Does anyone have a better fuel level sender option for a VS? The one that comes with the car is very un-nerving - it has huge swings in level once it gets off full and the closer to empty you get it appears more like a guess than an indication of how much fuel you have left.
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Nope, that's about it.
Ancient VW's had a modulator called a "********" or something like that to average the swings of the sender, BUT......... It doesn't seem to work on our senders so I guess you're stuck with it, just like the rest of us.
I have owned several component cars and I would never depend on any gage on any of them...ironically the Lucas gage on my Superformance was accurate....go figure..
I am sure the speedo on my JPS is only a approximation of plus or minus 15% but when it shows I have gone a estimated 150 miles....I fill it up..
Karmann Ghia float assembly?
Here's the KG/VW bus gas gauge sending - no arm! Part # 271919051B $50.
WOLFGANG posted:Here's the KG/VW bus gas gauge sending - no arm! Part # 271919051B $50.
but...will it fit in a VS (VW 10 gallon) tank?
Hi Verbieten! I have a CMC with Porsche 914 gauges. I installed a new fuel tank and VDO sending unit from CPI about ten years ago. I always had an erratic reading and accuracy issues. It just so happened that last year the sending unit started leaking around all the screws and when I pulled the electrical lead off the unit, the plastic isolating grommet on the sender just fell apart. I had no choice but to buy a new sending unit. I was in a rush to get the car back on the road for the weekend so I bought one from a local supplier @ three times the cost of one from CPI. It looked the same as the old one but came in a box about 12 x 12 x 12 with a Styrofoam liner. I dropped it in and it is dead accurate and stable, with no bending of the arm or fooling around. This unit has made in Germany stamped on it, so I have come to the conclusion that there is a huge difference in quality between VDO parts. I tossed the old unit out and never thought to notice where it was made. I'm guessing not in Germany?
Verbieten, the gas gauge in my 2013 VS is pretty accurate, once you stop moving.
Like a lot of other things with these cars, you can adjust to 'the Speedster way', or spend a lot of time and money trying to make it work like a normal car.
At a stop light, the gauge should settle down and give a good reading. If it won't do that, you may have a defective sender or gauge, in which case you can probably get a replacement from VS.
You guys re funny. The gauge is worthless. Use your odometer.
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I think Mike Mc is using Ghia one.
I use a shingle with some lines scratched on it and dip it in the tank. Then I check it against what my gauge says, write both into my log book, take an average, and determine if i need gas. The best place to do this of course , is at a gas station. So far, I haven't had any problems. The coolest thing though is if there is water in my tank the shingle floats too high thus giving readings way out of my established average and alerts me to potential performance issues !..........Bruce
Easy float setting: Remove the float wires and screws, gently pull the assemble out of the tank , measure from hole in tank to bottom, transfer that measurement to the underside of the float place to the bottom of the float in the dropped position. Cover hole on tank with a cloth and temp. wire the float .....AWAY.... and out of that tank with key on move the float to confirm readings and reinstall.....done !
When I get to a quarter tank, I fill up...
^ Same here, Bill! When I top off at 1/4 tank, it usually takes 6 gallons to top off (I believe that VS tanks are 8 gallon tanks).
All I care about on mine has been the "Reserve" line on the left. If the needle bounces lower than that and doesn't make it up to 1/4 very much I head right then to a gas station. That's when it usually takes 6-1/2 gallons to fill it - and it's about a 7-ish gallon tank. Haven't run out yet, but have definitely been on fumes more than once.
Oh, and when "full" it's about a needle-width to the left of the "4/4" line and doesn't move for 10-15 miles or so.
I can live with that, and the needle bounce is about the same as my Austin Healey 3000 gauge.