TC30 fuel gauge, fuses, and temp gauge

[Complete Turf Care]

Yesterday I picked up a TC30 for what I consider a fair price.

Nothing in the instrument panel works except the tachometer, which is mechanical and not electrical. There must have been a small fire and most of the wires were burned. The tractor starts and runs fine, it's just that none of the gauges work.

I removed the instrument panel and determined there is no power getting to it. These are the 2 plugs on the back of the panel. The larger one is where the gauges connect to the key switch which is where the power should come from.


This pic shows another plug that has most of the wires cut. I don't know where it should plug into.


After looking at the wiring diagram in the parts manual, it seems there should be some fuses on the firewall. But there are no fuses on my tractor as you can see in the pic below.


You can see below that the back of the instrument panel is melted pretty good, but the next picture shows the front, and everything looks to be fine.



I would really like to have the fuel gauge working. I tested the sending unit in the tank with my ohm meter and it seems to be working properly. A reman instrument panel is about $600 and a new wiring harness is about $350, and I'm not going to spend that much on this tractor.

1. Can I install an aftermarket fuel gauge? If so, how do I get power to it, and how can I connect it to the existing sending unit? And, what ohm fuel gauge would I need? When I tested with my ohm meter, I did not pay close attention to the readings, but I thought it went from 0 to about 41, and most gauges seem to be either 0-30 or 0-90.

2. Should there be some fuses on the firewall? I don't see any fuses or relays as shown in the parts manual.

 

[Dataway]

Looks like it might have had a small fuel fire

Since the fuel sender works, try powering it with a wire off the key switch and hook the sender up to it, maybe you can get it working by itself.

One of the empty plugs was probably plugged into the missing fuse box. Usually it's small, hold three or four fuses. Clips onto the fire wall somewhere usually fairly easy to get to.

 

[spitter]

Save your money and stick the tank.By the time you rewire and add a fuel gauge that will never look right you could just get a rod and mark fuel depth when it gets low fill er up. those tractors sip fuel.. I'd be more worried about temp ,oil pressure and amp gauge. Lots of old epuipment on the farm most of them we check with a rod in ground tank included.:drink:

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Save your money and stick the tank.By the time you rewire and add a fuel gauge that will never look right you could just get a rod and mark fuel depth when it gets low fill er up. those tractors sip fuel.. I'd be more worried about temp ,oil pressure and amp gauge. Lots of old epuipment on the farm most of them we check with a rod in ground tank included.:drink:

I would do this, but if you look at the third picture in my first post, you see that the filler neck is offset from the tank itself, and I don't think you can get a stick in there to check the level.

I'm not really concerned about how it would look. And, a temp gauge would probably be fairly easy to add also. This tractor will have very little use. It will mostly be used to demonstrate several attachments that I sell.

 

[JC-jetro]

look at the attached picture on my 1700 to see if that is doable for you. you can tee off before the fuel pet cock and terminate the top where your cap is. I had a floating ball in the tube for reference also. I used Polyethylene line but after many years it has darkened so it ii not easy to see the fuel level Now.

JC,.

 

[Roadworthy]

I didn't trust the light so I put a mechanical temperature gauge on my Mitsubishi. As far as the fuel gauge goes, if you know the resistance at the end points of the in tank resistor you can work with any similar range gauge and get a relative indication. That should be enough to tell you when to add fuel. If oil pressure is on an idiot light that's a no brainer. Another option is a mechanical oil pressure gauge.

 

[FredH]

The fuse panel should be on the firewall to the left of the fuel fill tube , ( looking at picture #3 ) . Personally , I would look for a gauge / sending unit kit and install . I did this on my TC30 when the gauge quit working . At that time , a new gauge was easily over $200 just for the gauge . Think I spent like $28 for kit and $6 shipping on J.C. Whitney . Was a 4 or 5 hour job to remove enough stuff to get to top of tank and pull old sender unit . Measured old unit arm and set new unit similar and installed . Installed round gauge in the square rubber / plastic plug on left side of dash . Worked perfectly for years until I had a brain fade and pressure washed the entire tractor . It had been rained on and even snowed on for years , but the force of the pressure washer filled the gauge with water .

Give me a few minutes and I will post a picture of panel , seems like there is also a relay or 2 on panel ??

Fred H.

 

[FredH]

Relay or what ever it is towards bottom of picture has numerous wired in and out while the relay / fuse top left has 4 wires in / out . The block on the right is the small fuse block .
3 fuses if I read the top of the box correct ?? Did not have my reading glasses on .:ashamed:

My intention was to build a custom dash utilizing original tach / hour meter , then adding gauges . Thought was to use 1/8" steel plate , drill holes for gauges , lights , indicators , etc... , plasma cut the area for tach . It is doable, But with a 8 year old Grandson every other weekend , then normal chores on the opposite weekends , Never found the time .
Like the idea above with the site tube :thumbsup: Similar to what we had in the fire department on Our water tenders .

Fred H.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

View attachment 639637

Relay or what ever it is towards bottom of picture has numerous wired in and out while the relay / fuse top left has 4 wires in / out . The block on the right is the small fuse block .
3 fuses if I read the top of the box correct ?? Did not have my reading glasses on .:ashamed:

My intention was to build a custom dash utilizing original tach / hour meter , then adding gauges . Thought was to use 1/8" steel plate , drill holes for gauges , lights , indicators , etc... , plasma cut the area for tach . It is doable, But with a 8 year old Grandson every other weekend , then normal chores on the opposite weekends , Never found the time .
Like the idea above with the site tube :thumbsup: Similar to what we had in the fire department on Our water tenders .

