Most of us are plagued with random reading fuel gauges/senders.What exactly is the cause for this and while the tank is down is there any"fix" or rework that can be made on the sender or is it the dash gauge thats the culprit? Figured the question has been asked,but will be diving into the tank this winter and will be poking around to see if I can get away from the "perpetual 1/4 tank" reading.
Fuel sender question...
- Thread starter TURBOV8R
- Start date
turbofabricator
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2004
Do you have a Digital dash or analog? If digital, it might be the gauge, but it's probably the sending unit in the tank.
johnnyttype
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2007
there are 3 fingers/metal tabs that slide along another piece of metal that varies in resistance to indicate fuel level. the fingers can wear out over time and come out of contact, causing some very wrong readings! mine did this a few years back and my gauge needle disappeared behind the dash
then i got a brand new AC delco unit from my dealership for almost $300 i believe, with my discount, and now my needle is back to its semi-reliable readings again
then i got a brand new AC delco unit from my dealership for almost $300 i believe, with my discount, and now my needle is back to its semi-reliable readings again
salvageV6
Daily Driver
- Joined
- May 25, 2001
There are 3 metal tabs that hold the whole mess together, unbend them carefully without breaking them off and the resistance element which stays inside attached to the metal can, and contact on a heart shaped spring loaded device can be seen, the contact is on the arm for the float.
If the resistance element is unbroken and smooth and cleanable with electronics cleaner or alky. then do it.
As for the resistance element it is a simple metal contact on the end that can be burnished with the right tool and cleaned also with alky.
Then you might have to slightly bend each side of the spring to make it make better contact.
Use an ohm meter for the tests, and once you are satisfied it operates well when holding it together in your hands you can crimp it back together.
And make sure you test it again and operate it before using it after it's been crimped together.
The whole unit has some play in it since it operates in gas and works off the float, so again trying it in a tank with gas is also a good idea.
Sometimes they are a pain to get right which is why many are not working well on these cars.
If it's broken it should be obvious upon inspection and doing a resistance check.
If the resistance element is unbroken and smooth and cleanable with electronics cleaner or alky. then do it.
As for the resistance element it is a simple metal contact on the end that can be burnished with the right tool and cleaned also with alky.
Then you might have to slightly bend each side of the spring to make it make better contact.
Use an ohm meter for the tests, and once you are satisfied it operates well when holding it together in your hands you can crimp it back together.
And make sure you test it again and operate it before using it after it's been crimped together.
The whole unit has some play in it since it operates in gas and works off the float, so again trying it in a tank with gas is also a good idea.
Sometimes they are a pain to get right which is why many are not working well on these cars.
If it's broken it should be obvious upon inspection and doing a resistance check.
