I just bought a 83 in pretty good shape, but the fuel gage is pretty messed, if it works at all it only moves up about a quarter of the way on a full tank, but most of the time it doesn't work at all. Any sugestions on what i can do, and what kind of money it will set me back?

Rotary For Life!
Thanks alot guys

 

the sending unit might be messed up. i know mine was when i got my car. Drop the fuel tank and you can get to it. Its on top. They are ridiculosly expensive new. 80+ us dollars. So you would be best off looking in a junk yard. and while your back there you should change the fuel filter if you havnt done so already. and look in the gastank to make sure its clean. Sometimes they fill with rust if they sit a while.

 

This AM I just got my '85 SE back from the dealer who had to replace the fuel tank, fuel guage, and fuel pipe. The tank had rusted and thru a hole and was slowly leaking. I was first tipped off by the fuel guage (then the constant gas smell in back) that would not exceed about 85% full when the gas tank was just filled.

 

You can pull the sender without dropping the tank by removing the plastic shield that's behind the left rear tire.

 

Check the wiring outside the tank, Id imagine you have a bad connection, could be possible the float assy is bad tho

 

The sending unit on my '80 is accessible without dropping the tank, are the sending units located in a different spot on the FBs?
Also, are you sure it's the sending unit and not the gauge itself? The sending units are more often than not the source of the problem, but without testing the gauge itself, you're shooting in the dark. If it IS the gauge and you drop the tank, well...
Disconnect the two wires at the sending unit and short them momentarily while an observer watches the gauge in the car. It should blast up to "full" on the gauge. Over time, the resistive element that the wiper in the sending unit rides on gets a coating on it which changes it's resistance and makes the gauge display inaccurately.
One more tidbit: When the wiper moves over the resistive element due to a momentary change in fuel level, it can (and does) ARC inside the tank. What keeps the tank from blowing up is the action of the tank purge line keeping the tank in an air-starved (over-rich) condition. -WG

Jeez, two people posted since I started writing this, I really should learn to type faster.

 

That happened to mine at the start of the winter but i had it in the garage for a couple weeks for repairs and when i drove it out it worked and now it doesnt it could be something to do with the cold.