Fred H.

I may look for a kit. None of those fuses or relays in your pic are anywhere on my TC30. Thanks for the pics.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

The fuse panel should be on the firewall to the left of the fuel fill tube , ( looking at picture #3 ) . Personally , I would look for a gauge / sending unit kit and install . I did this on my TC30 when the gauge quit working . At that time , a new gauge was easily over $200 just for the gauge . Think I spent like $28 for kit and $6 shipping on J.C. Whitney . Was a 4 or 5 hour job to remove enough stuff to get to top of tank and pull old sender unit . Measured old unit arm and set new unit similar and installed . Installed round gauge in the square rubber / plastic plug on left side of dash . Worked perfectly for years until I had a brain fade and pressure washed the entire tractor . It had been rained on and even snowed on for years , but the force of the pressure washer filled the gauge with water .

Give me a few minutes and I will post a picture of panel , seems like there is also a relay or 2 on panel ??

Fred H.

do you remember how many ohms the new sending unit was? or which kit you used? I looked on JC Whitney and there were 571 results for "replacement fuel sending unit"

 

[FredH]

I found what I was looking for in one of their catalogs years ago , like 14+ years . Their website was like " WOW " , trying to find stuff just now .
So went to Ebay and this is almost exactly what I used :


2'' 52mm 12V LED Edge Fuel Meter Automotive Fuel Gauges Level W/Fuel Sensor Kit | eBay

Something like this from Amazon would also likely work :
https://www.amazon.com/RUPSE-Univer...eywords=fuel+level+kit&qid=1580614306&sr=8-12


Fred H.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I found what I was looking for in one of their catalogs years ago , like 14+ years . Their website was like " WOW " , trying to find stuff just now .
So went to Ebay and this is almost exactly what I used :


2'' 52mm 12V LED Edge Fuel Meter Automotive Fuel Gauges Level W/Fuel Sensor Kit | eBay

Something like this from Amazon would also likely work :
https://www.amazon.com/RUPSE-Univer...eywords=fuel+level+kit&qid=1580614306&sr=8-12


Fred H.

Thanks! I will look into one of those. Did you just bend the float to fit into the tank? Seems fairly simple.

I just realized that I have a good friend that restores Corvettes. I will consult with him to see what ideas he may have too.

 

[FredH]

Can't remember if You bend the rod or cut it / adjust length ? It was fairly simple install . Most of the time was getting access to top of tank . Think I set my exactly like original as far as length , etc..... . From there is was just put everything back together .

Fred H.

 

[ruffdog]

Before you spend money replacing electrical parts, test the charging system. I wonder if the previous owner had the rectifier go bad which would send high AC volts through the system. That tends to cook any electrics that were turned on at the time. Try to find out what caused the issue first.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I have ordered some aftermarket gauges. I did run power to the instrument cluster, and was able to get some of the lights to come on, but never did get the fuel or temp gauges to budge, so I ordered new mechanical fuel and temp gauges, and a new fuel gauge kit with a sensor. I'll update as I get them installed.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

My gauges came in today from Amazon. This is the fuel gauge. Amazon.com: Rupse 2" 52mm Universal Car SUV Fuel Level Gauge Meter w/Fuel Sensor E-1/2-F Pointer 12V: Automotive
It was fairly easy to install and it seems to be working properly.

This is the other set of gauges that I have not attempted to install yet. Amazon.com: Bosch SPF54 Style Line 2" Triple Gauge Kit (Black Dial Face, Black Bezel): Automotive

Here is a pic of the fuel gauge installed. I removed the light switch and put it in that hole. None of the lights were working anyway.


I have not decided where to mount the other gauges, but the pics below show some possible locations. In the first pic, I would have to cut out some of the old gauges, which don't work anyway. What do you guys think?

 

[FredH]

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Similar to what did . If there was any kind of power surge that caused the fire , OEM gauges were likely toast anyway . My fuel OEM fuel gauge went out while hauling topsoil for new lawn . Just going back and forth , with a few small bumps , nothing bone jarring , was enough to break something in it . Then once you take dash apart , you wonder how it was going to last anyway . I think the 4 wire relay that is in my picture , upper left , is the turn signal / flasher unit ??? Not home , but have been thinking , ( usually not a good idea ) , that I replaced the flasher relay once and that was what I replaced .

Looks Good .

Fred H.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Got all gauges installed and working. You can see where I cut out part of the old instrument panel to install the new gauges.


One issue that took me a while to figure out, is that the new temperature sending unit had different threads than the old one. After a visit to several places, I could not find the proper fittings, but I suddenly remembered there is a plug right next to the old sending unit. I removed that plug and the new sending unit fit right in. I then put the old sending unit back in it's place. See both the old and new in the pic below.

 

[bellzey]

Thank you for the post Fred H, but I have found a supplier who says he can get me a new TC33DA instrument cluster if I am willing to wait. It is expensive, but I would rather do that before doing the ol' cut, bend, grind and weld for a perfect fit. However, I appreciate your suggestion, and I may have to go that way. Bill E.