fuel gauge needle help !!!!

[Darmaduke]

Hi everyone

new owner, just picked up a 1988 fj1200

I have read a bunch of posts on the fuel gauge jumping the pin,  i don't seem to have that problem, my gauge works great, when its empty it on e and when full its on f.
problem is is not stable, it bounces around by about a 1/4 inch. and not slowly, its like a little earth quake meter..lol ,  its almost like its missing a spring to give it some tension.

any ideas?

Im going to clean the ground, but want to ask if thats happened to anyone

thanks.
scott.

[FJmonkey]

The damping fluid has leaked out (Dried up), not bad after almost 30 years. You still have the low fuel light and the trip meter as a gauge for fuel. I have only used the trip meter, my past bikes did not have a fuel level gauge. My GPS currently covers the useless fuel gauge on my '89.

[mr blackstock]

G'day,

there has been a lot written about the fuel bouncy gauge, do a search and you will get heaps.  I found cleaning up the wiring helped, and separately earthing the tank help too.

A few guys have re-injected damping fluid into the needle head, apparently that fixes it for good.

good luck, and wait until the needle jumps so much it goes around the clock!  That's another thread though...

[Darmaduke]

new fluid it is

Thanks
Scott

[markmartin]

new fluid it is

Thanks
Scott

Did it fix your problem?   I tried the fluid injection fix.  It stopped the bouncing completely, however, now my gauge shows a full tank.  Always....

[Darmaduke]

wont get to it for a bit, im just making a list of things to do this winter.
ill let you know by spring

[Earl Svorks]

  I am in the middle of this problem and how to best deal with it as I type. I have an instrument cluster complete on the bench and a bare fuel gauge too. The complete cluster's fuel gauge is very stable.  I have a tank sender wired to it on the bench. The bare instrument feels like it has some damping when you move the needle manually, however, when stimulated with DC power, it is very twitchy.
  I am satisfied that it has lost it's glycerine damping fluid. Having read on this forum info on how
to  refill the thing I figure I'll give it a try. Rather than try to drill between the windings and risk damaging  a coil I opt to go through one of the 4 mounting post tunnels. This worked well enough ,,, except that' I suspect  the drill left a bit of a burr on the inside of the cavity where the armature and the fluid both live.
  This little burr is enough to cause the armature to bind and refuse to move under power.
I'm not sure how to prevent this from happening regardless of where you opt to bore into this thing.
     If someone has some thoughts based on experience with this, I'm all ears.

       Cheers
       Simon
   
     

[wJeffreyCox]

Hello Earl,
I presume you resolved the fuel gauge needle bounce problem as your post was a few years ago. My 1990 FJ1200 has the same problem and I have remove the instrument cluster but have not tried to separate the fuel gauge from the cluster. I'm not exactly sure how to do that. If you happen to see this post, I'd like to pick your brain a bit if you have some time.
Thanks,
Jeff in Nevada City, CA

  I am in the middle of this problem and how to best deal with it as I type. I have an instrument cluster complete on the bench and a bare fuel gauge too. The complete cluster's fuel gauge is very stable.  I have a tank sender wired to it on the bench. The bare instrument feels like it has some damping when you move the needle manually, however, when stimulated with DC power, it is very twitchy.
  I am satisfied that it has lost it's glycerine damping fluid. Having read on this forum info on how
to  refill the thing I figure I'll give it a try. Rather than try to drill between the windings and risk damaging  a coil I opt to go through one of the 4 mounting post tunnels. This worked well enough ,,, except that' I suspect  the drill left a bit of a burr on the inside of the cavity where the armature and the fluid both live.
  This little burr is enough to cause the armature to bind and refuse to move under power.
I'm not sure how to prevent this from happening regardless of where you opt to bore into this thing.
     If someone has some thoughts based on experience with this, I'm all ears.

       Cheers
       Simon