VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 Need a new Fuel gauge for my 1947 Chevrolet

The fuel gauge on my 47 is bo. Have looked on the internet and can find gauges for 12 volt truck but none for 6 volt car. Any help? Thanks!

Have you tried the: www.fillingstation.com ?

Yes - every site I have checked has no gauges or only gauges for trucks.

Thank you

Why do you think the gauge is the problem? It could be the sending unit, or the wiring to the sending unit. Have you run a wire directly from the gauge to the sending unit to check it? Have you done the unthinkable and taken the sending unit out and inspected it. You do know the easy no brainer way too get to the sending unit? You take a grinder and cut a hole in the trunk floor. One of my first jobs with my car was to have my trunk repaired. Let us know what you have tried?

P.S. I have a couple old gas gauges, can anyone tell me an easy way to check to see if they work?

The person I bought the car from had to put on a new tank. He put the tank on without a float. Also, the wiring on the gauge in the car looks as if it is burnt. I have not gotten into the tank. I am going to have to take it down and put a sender in it and rewire it to the gauge. But the gauge is no good - I am sure. So trying to get the parts together so that the job can begin. Thank you.

I hve tested gas gauges on a work bench by using a sending unit and a battery charger for 6-V power. Just hook them up and see if they work.

I test gas gauges the same way, except that I use a battery eliminator instead of a battery charger. But that method is excellent for testing a gas gauge.

Mine does not work....

I have a few extra gas gauges that came out of 41 and 42 Chevys. A friend will be over on Sunday and he will help me test them. I'll send you a PM if any work and are for sale. Mike

I checked three gauges and none would register more than slightly above empty. I assume they are corroded and will buy some tuner spray and try to get them going again. Will post my results, but am having a root canal tomorrow so may not get to them. Good luck, Mike

Thank you

Sorry, no good luck today using tuner spray. Got one more idea I will try tomorrow before I admit defeat? Mike

Found this on Ebay tonight.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1942...tageQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Thank you much

Thank you

Finally, figured out how to test gas gauges, have three working gauges will send you pictures and a price later. Mike

All the gauges I have, have a wear mark behind the empty side of the gauge, so I assume this is normal for the age of the gauges? All my gauges are for 1941 and 42 cars. You can purchase new gauge faces from Chevys of the 40"s, for $19.00 for the 1947 set. They have black faces with white letters.

I finally found out what I did wrong when testing the gauges. I was assuming you put the hot wire on the drivers side back terminal and the ground on the passenger side terminal or sending unit terminal? The ground was suppose to be connected to the metal 4 inch backer plate the gauge is mounted on. This causes the gauge to register as full or to move to its farthest right position. I found the information on a 2006 posting by George33Eagle. Thank goodness for our index of posts.

So now I know how to see if a gauge can register full or empty. Installing a sending unit and wiring it to the gauge should allow the gauge to tell you the amount of gas in the tank? I see no reason that my gauges would not accurately tell the volume of gas in a tank. Perhaps someone can point out why I actually would need to hook up my gauges to a sending unit to make further tests to verify their accuracy? I have no electronic background so maybe I have oversimplified the proper testing needed to assure the accuracy of my gauges. If you are still interested in purchasing one of these gauges please send me a PM. Thanks, Mike

Mike -

I used Chevs of the 40's decal set on my 48 when I refurbished guages.

FYI, I found they are not very accurate, to wit, the speedo decal when lined up properly with odo opening, the high beam indicator is off by 2 mph. The high beam light is supposed to be directly above 50 mph on speedo, but now shows it at 52 mph. Also, fuel guage markings and temp markings seem to be off cause its hard to read very top and bottom markings in the openings vs orig markings. Once you line up edges, this is what I found, and its too late to pull off the decals and try to reset.

Just a cautionary note Mike, perhaps it was just my set, but am living with it. I am pretty fussy, so maybe just me.

Best to you.

Jim.

I have a complete instrument panel from a '48 coupe. Are the gauges the same as a '47? If so, you can have it, just for the cost of postage. Let me know. It is not new, but in good working order.

Bobalouie

Thanks - I would be happy to take you up on that offer. How do you desire to do it? 46 to 48 usually the same!

Shoot me your address, and I'll get it in the mail by Friday for you. My email is: boblowry@allstate.com

Thank you and I will mail you the postage.

Only the temperature gauge will be different. In '47 the temp gauge went to 212 degrees, but in '48 they introduced the pressure radiator cap and the top end of the temp gauge now reads 220 degrees.

ebay has 2 NOS gas gauges or sale for $59.00 and for $140.00.

I am unable to find them - can you give me a path?