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joshhayes
18 years ago
i have a 6V fuel gauge and tank out of a 63 bug. will there be any problems in transfering them into my 12V 1961, will the voltage differences matter? also i think i just need to cut a hole for the gauge. anyone got any clues?
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six-o-one
18 years ago
The early beetle fuel guages are mechanical, not electric so will be fine for your car. You can get the correct grill from an early 60s bug to fit the guage to the left of the speedo (if yours is RHD?).

 4023.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.
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joshhayes
18 years ago
my gauge has 6V stamped on the back and has four electical connectors on it, 2 are for the light bulb i think. and a wire goes down to the thingy that dips into the fuel tank. so one positive would be for the gauge and one for the bulb right? and im guessing the other two are earths. but how does that float thing in the tank generate power for the gauge?
six-o-one
18 years ago
Sounds like you have an after-market guage and a later sender-if it's an electrical sender! When VW switched to electrical senders the guage moved to inside the speedo.

The 1963 sender (61-67) should look like this. It has an arm coming from the top which is moved back and forth as the level of the fuel changes. The cable which comes from the guage has a ball on the end which locates into the slot on the end of the arm, and there is a plain metal cover which is a push fit over the top.

The correct 6v guage only has one connection on the back which is for the bulb (just swap for a 12v bulb).

doyou have a picture of what you have there?

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Lavenham Vintage VW Show - 2012 
Bandwagen | Vintage Volkswagens & Photography 
six-o-one
18 years ago
6v guage and sender with cover (LHD)...  4026.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.
Lavenham Vintage VW Show - 2012 
Bandwagen | Vintage Volkswagens & Photography 
six-o-one
18 years ago
back of guage...  4027.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.
Lavenham Vintage VW Show - 2012 
Bandwagen | Vintage Volkswagens & Photography 
joshhayes
18 years ago
my gauge ismade by VDO in germany, but it must be electric because it doesnt have that lead coming out of the bottom
joshhayes
18 years ago
im pretty sure its an original gauge, its the little square one that sits to the left of the speedo with the chrome moulding around it
six-o-one
18 years ago
That's a new one on me!
:roll:

Please post a pic if you can.


six-o-one
Lavenham Vintage VW Show - 2012 
Bandwagen | Vintage Volkswagens & Photography 
joshhayes
18 years ago
i'll try and track down a digital camera so i can get some photo's, im in australia so could that make any difference to when they put electronic ones in?
joshhayes
18 years ago
i'll post th part number if that helps, 114018331. and the date stamped on it is 4, 63
joshhayes
18 years ago
here are some photo's that i found on the internet that look the same as what i have
gauge:[img]null[/img]

sender  4038.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.
joshhayes
18 years ago
this is the fuel gauge photo, hope it works this time, sorry its only tiny, its from ebay 🙂  4039.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.
six-o-one
18 years ago
I've done a bit of searching around on the internet, and found that Australia had an electric version of the early guage, as you say!

Not sure if it would work with 12volts though, anyone else know?

:?
Lavenham Vintage VW Show - 2012 
Bandwagen | Vintage Volkswagens & Photography 
joshhayes
18 years ago
so has anyone here actually swaped a 6V gauge into a 12v car before, i guess most of you have mechanical gauges right? you guys are lucky
zelensis
18 years ago
The type 2 from 1962 had also a 6V electric gauge they also used a sending unit like that.
I think it is not possible to put 12V on the gauge, if you are lucky it only shows a wrong reading otherwise you might burn the internal coponents of the gauge and destroy it.

I have here a type2, 6V gauge and it has also 4 connecting points.
1 for the +6V
1 for the grounding
1 for the light
and 1 that go to the sending unit.

If you realy want to use this gauge in a 12V car you should look for an transformer from 12 to 6V that works for the gauge.
http://users.skynet.be/zelensis 
Andy Sparks
18 years ago
Karmann konnection here in the UK do a voltage drop relay for 6V componants in 12v cars. These are used for wipers, semophores etc.

If it's a fuel gauge that you want, you can sell these electric gauges on samba should be worth a fair amount (especially if it has sender), then buy a mechanical gauge ebay or VZi.

In the UK these were an accessory for pre 1963 cars, but are rare with sender

I wouldn't wire the sender up as you burn it out, especially where it is as well.
You can never have too many accessories on your car. 🙂
joshhayes
18 years ago
lol, thats true, a fire in my petrol tank woulndnt be much fun.....
Andy Sparks
18 years ago
You can always tell by the gauge face on the electric ones. full is 4/4 and the mechanical ones are 1/1.

Do i get accessory buffer of the week?
You can never have too many accessories on your car. 🙂
joshhayes
18 years ago
yep, you win lol, but i would like to use it
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