In the last post in the low fuel sensor series, I mentioned that the sensor was “non-repairable” based on how damaged/worn the sensor was. It turns out I was still able to use it, and now it works. I was able to mainly follow this youtube video, as was the original plan.
After removing the sensor with a crescent wrench, I noticed that the casing was cracked. I basically just soldered it back together, as you’ll see in the pictures. Then, I just had to solder in the new thermistor:
There it is, soldered into the middle hole on the bottom of the casing. Here it is with both ends soldered:
It is important to make sure that it is in tight enough (no slack on the leads), so that the leads/thermistor is not touching the wall of the casing/sensor.
It works!
My battery was really low, so it was really dim… but it is much better with a new/charged battery.
Looking back, I may need to replace the thermistor with a different one. The thermistor “turns on” the indicator by reducing the amount of resistance when the thermistor is warm enough, essentially “opening” the circuit to the indicator light. When gas is touching the thermistor, the resistance is high because gas is cold. The problem I am seeing is that the morning air is too cold in Calgary’s spring, so even when no gas is touching the thermistor it isn’t always reducing the resistance enough… more on this later if I feel like it.
