Stalled..now fixed

[Large Arbor]

Got in the car and went to a cars and coffee event. Ate lunch and rive home and then the car died. Limped it over to the side of the road. Popped hood and then looked around. Seemed to have fuel. Tank gauge read 3/4ths when I left in the a.m. Needle had not moved....So why did I stop running?













Fuel gauge sending wire had vibrated off and tank was stuck on 3/4ths. Had wife bring 4 gallons of fuel. Poured in and car fired up after a few cranks. I ran out of gas and did not see it due to faulty tank reading. FIxed connection when I got home and it's all good now! I should have known when the fuel gauge level had not changed.

Phil

[twobjshelbys]

A long time ago I developed a "feel" for fuel gauge vs miles driven. If the gauge and distance got too far out of whack I would always stop. I guess it comes from the 50s and 60s cars with unreliable gauges (or as I recall, one that didn't work at all - my mom's red Dodge Dart)

[1795]

Phil,

My ERA's fuel gauge was never right. I do not know if one of the previous owners hd tried to fix it, and I did not want to go through the trouble of removing the tank to access it. So, what I did was use the trip meter on the speedometer to gauge how full the tank was. Figured that I was getting about 10 miles per gallon and knew that when the car had 150 miles on the trip meter that it was time to start looking for a gas station.

Jim

[RockBit]

The only thing that is not working yet on my car is the gas gauge. I have been resetting the tripometer each time I fill up.

The other night my wife and I took the car on a little drive, which turned out to be 110 miles. Before we left I filled up the tank (or so I thought). The engine started trying to die as we turned into our driveway as we arrived home. Out of gas.

My tank is hard to fill. I have to trickle the gas in or the nozzle shuts off. A couple of times I have had a geyser of gas cascade down the fender. It is hard to know when the tank is full.

I'm gonna see if I can get the fuel gauge working today. The advertised capacity of the tank is 19 gallons, but it only will hold 18 gallons.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by RockBit

My tank is hard to fill. I have to trickle the gas in or the nozzle shuts off. A couple of times I have had a geyser of gas cascade down the fender. It is hard to know when the tank is full.

I unexpectedly had that same geyser occurrence once myself. I'm not clear exactly what caused it but I'm suspecting I didn't have the nozzle far enough down the filler pipe and fuel flowed into the vent opening near the top of the fill pipe, filling it and causing pressure to build in the tank and belch back out the main filler.

Maybe Bob can venture some thoughts on this subject.

Since then I shove the nozzle as far down fill pipe as it will go but I still meter fuel in slowly to avoid a repeat.

I feel pretty confident of knowing when my gage is working. Just saw back and forth on the steering wheel a couple of times and the needle will slowly rise and fall - or fall and rise. If not, something is wrong.

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Large Arbor

I should have known when the fuel gauge level had not changed.

Phil

Due to the shape of my tank the gauge reading is slow to move when the tank is full, then picks up speed once it reaches about 1/2 full. When it shows empty I have about 15-20 miles to find a gas station.

[kevins2]

My gauge works, although when full it reads just to the left of the full mark and reads empty when there is still 4 gallons. I use the odometer and reset it at every filling - 190 miles and I need a gas station. As far as filling goes, the filler tube to the tank in my ERA is clear so can see the gas going in with the trunk open. If I aim the nozzle in the middle of the tube, the tank can be filled at full speed. Get off to the side and it bubbles up and shuts off the nozzle, so keeping the nozzle centered allows fast filling.

[Large Arbor]

My gauge works fine when it is connected! (: I should have know that the dual carbs don't get 20 mpg! I fill my tank slow and will be sure to fill more often! I have the clear tube. The gas pumps are set to pump fast and the snake tanks just don't like that. I trickle it in and give others time to admire the car!

Phil

[keezling]

Running out of gas is equal to asking directions. Two points charged on your man card!

[Gaz64]

Interesting the gauge stays stuck where it was when the sender wire came off.

Most gauges read zero when the sender wire is open, some read full scale.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by Gaz64

Interesting the gauge stays stuck where it was when the sender wire came off.

Most gauges read zero when the sender wire is open, some read full scale.

Well Smith gages are British after all.

But that is a good point.

[HI Cobra]

Funny how these cars are. My Classic Roadster has a functioning gas gauge but
it reads half full when full, and has about 8 gallons left when on empty. When I
am filling it, I watch the pavement underneath the filler side fender and when it is
getting full I see gas spots on the pavement that are blowing through the vent.

The Kirkham doesn't have a gas gauge, but does have a 42 gallon gas tank. I too
got into the habit of comparing mileage to the gas gauge in the 60's, which serves me well now. The filler tube in the Kirkham is about 4" in diameter so I have no problem seeing when it is getting full.

These cars are all different except for the fact that they all put smiles on our faces when we are on the road with them!

[Large Arbor]

My gauge works great when connected! The ERA gas tank is easy to remove and I have had mine off twice. Seems to me that the gauges are relatively simple.

Phil