2130 Fuel Gauge Connection

Since purchasing my 2130 about ten years ago I have managed just fine using a dip stick for a fuel gauge. But I recently bought a new Starhill Jawz tool for my endless privet war, and it is so much fun that I lost track and ran out of fuel for the first time ever. That experience has made me vow, "NEVER AGAIN!" Today I removed the fuel gauge sender to check it out. As I move the float up and down the resistance varies from 2.4 ohms at the bottom (about 60 degrees below horizontal) to 53 ohms as I raise it up to about 20 degrees below horizontal and then suddenly goes to infinity as I raise it farther. I don't know if that sudden change is correct, but does the range in the bottom (near empty) area seem reasonable?

I don't yet know if the meter is good. My service manual wiring diagram indicates that 12 volts goes to the plus side of the meter, and from the other terminal the wire goes to the terminal on the fuel sender. I assume the wire that was dangling from a screw on the sender just connects to a ground.
Correct?

The wiring diagram does not show a series resistor in the circuit. Does that mean that the meter itself has enough resistance to limit the current? I'm a little nervous about hooking it up, since 12 volts through 2.4 ohms would give about 5 amps. And if I add an inline fuse to protect the gauge and sender, what should I use?

Thanks,

Charlie
 
Since posting this I did some more checking. I still have not found a diagram that shows the correct hookup, and I have used every search term I could think or. My meter is labeled as an AL24187 / AL29294, and even including those numbers has not led me to a wiring diagram.

My meter had no wires connected to it. It has three tabs for connectors plus a larger tab. There was one marking with a ground symbol on the left, a +(plus) parking on the bottom right, and what looks like a "G" on the upper right. Based on the labels on the gauge it looks like the ground is pretty clearly the one I labelled in Green. I'm guessing that the Plus sign refers to +12 volts, and that it refers to the connector tab to its left that I labelled in Red. And I'm guessing the unmarked tab labelled in Blue should go to the sender. This assumes that nothing connects to the thick terminal labelled in Brown.


I connected the ground and +12 volts as described above, and then briefly touched the tab in blue to ground. The needle moved just slightly (not even to the 1/8 full mark). If my wiring assumptions are correct, then does this mean that the meter itself is defective? Or do I have the connections all wrong?
 
I wound up ordering a new gauge and a new sender as well. This has been a big improvement over the wood dowel I had been using since I bought the tractor. Running out of fuel just one time was a good lesson in false economy. :)
 

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