Gas gage 50 Champion Weird behavior

[hebron]

Hi

I am slowly getting stuff working on my 50 Champion and am baffled with this problem. My gas gage does register....sometimes.

It will register a full tank (it is full) until I hit 38mph and then it drops to empty. Within 2 or 3 miles, the gage will come back up. This happens every time I hit 38 mph. I am not acceleracting fast either. (like that would be possible anyway)

Can't even imagine what to look for.

Thanks

Tim Porter
Hebron Illinois
1950 Champion 2dr

[Roscomacaw]

Tim,

Try taping a little flap of cardboard on the face of your dash. Situate it so the fuel gage can't read the speedometer and take the car for a spin. If it doesn't cut out at 38MPH, you know that the gas gage is playing games with you. Of course, maybe it wishes it was an overdrive governor![:0]

In lieu of that, I'd try attaching a permanent wire from one of the screws that holds the tank sender onto the gas tank - the other end of which I'd connect to a nice, clean ground. That's the only SOLID suggestion I can come up with.
MAYBE there's some harmonics going on at 38MPH that cause an otherwise loose or shakey connection to open up at that speed. Crazier things have happened!
I once worked on a C-130 cargo plane that would have it's fuel gage go nuts once it was in flight and cruising along. We changed EVERYTHING associated with that stupid gage system several times. The stuff always looked right and tested right on the ground. Yet, in flight, the fuel gage would go between empty and various readings. No small problem when you count on the gages to be able to keep the fuel load balanced![8]
After about the third or fourth attempt at fixing this, we started actually taking normally riveted sections of the wing apart. These were areas where there weren't removable panels for access. What we found were drill bits lying loose that some airhead on the production line had left in there when the structure was riveted together! In flight, those bits would bounce around and short out a terminal strip that was associated with the fuel gages.[xx(]

Miscreant at large.

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe
1957 President 2-dr
1955 President State
1951 Champion Biz cpe
1963 Daytona project FS

[hebron]

I will give the extra ground wire a try. Ya never know. I cannot see any connection between the governor and the gas tank this is obvious.

I don't think the gas gage is looking at the speedo because this happens in the dark as well. Someday I will get the dash lights to work and not use a flashlight.[^]

Tanx!

Tim Porter
Hebron Illinois
1950 Champion 2dr