying with a bunch of other wires and that was able to slide on the fuel sending unit. Unfortunately the gas gauge isn’t working still so I’m thinking something within the gauge or ground in the cluster maybe.

 

[RedFish]

Thanks for the post redfish. I was running into that last night. If I had a Ford or GM I’d be set on just about anything I’d need. I was able to find a wire my uncle cut out and had laying with a bunch of other wires and that was able to slide on the fuel sending unit. Unfortunately the gas gauge isn’t working still so I’m thinking something within the gauge or ground in the cluster maybe.

Does the temp gauge work? If not the voltage limiter or its ground could be the problem. Your circuit board has the limiter in lower right corner. A screw in the board to housing beneath it starts the daisy chain of a chassis ground path. If the lights and other things in the panel work we know the panel is grounded to the dash. MA118505 - 1966 Valiant Dash Circuit Board
At least one member found the problem at the rear harness connector behind left kick panel. Fuel sender wire is the dark blue one.

 

[moparkrazed]

Does the temp gauge work? If not the voltage limiter or its ground could be the problem. Your circuit board has the limiter in lower right corner. A screw in the board to housing beneath it starts the daisy chain of a chassis ground path. If the lights and other things in the panel work we know the panel is grounded to the dash. MA118505 - 1966 Valiant Dash Circuit Board
At least one member found the problem at the rear harness connector behind left kick panel. Fuel sender wire is the dark blue one.

I’m not really sure if it works or not. I inherited the car from my uncle and don’t know a lot of what was/is wrong with it. I need to pick up a fuel pump to get the car to run on it’s own and out water in the radiator. The lights in the instrument panel do not work but the oil and bright light indicator works, dome light works too (thought that was pretty cool). The voltmeter works as well. Sounds like I may need to put water in the system and see if the temp moves. And go from there? Thanks for all the input, I know my 75 dart well but this is my first 66 Plymouth and told his family I’d finish the car for him. It’s been a learning experience for sure but enjoying the learning process.

 

[RedFish]

Temp sender wire is purple/violet. You could ground it in the engine bay and turn power on. Gauge needle should travel to 'H' if limiter is working.
Brake warning lamp and oil warning lamp get their ground at those remote switches so instrument housing ground would not be a factor for those. The high beam indicator lamp does ground through inst' housing, as do the illumination bulbs and turn indicators, so the inst' housing is apparently grounded. There may be another bulb on the illumination circuit, radio dial? , shift indicator? Any of them work? Should be one fuse in the fuse box that doesn't show power on either end of it until the headlight switch is pulled to at least park lamp position. If the fuse and dimmer rheostat are good your test lamp will brighten and dim as you turn the switch knob. 90% of the time that rheostat in the headlight switch is the fault.

 

[moparkrazed]

Temp sender wire is purple/violet. You could ground it in the engine bay and turn power on. Gauge needle should travel to 'H' if limiter is working.
Brake warning lamp and oil warning lamp get their ground at those remote switches so instrument housing ground would not be a factor for those. The high beam indicator lamp does ground through inst' housing, as do the illumination bulbs and turn indicators, so the inst' housing is apparently grounded. There may be another bulb on the illumination circuit, radio dial? , shift indicator? Any of them work? Should be one fuse in the fuse box that doesn't show power on either end of it until the headlight switch is pulled to at least park lamp position. If the fuse and dimmer rheostat are good your test lamp will brighten and dim as you turn the switch knob. 90% of the time that rheostat in the headlight switch is the fault.

Man great info! Thanks for all of that. I’ll check after work today if I can. I don’t have a shift indicator light or radio light, my car is 3 on the tree and a radio delete car. I’ll check the fuses though and see what that does and give the thermostats gauge a ground to see if it moves. Thanks again.

 

[moparkrazed]

Temp sender wire is purple/violet. You could ground it in the engine bay and turn power on. Gauge needle should travel to 'H' if limiter is working.
Brake warning lamp and oil warning lamp get their ground at those remote switches so instrument housing ground would not be a factor for those. The high beam indicator lamp does ground through inst' housing, as do the illumination bulbs and turn indicators, so the inst' housing is apparently grounded. There may be another bulb on the illumination circuit, radio dial? , shift indicator? Any of them work? Should be one fuse in the fuse box that doesn't show power on either end of it until the headlight switch is pulled to at least park lamp position. If the fuse and dimmer rheostat are good your test lamp will brighten and dim as you turn the switch knob. 90% of the time that rheostat in the headlight switch is the fault.

I tried grounding the temp wire under the hood (where it goes into the temp stud on the motor), not sure that’s what you meant by ground the wire. Let me know if I did that incorrectly. The temp didn’t move when I hit the key.

 

[RedFish]

The mechanical gauge voltage limiter is probably the culprit. A volt meter would confirm if it is supplying a pulse voltage or not. The instrument panel isn't so difficult to remove. Disconnect the battery before you begin. 2 large wires on amp gauge are hot at all times. At the workbench you'll need a multimeter, a 12 volt power supply, and a few wires with alligator clips both ends.

 

[moparkrazed]

The mechanical gauge voltage limiter is probably the culprit. A volt meter would confirm if it is supplying a pulse voltage or not. The instrument panel isn't so difficult to remove. Disconnect the battery before you begin. 2 large wires on amp gauge are hot at all times. At the workbench you'll need a multimeter, a 12 volt power supply, and a few wires with alligator clips both ends.

Thanks redfish. I’ll play around with as soon as I have a second (maybe this weekend). Thanks again for all the help man. It’s definitely appreciated