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[Brynjaminjones]

I've unfortunately learned today that our Wagoneer isn't in fact eternally full of fuel, rather the gauge isn't working and just says it's full. 
Fortunately I spotted this before running out! 

I found that the ground wire has snapped off the top of the sending unit in the tank, so I'm looking to re-attach it somehow.

Two questions:

1. Do you lot think it as stupid as it seems to use an electric soldering iron on the sending unit whilst in tank? I'm guessing yes!

2. If that's not an option, have any of you had any experience with some kind of conductive adhesive? I've found this so far but not sure how effective it will be:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Conductive-Wire-Glue-Paint-Soldering/dp/B00SRIITQ4

I'd much rather not have to open a can of worms by removing the sending unit if possible!

[Dave69]

depends on how conductive the "glue" is, it may conduct but with a high resistance

you could solder a wire but not to the tank, the word ground is a clue and since the whole vehicle is grounded to the negative battery in theory you could just go to a clean point on the chassis. but that depends on the metal connection from the tank to the chassis, or earth to another point on the tank that is easily accessible.

or is that idea too simple?

you can simply check the above idea by having the ignition on and check various earth locations for the fuel gauge around the tank, if it works then the gauge will start to work

[Brynjaminjones]

Cheers Dave for the ideas


To clarify, it's where the ground wire from the frame attaches to the sender that has snapped, so I need to re-attach it to the sending unit itself.

Anyway, I've got it sorted now!
I didn't have any luck with a conductive adhesive. There is silver epoxy which sounded perfect, but it was £45 for a single tube and wouldn't arrive for weeks.
I decided to go for it and got the sending unit out of the car, then soldered a new terminal on to it. I'm terrible at soldering and could hardly get it to adhere, but I got it good enough to make a strong connection, then epoxied over the top of it to keep it strong.

It's not at all pretty as I made a right mess with the epoxy, but it works which is what counts! As an added bonus, the fuel gauge now reads more accurately than before. I think this ground has been bad for a while, plus cleaning everything has probably helped too.

[Dave69]

Well at least you had access and the large nut became free so you could take the sender out. Was thinking you had to drop the tank to gain access.

[Brynjaminjones]

Thankfully not! I dread the day I have to drop the tank on this thing.
That large nut was a right PITA but I got frustrated and hammered at it until it came free 


When this "fix" inevitably fails, I've realised that a much more elegant solution would be to drill through it and add a bolt to make a ring terminal. We'll see how long this lasts first though!

[wildwood]

Glad you fixed it....thank fff for the hole in the floor.... you have to cut your own in the YJ...

Just a point.....or a thought.... your fuel hoses look a bit ‘Aged’ they might be breaking down inside and sucking crap towards the engine.... and as it happened to me...

The clamps tend to compress the rotten rubber of the hoses and exacerbate that prob and then there is a leakage situation.....and smell of fuel in the vehicle.....

Happy Jeepin.

[gazjeep]

The honourable member for mushrooms, merlot & all things Hippy makes a very valid point re rubber fuel lines 

Recently had an issue with the fuel pump on my Capri, it decided to piss fuel out of its breather hole which could have ended in disaster had I not had to get out of the car to shut the garage door 

The fuel pump was new only 7 years ago, all rubber fuel pipes were replaced 5 years ago. On closer inspection, the carb also needed a little love as it had tiny bits of crap in it.

All sorted now, fuel pump replaced & importantly all the rubber fuel lines from the tank to the carb were replaced with the latest E10 compliant hoses. I make this point because at some point later this year, its planned that the amount of ethanol in regular unleaded fuel will go from the current E5 to E10, ethanol eats rubber !!!!

Now is a good time to check your pipes folks 

[Brynjaminjones]

Thanks both, a very good point indeed.

I did have to trim the hoses when I did this as they were perished around the ends. I plan to replace them soon, just need to figure out if that will require dropping the tank or not. The tank leaks a little when full so I expect I have some investigating to do.

Last summer I replaced all the fuel lines in the engine bay, in anticipation of the E10 switch. SAE J30R9 is what I think I used. It's just the tank end that I've not done.

I've seen enough fires in these things that I want to do everything I can to prevent that from being me!

[JamesH]

Good job. Why some Jeeps have not access plate in the floor is mental.

If you lower the tank if will give good access for rustproofing too. Just been looking at the fuel tank on mine thinking these things through.

[Brynjaminjones]

Yeah, I wish the others had the access panel!

Rust is one of the main reasons I don't want to remove the tank - surely what I don't know can't hurt me!?


I filled the Wagoneer up again yesterday after sorting this out and can confirm that everything works 100%. What I'm surprised at is that the tank was able to almost completely empty itself without cutting out.
These things notoriously struggle to pick up fuel from the bottom of the tank, but mine probably had less than a gallon left when I looked inside.
It was complete luck that I discovered the gauge problem before running out - I reckon I probably had less then 10 miles left!

[JamesH]

Now that I’ve started finding bits of rust I can’t stop poking and it’s going to end in tears. Maybe it’s best just not to know 

At least I didn’t buy a Disco or Defender 

[bgbazz]

I'm following this thread with much interest...my favourite activity is fiddling and fettling with vehicles, particularly the off-road variety. I've had my share of types and models, Jeep, Toyota, Suzuki and lots of Lardies. Even had a fairly rare RR powered Austin Champ for a while, but my all time best experience was with this Nissan Patrol...it didn't matter what the conditions were...mud, snow, sand, rocks or highway, she always delivered the goods without fuss or bother. Apart from the Austin, rust has never been a problem in any of my toys.