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By dbird - 15 Years Ago
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The temp gauge on my 55 Thunderbird isn't hooked up. There is a sender in the head, but the catalogs list two senders, 6 or 12V and I was hoping someone could enlighten me as to the difference and how to tell which is which. Will a 12 volt sender work with a 6 volt gauge given the voltage is dropped between the two, and finally, how was it wired, power in and out if the sender then to gauge then ground or the other way around? It is currently a 12 volt neg ground car, and the engine has been replaced, so no idea if the sender is original.
Thanks,
Don
4 weeks in and still finding new things done wrong.
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By 55Birdman - 15 Years Ago
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55 Birds are 6 Volt. If you want to use those gauges which you should do is to get some voltage reducers and hook it up to the gauges. The sender unit should be 6V too. I think.Ford Birds went 12 V in 57. My dads car has stock 6 volt gauges with voltage reducer attached . Not sure about whether the sender unit is 6 Volt. My dad had his bird about 30 years and as I remember the gauges were stock then as they are now. You can get reducers just about every parts place.
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By paul2748 - 15 Years Ago
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would try to locate a 12 volt gauge (1956 was the only year for one from Ford) as it is fits the 55 panel.
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By dbird - 15 Years Ago
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The problem lies in that I'm pretty sure I have a 6 volt gauge, but am unsure of the sender, as it appears to have a 57 block and 56 heads, but who knows what else was changed. If I have a 6 volt sender, it shouldn't be too much trouble to drop voltage and wire it, but if it's a 12 volt sender, will it work with the gauge. The parts through the Thunderbird catalogs are Expensive, but I want to get rid of the cheap three gauge panel the PO installed. Apparently when they installed the alternator and battery, they did as little else as possible.
There is a ballast resistor on the back of the alternator that I'm trying to figure out as well as one to drop the voltage for the coil.
Don
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By GregDove - 15 Years Ago
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All three years are different ... 55 was 6 volt ... 56 was 12 volt ... 57 was 12 volt but the sending unit was smaller than 56 ... the gauge and the sending unite have to match to work ... if the car is 6 volts and heads are 56 the hole that the sending unit goes are the same size I believe. If not you could use a inline resister to make it wwork.
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