(G) Fiat Uno vacuum guage

Hi eveyone, i have recently purchased a Fiat Uno 60S 1987 model in excellent condition, having only travelled 86000km. My problem is the vacuum guage does not work. The sender unit on the bulkhead seems to be the problem. Any way of testing this. There is a wrecker here in Christchurch NZ who has heaps of Uno's and very cheap parts. Cheers and a Kiwi hi from me... Bryan.

Bryan,
Sorry I don't know the specifics of the vacuum transducer, but I have seen the one that you are talking about (it's mounted next to the washer bag on a wrecked Uno in Mal Simmond's yard, in Cambridge. Mobile 0274 952 415, www.fiatparts.co.nz)

I would imagine that it has a variable resistance similar to that of the fuel gauge sender. Try setting a multimeter to a 0-400 ohm range, and measure across the terminals, with engine stopped (zero vacuum would be the red end of the scale?) and engine running (high vacuum at idle would be the green end of the scale?) If both measurements appear to be open-circuit, step the multimeter up to a higher range and try again... and once you get to (say) 40000 ohms, I think it's safe to say that the sender (transducer, whatever...) is bung - Kiwi term! ;-)

Now this is all just guesswork so I could be way off, but at least you'll be able to get a replacement if need be (I don't think they're very common here, that's the dashboard with the QUARZO clock awkwardly perched above the level of the speedo?)

-Alex

Thanks Alex for your reply, and yes it is the model with the clock in the instument cluster. I have found the sender unit to be buggered and will contact the wrecker you mentioned. Thanks again.and this is a great forum for a great car. FIAT RULES!!!
Regards Bryan.