How fast is your fuel guage fluctuating? Most guages have pretty slow
responses (see how long it takes to stabilize when you turn the car on).
I don't know what the resistance of the sender is but I'd guess that the
time constant with a 100microfarad capacitor would be on the order of
tenths of seconds, far faster than the response of the guage. It would
have the benefit of storing a lot more energy so that if something did
go wrong that might cause an the sender to arc it would be a lot more
likely for you (or your heirs) to collect insurance money from the
explosion and fire.
lrc
On Thu, Aug 19, 1999 at 09:13:22PM -0400, Wildbil923@aol.com wrote:
> A very knowledgable lister suggested the following means for slowing down the
> fluctuation of the fuel gauge needle action on an LBC:
>
> >>>>>The wire in the circuit that has the fluctuating voltage is the one
> running
> from the gauge to the sender unit. Supposedly if you were to install a
> capacitor in parallel with this circuit it would absorbe some of the
> pulsation of the current and damp the needle on the guage. I think it
> would call for a large electrolytic capacitor, probably 100 microfarad or
> larger, with the larger capacitor doing more damping than a smaller one.
> It could be mounted just on the back of the gauge, one wire connected to
> the sender terminal and the other wire connected to the ground terminal.
>
> Keep in mind that electrolytic capacitors are polarized. If your
> electrical system is positive earth, then ground the positive side of the
> capacitor. If it's Negative earth, then ground the negative side of the
> capacitor. If you get an electrolytic capacitor hooked up backwards it can
> explode like a firecracker (usually blows one end out) and spray wax paper
> and aluminum foil confettie all over the place, along with a moderate dose
> of sulpheric acid (battery acid). If you actually try this, let me know
> how it comes out.<<<<
>
> Has anyone tried anything like this? Any comments?
>
> Bill Wilkman
> Riverside, CA
--
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by
killing all those who opposed them.
lrc@red4est.com http://www.red4est.com/lrc
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