[C320-list] Fuel sender access

[Dennis Cookson]

Thanks Chris, I looked under the shelf first but no luck, just pipe connections there. Would have been a doddle in that position.  I guess they improved access over the years.

Regards,
Dennis Cookson
Catalina #577
  

> On 5 Nov 2020, at 16:53, Chris Burti <clburti at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> First, let me say  that this picture doesn't look at all like our #867. In
> #867 the sender is relatively easy to access once the shelf above it is
> removed (about 8 screws), The sender comes out with six Phillips head cap
> screws tapped into the tank. The red wire runs directly to the buss  in the
> instrument pod on the pedestal and in my opinion is the source of a
> majority of fuel instrument gauge issues. However, over reading suggests to
> me that is more likely that your float arm may be bent at the wrong angle.
> 
> 
> Fair Winds,
> Chris Burti
> Commitment #867
> Farmville, NC
> 
> 
> On Thu, Nov 5, 2020 at 11:38 AM Dennis Cookson <dennis at cooksons.net> wrote:
> 
>> Today I made an attempt to change the fuel sender on my diesel tank, which
>> has been over-reading on the gauge since purchase of the boat last year.
>> I say attempt because I was shocked at how awkward it is to access this
>> instrument, and as I couldn’t get an eyeball anywhere near it, I had to
>> content myself with an arm’s length snap with a smartphone, which I’ve
>> uploaded here <
>> https://c320.org/mediagallery/media.php?f=1&s=20201105160834374&i=0&p=0>.
>> As you can see, it’s in the dirtiest part of the boat.
>> 
>> I can just about make out the six bolts that attach this sender to the top
>> of the tank, but it is so difficult to access that I would only be able to
>> undo them by feel, again at arm’s length, with a suitable wrench, while
>> contorting myself into various uncomfortable positions that I wasn’t
>> designed for.  I tried from both stern lazarettes and also from the hatch
>> in the aft cabin - all equally painful.
>> 
>> If anyone has managed to change this sender successfully with the fuel
>> tank in place, can you kindly describe how you did it?  I’d like to know
>> what size wrench/spanner is required, can you actually remove all six
>> bolts, and particularly whether there is a loose retaining ring under the
>> sender that will drop into the tank when the last bolt is undone.  I’m
>> aware that this is often the case with holding tanks (ask me how I know).
>> Oh, and where does that red wire go? Is there a terminal strip somewhere?
>> 
>> Until the latest lockdown I’ve been managing my fuel level by tracking
>> engine hours, but I’d like that gauge to work properly. Am I wasting my
>> time? Maybe I should just wait until the fuel tank corrodes and has to come
>> out anyway - it’s 21 years old after all. But there is no smell of diesel
>> at the moment.
>> 
>> Dennis Cookson
>> Catalina #577
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>