6 volt 12 what to do with guages

[brian.b]

Hey guys how would you run the guages.....i mean can any run on 12 volts.....im putting a gas tank from a 89 ford truck under it....could the 12 volt sending unit work with the 6 volt guage....

[IowaTom]

Brian - Usually it's a case of resistance (ohms) in matching senders with gauges.  Doubtful a 12v sender will work with the 6v gauge, but you might contact Randy Rundle here: http://www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com/ He's a great guy and very knowledgeable about auto electrics.

[Corsairdeluxe]

You will need a Runtz resistor for each gauge. It is not really a "resistor" but a solid state voltage regulator. Do a Google search. If you are electronically inclined you can make them your self cheaply. There are other options but this is the simplest one.

http://www.unbroke.com/runtz_guides.html

[rialto]

What car do you have?  Are you converting from 6 to 12 volts? The Kaiser fuel sender has ABOUT 10 ohms on full and 80 on empty. You could test the ohms on the ford sender with an ohm meter to see if it might be compatible. Years ago people would replace the original instrument voltage regulator with one from a 69 Plymouth in a 12 volt conversion. Some people say the original Kaiser instrument voltage regulator can work  ok with 12 volts.  Who knows?

[JoeKeys2010]

I changed mine to 12v and did nothing with the guages and all preform ok. It it my intention to put in a converter that will knock the voltage down but haven't got around to it. I drive it every Sunday back and forth to church and so far no problems. I have a radio and clock. Neither are hooked up until I can tamp down the voltage.  I would add my gas gauge has never worked. I did replace all the dash bulbs.

[HJ-ETEX]

You all missed something very important. The instrument panels on KF cars have a voltage regulator on them. It has been proven that using a 12V charging system does not alter the gauge performance. Making the VR drop 14V to 5 instead of 7V to 5 does not appear to after the longevity of the VR. I have seen 2 KF panel VRs fail and they were running on 6V systems.
If you are using a different gas tank sending unit (don't see why you would need a different cooling temp or oil pressure sending unit), you need to match it with the resistance range of the original KF sending unit. The shop manual tells you what those values are. 

[rialto]

We ALL didn't miss something important.

[Corsairdeluxe]

I don't think I missed a thing. For a few  bucks worth of runtz ,I get a system that is designed to work. Of course I could put 14 volts to a regulator designed for 7 and hope it has been over engineered. No thank's.

[brian.b]

Ok lets say im the slow zebra in the herd......where is the vr for the guages......and thanks alot guys for all your help.....

[joefrazer]

1947 thru 50 Kaisers and Frazers and 1951 Frazers did not use instrument voltage regulators. On the 51-55 cars and HJs, it's attached to the back of the instrument cluster.