Fuel level sender

[Kris]

A few months ago the fuel gauge in my 80 started to behave a bit erratically until it stopped altogether. I've been driving around with no gauge and 5 litres in a can in the boot since then

At lunchtime today I disconnected the connector and bridged it and the gauge worked fine so I took the sender unit out to have a look. I put a multimeter across it and it worked fine (i.e. the resistance changed as the arm swung) but only if you applied some pressure the right way on the arm and not in its natural position. I'm guessing the contact that runs along the track is worn, I tried to make a better connection between the contact and the track but it made no difference.

The float was 1/2 full of a fluid. Is this how they are calibrated (are they all like it?). I couldn't see any holes in it for it to get in so I'm guesing it's not petrol.

I could do with a new one as I'm relying on watchng my mileage after I fill up and sometimes I misjudge it! If anyone has one, let me know