USB to test gauges - in my case a fuel gauge.
Posted: November 4, 2017, 4:44 pm
Ever since I bought my 65, the gas gauge has never worked. It just parks between quarter and half full no matter what. I have continuity on the orange wire to the tank. My voltage from the regulator behind the dash outputs between 0 and 9 volts randomly with 12 going in. So I think that is working. The next step was to test the gauge and I needed five volts. Didn't feel like going to buy a bunch of D batteries so why not USB? It worked perfect.
I found an old USB cable and cut off the old end. Pealed off the shielding and stripped the wires. It was an old one, so it just had a black and red wire. And I'm not joking when I say you have about 4 strands to work with.
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Au7oGslkRZsUiqogwC8QVB8F7DWrPQ
Plugged it in and it tested 5 volts even. Hooked up the negative to the bottom post (orange wire post) and positive to the other.
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Au7oGslkRZsUiqoh_73N9JPs7lNgFQ
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Au7oGslkRZsUiqoiXl3eK6NMvc5VmQ
So at 5 volts the gauge should be full. And it was. So glad it is working.
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Au7oGslkRZsUiqof1RbMtvgeeBgZrA
Seemed like an easy way to get 5 volts. If I did it again, I would find a longer thicker USB cable. Thought others would find it a useful way to test as well.
If anyone else has any suggestions on getting my gauge to read, I am open to them. Can it be the float in the tank? Can I test that?
Thanks.
I found an old USB cable and cut off the old end. Pealed off the shielding and stripped the wires. It was an old one, so it just had a black and red wire. And I'm not joking when I say you have about 4 strands to work with.
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Au7oGslkRZsUiqogwC8QVB8F7DWrPQ
Plugged it in and it tested 5 volts even. Hooked up the negative to the bottom post (orange wire post) and positive to the other.
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Au7oGslkRZsUiqoh_73N9JPs7lNgFQ
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Au7oGslkRZsUiqoiXl3eK6NMvc5VmQ
So at 5 volts the gauge should be full. And it was. So glad it is working.
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Au7oGslkRZsUiqof1RbMtvgeeBgZrA
Seemed like an easy way to get 5 volts. If I did it again, I would find a longer thicker USB cable. Thought others would find it a useful way to test as well.
If anyone else has any suggestions on getting my gauge to read, I am open to them. Can it be the float in the tank? Can I test that?
Thanks.