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Paul Bennett · 07-09-2017, 07:37 PM

It would seem most posters have their own way of thinking how electricity works and how gauges fit into the equation. I could quibble but won't. What it boils down to is interesting and I do hope JSeary is able to recover from his seemingly futile attempt to educate the troops but not so futile, really.

Ford gauges boil down to politics and economics to which we are not privy. Some of the history we do know.

Ford applications of 'Gas Level' 'Oil Pressure' and 'Temperature' do NOT use d'Arsenval movement gauges but THERMOSTATIC gauge which, as JSeary has tried to point out, is different. This undoubtly stems from:

Resistance senders were considered hazardous early on because the armature must transition from one coil to the next. So Ted Smulski invented and patented the thermostatic gauge system, which is odd considering the sender must open and close a set of terminals in the flammable fluid.

Ted's patent used the term 'thermostatic gauge' - it was assigned to Anderson Corp who contracted King-Seeley to manufacture gauges/senders. The patent claims was 'compact, convenient, duragle and not sensitive to voltage'. The Oil Pressure and Temperature gauge applications tagged along soon afterwards.

Ironically, a year after the Smulski patent, Joe Zublaty was granted a patent on a resistance gauge because the flamability nature of gasoline was found not a danger with a resistance sender. A galvanometer or ohm meter was used for the readout.

King-Seeley filed for a resistance gauge patent in 1954 obviously with knowlege of Ford's conversion to 12v. I've heard Ford switched to resitance fuel gauge in 1955 for one year switching back until 1980 but can't confirm it.

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07-09-2017, 07:37 PM	#49
Paul Bennett Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 628	Re: How Ford Gauge Unit Work It would seem most posters have their own way of thinking how electricity works and how gauges fit into the equation. I could quibble but won't. What it boils down to is interesting and I do hope JSeary is able to recover from his seemingly futile attempt to educate the troops but not so futile, really. Ford gauges boil down to politics and economics to which we are not privy. Some of the history we do know. Ford applications of 'Gas Level' 'Oil Pressure' and 'Temperature' do NOT use d'Arsenval movement gauges but THERMOSTATIC gauge which, as JSeary has tried to point out, is different. This undoubtly stems from: Resistance senders were considered hazardous early on because the armature must transition from one coil to the next. So Ted Smulski invented and patented the thermostatic gauge system, which is odd considering the sender must open and close a set of terminals in the flammable fluid. Ted's patent used the term 'thermostatic gauge' - it was assigned to Anderson Corp who contracted King-Seeley to manufacture gauges/senders. The patent claims was 'compact, convenient, duragle and not sensitive to voltage'. The Oil Pressure and Temperature gauge applications tagged along soon afterwards. Ironically, a year after the Smulski patent, Joe Zublaty was granted a patent on a resistance gauge because the flamability nature of gasoline was found not a danger with a resistance sender. A galvanometer or ohm meter was used for the readout. King-Seeley filed for a resistance gauge patent in 1954 obviously with knowlege of Ford's conversion to 12v. I've heard Ford switched to resitance fuel gauge in 1955 for one year switching back until 1980 but can't confirm it. .