'82 K10 Fuel Gauge Pegged

[Casey Rayls]

1982 K-10 (4x4). Replaced all gauges in the instrument cluster. Old/Original gas gauge did work, but needle was broke off. Got a new gas gauge and printed circuit board from LMC Truck. Now gas gauge pegs at 3 O'clock.

Everyone blah blahs about poor ground or pink wire this and pink wire that. Well, there are NO wires coming off the back of the gauge.
It has 3 studs which plug into 3 little metal clips, which snap into the printed circuit board.

There is only a harness that plugs into the plastic dash cluster itself (via and thru the printed/wire ribbon circuit board).
The other gauges (oil pressure and voltmeter) work (sans the speedo.. which is also NEW and reads 15 mph too slow).

The point is, the old gauge worked. Nothing was changed except the new circuit board was installed. Now the new gas gauge pegs at 3 as I said.

I say the circuit board is just a dud from LMC as only one of the mini lamps will light up while in the circ. board (checked them all via leads from a battery and all light individually, when out of the panel/cir. board).

The old printed circuit board had cuts in it and was just taped together, but it did work. This all new gauge cluster and cir. board is basically junk and hasn't been worth my headache.

Suggestions ?
I can't see tracing a ground when there's nothing the gas gauge grounds directly to as I think it is supposed to ground via the circuit board.

 

[83Stepper]

Ohm out the resistor on the old gauge and the new gauge. Usually a faulty ground is the culprit when it pegs that far high. Can be at the gauge where it clips into the pins on the cluster, the pcb, or a break in the ground wire from the top of the tank near the sending unit to the frame where it grounds there.

The pink wire in reference is the one coming off the sending unit which makes it's way back to the cluster.

Make sure the contacts where the plug goes into the pcb are all clean. These old gals get a bit crusty and that can cause issues as well.

 

[Casey Rayls]

UPDATE: Checked black ground wire coming from fuel tank. Just as I suspected, clean as a hound's tooth. Ground on that end is good. "Watch a You Tube video they said, it'll show you how to do it they said. "

 

[Broken85]

1982 K-10 (4x4). Replaced all gauges in the instrument cluster. Old/Original gas gauge did work, but needle was broke off. Got a new gas gauge and printed circuit board from LMC Truck. Now gas gauge pegs at 3 O'clock.

Everyone blah blahs about poor ground or pink wire this and pink wire that. Well, there are NO wires coming off the back of the gauge.
It has 3 studs which plug into 3 little metal clips, which snap into the printed circuit board.

There is only a harness that plugs into the plastic dash cluster itself (via and thru the printed/wire ribbon circuit board).
The other gauges (oil pressure and voltmeter) work (sans the speedo.. which is also NEW and reads 15 mph too slow).

The point is, the old gauge worked. Nothing was changed except the new circuit board was installed. Now the new gas gauge pegs at 3 as I said.

I say the circuit board is just a dud from LMC as only one of the mini lamps will light up while in the circ. board (checked them all via leads from a battery and all light individually, when out of the panel/cir. board).

The old printed circuit board had cuts in it and was just taped together, but it did work. This all new gauge cluster and cir. board is basically junk and hasn't been worth my headache.

Suggestions ?
I can't see tracing a ground when there's nothing the gas gauge grounds directly to as I think it is supposed to ground via the circuit board.

The only thing that change was the circuit board, and everything worked before that. Easiest diag is to send it back and try another. Have LMC replace it or try another company. Don’t beat your head against the wall with anything else until you try this.

I am going to do a post soon on the quality of the parts I have used for a drivetrain overhaul. What should have been a one week engine swap project has dragged on for months because of garbage parts that are broken, leak or just don’t work per spec as advertised. I have done the same jobs 3,4,even 5 times because of the junk people sell these days. I am going on my 4th transfer case. All of them leaked before I put a single mile on the truck

 

[Rickf]

If your old gauge worked, try plugging it into your new circuit board see what happens.

 

[MaicoDoug]

Broke85- I am respectfully in agreement regarding what junk is being sold coming out of china. It all needs to stop, however too many pockets are being stuffed currently. What list will they put me on when I say such things? You're concerns are not landing on def ears. I believe that LMC and everyone else that sells this china junk needs to beware of the constant quality concerns that US citizens are being forced to live with. To what standards do we consume this sort of junk with anyway. Not ASME. OK, now you know how I feel. That's who I am.

The junk T case got me got me going, that & the junk PC board. I am new here, however your comments I hear daily throughout many industries. Please do not stop. - MaicoDoug.

 

[Casey Rayls]

If I even have the old fuel gauge. It may have went to the garbage truck already....

 

[Casey Rayls]

Sounds to me like the pink and black wire merry-go-round thing means dropping the fuel tank to see if anything is broken at the top of the tank. This is WAAAY more work than I want.

 

[idahovette]

Sounds to me like the pink and black wire merry-go-round thing means dropping the fuel tank to see if anything is broken at the top of the tank. This is WAAAY more work than I want.

You gotta a Square Body.......welcome to our world

 

[Casey Rayls]

Ha !! I'm old school. This is fourth one I've had since Sept. 1987 and the second white one.