360 Challenge Fuel Gauge

I am a new owner of 360 challenge race car. The car is in excellent shape. Coming from my 3 pedal 360 Modena it takes a little getting used to the F1, but I'm sure I will appreciate it on track. I hope it is as enjoyable on track as my Alfa race car.

Here is my question: The car has been maintained most of its life by a Ferrari mechanic (used to be a challenge mechanic at one of the active dealerships), and he explained that the fuel gauge has never worked and he suspects they never did on the LCD display of the 360 challenge cars. They used a cumbersome (to me) method of draining the fuel after every session (via the quick disconnect on the right side coming out of the pump), and then refill 7-8 gallons for 30 min sessions. I have a hard time believing that the fuel gauge (just showing 0) on the display is not supposed to work. Before starting chasing a defect level sender or the like, I figured I would ask some of the 360 Challenge owners on here, whether your fuel gauges work? I plan to also run some endurance races with the car, and a fuel gauge would be very helpful.

Any pointers to workshop manuals for the 360 Challenge?

Thanks,
Jes

 

The parts diagram for the 360 Challenge does show a level sender - #3 in picture below (in the left tank - same part as the Modena and spider). However, can a 360 Challenge owner confirm they have a working fuel level gauge on the LCD display?
Thanks,
Jes
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Thanks! - that is useful information.

 

The impedance between pin 1 and 2 on the left connector (fuel level sender) on the left fuel cell reads infinite with almost empty tank and also after adding a few gallons. I will go ahead and replace the fuel level sender according to RayJohns excellent write-up:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=136116691&postcount=22
Seems worth the $115 for a new sender from Ricambi and a few hours.
Jes

 

Today a friend and I took the left fuel tank apart to put in the new fuel level sender that I picked up Friday. The fuel cell in the Challenge car must be quite a bit different inside compared to the street car (based on the description in the link above). The Challenge cell does not have a 1" slot for the float to ride in.

When I disassembled the top of the cell to pull the pump assembled with the level sender out, I found that the cell was filled with foam to limit fuel slushing. It was also clear it was not factory as the pieces were cut quite rough and had hand writing in English to identify location. It was also clear there was no way to pull the fuel pump assembly without pulling the foam. At that point I had to decide how important a working fuel gauge is to me, as I was certain I would not be able to insert the foam without the foam fouling the arm of the level sender. Well, I need a fuel level gauge, however inaccurate. So, the tedious task of pulling the foam through the opening with the pump assembly still partially installed began. With the foam out, it was relatively easy to pull the pump assembly. It was also clear that someone in the past had consciously sacrificed the fuel level gauge in the interest of having the foam - the arm and dial of the fuel level sender had been cleanly removed from the body of the level sender (and were not at the bottom of the cell) - all shown in the picture below.

With the assembly out, the new level sender was easily installed, and I thought it would be a breeze to complete. Boy, was I wrong... It was a nightmare to get the pump assembly aligned with the seat and gasket at the bottom and get free movement of the float. This was mainly because of poor access preventing a straight insertion of the pump assembly. Eventually, it went in and back together correctly, but the float cannot go all the way to the bottom - it hits and rests on the back of the cell when it is down to 5 liter on the gauge. I wonder if this is because the updated 360 sender was never really targeting the Challenge cars. However, the fuel level gauge now works, with the caveat of realizing that when the gauge hits 5 liters, there is probably 2-3 gallons left.

Some pictures below showing:
1. Pump assembly and all the foam
2. The amputated old sender
3. The new sender installed
4. My friend trying, trying, trying to get the pump assembly aligned - what a bear...

Victory at the end with a working fuel gauge, but no foam in cell... Just not compatible with the float. The whole thing took a little less than 5h... yikes. It would be a lot easier with the left fuel cell out of the car, but that did not look like a time efficient route as it appeared to require A LOT of disassembly and potentially still foul on the rear subframe, headers, etc.

Jes
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login