mk1-forum.net

Hey guys, I read somewhere recently about the different fuel gauges on early MK1 mini's.
Mine is a '63 , and when the fuel gauge rises to full, it is actually running out of gas. When I fill the tank, it reads empty.
How do I tell between the different gauges without fitting them all, to get the right one ??? cheers

is your fuel sender unit fitted upside down? just a thought! ian.

The early (non-stabilised) gauge has 3 spade contacts, 2 on one side and 1 on the other. The later gauge, which I suspect you have in your 63, has only 2. I have early gauges on my website if you need one.
This whole story gets more complicated when senders get swapped around.

As Nick says it gets more complicated if the fuel senders are changed. Is the fuel sender bolted in or held in with a clip. A photo of both the sender on the tank and the back of the speedo and nick should be able to sort you out.

Cheers for the info guys, my fuel tank sender is in the pic, and the fuel gauge has three spade terminals-- 2 on the empty side, and 1 on the full side. The car is posi- earth , with no voltage stabilizer bolted behind the speedo. Any more info would be great
Cheers
Colin

I'd have thought your car should have a non stabilised gauge as its a 63. Stabilisation came in around 64 if I remember correctly.

The wiring loom at the back looks like it should have a round terminal where the rubber cap is, which bolts onto a threaded post on the early screw in sender unit. The tank looks to be a later one with the later type sender unit that uses spade terminals. It also has the pressing in it to take a diagonal securing strap which is a 70's type tank, unless overseas tanks are different ?

I might be wrong but I thought that the three terminal gauges were for the stabilised system. The extra terminal takes the link wire between the stabiliser and gauge.

Apologies if I am wrong on this and I stand to be corrected. It's 5am in the morning and I'm just off to work, so am still half asleep

Andrew is partly correct. Your problem the tank. You have a very late tank in your 63. The original one would have no diagonal stripe or a locking ring sender. It would have a 6 screw sender unit. As I said earlier, this gets more complicated when senders are swapped. Your easy solution would be a later gauge and a voltage stabiliser. If you go for this (I can supply both) do not connect the temp gauge to the stabiliser as it is probably already the correct one.

cheers for the replies, guys, I have a later gauge and voltage regulator in my stash of parts.
Much appreciated
Colin