broken fuel gauge????
03-06-05, 12:40 PM
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broken fuel gauge????
guys as i posted about 2 weeks ago i hit a deer well on impact the only thing that quit working was the fuel gauge ....every other guage is working like it should ...well as the weather is nice this week i think im going to try and tackle this. im just looking for some input on where to start first what to check last and inbetween ... so if you have had this problem or can give me a heads up on what to look at i would apreciate it.
note im not the best with working in cars so work with me guys ....thank you
note im not the best with working in cars so work with me guys ....thank you
03-06-05, 01:00 PM
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my fuel light comes on and i got half a mile tops lol .... or i would prolly just be lasy and use that if i had like 10 miles or somethin ......right noww i just top off the tank about twice a week ...due to driving the car alot to break in the moter
03-06-05, 08:37 PM
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I was driving and I noticed that I was low on fuel and my light was about to kick on, you know slowly fading on, and then it truns really bright, like it had no gas at all, so I got gas and now the light won't shut off. I am pissed cuz last week I fixed the Brake light
if anyone could help it would be great, I think ther must be a seperate sensor for the light. other than the gauge, so would I have to get one at the junk yard, or buy one new?
if anyone could help it would be great, I think ther must be a seperate sensor for the light. other than the gauge, so would I have to get one at the junk yard, or buy one new?
03-06-05, 08:46 PM
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login....what part of the gauge does not work. It just sits on zero????????? Or does it ???? that question is not silly. Some gauges will read full when you fill the tank up but drop to zero after just thirty or so miles. In that case it's almost always the sender in the tank.
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03-06-05, 09:01 PM
#8
If you want to check the guage it self, there is a simple visual test. you do, however you need to remove the instument cluster. Once that is out, look at the back of the guage itself. You will see tiny white wires wound around 2 bars. If there is any discoloration, i.e. brown or black on the wires, the the guage itself is at fault. I've found this to be the case with a couple of oil pressure guages.
This may be simpler than removing the sending unit from the tank. If the guage checks out, then proceed to the connections on the tank. Check for corrosion and or broken wires. Clean them thoroughly and check the guage. If it is still not working, check for continuity in the circuit, if that passes, it's time to pull the sender.
This may be simpler than removing the sending unit from the tank. If the guage checks out, then proceed to the connections on the tank. Check for corrosion and or broken wires. Clean them thoroughly and check the guage. If it is still not working, check for continuity in the circuit, if that passes, it's time to pull the sender.
03-06-05, 09:03 PM
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hailers ....it is reading empty as lo as the needle could possiablly go when i hit the deer the first thing i did was look at gauges and all were fine but fuel it was dead on e with over half a tank .....it hasnt moved in the 250 miles i have drove it since ...its dead??????
03-06-05, 09:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Skiles2070
I was driving and I noticed that I was low on fuel and my light was about to kick on, you know slowly fading on, and then it truns really bright, like it had no gas at all, so I got gas and now the light won't shut off. I am pissed cuz last week I fixed the Brake light
if anyone could help it would be great, I think ther must be a seperate sensor for the light. other than the gauge, so would I have to get one at the junk yard, or buy one new?
if anyone could help it would be great, I think ther must be a seperate sensor for the light. other than the gauge, so would I have to get one at the junk yard, or buy one new?
03-06-05, 10:01 PM
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Originally Posted by HAILERS
login....what part of the gauge does not work. It just sits on zero????????? Or does it ???? that question is not silly. Some gauges will read full when you fill the tank up but drop to zero after just thirty or so miles. In that case it's almost always the sender in the tank.
Mine did that and it wasn't the sender... it was the contacts behind the gauge itself. Not on the PCB, but rather where the posts touch the thin metal strip *right* behind the gauge face. They were dirty. A little scrubbing with a thin strip of sandpaper and the gauge has worked perfectly ever since.
A simple thing to check and a lot cheaper/less effort than replacing the fuel pump.
03-06-05, 10:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Amur_
Mine did that and it wasn't the sender... it was the contacts behind the gauge itself. Not on the PCB, but rather where the posts touch the thin metal strip *right* behind the gauge face. They were dirty. A little scrubbing with a thin strip of sandpaper and the gauge has worked perfectly ever since.
A simple thing to check and a lot cheaper/less effort than replacing the fuel pump.
A simple thing to check and a lot cheaper/less effort than replacing the fuel pump.
03-06-05, 11:11 PM
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A lot easier than digging out the fuel pump.
Adjust your steering wheel so it's all the way down, remove the 3 upper screws (you'll need a short Philips for that) and the two lower screws, one each beneath the headlight/wiper switches. You'll find 2 or 3 on each side in those spots, but only one is holding the plastic to the dashboard; the other two are holding the switch in place. You'll figure it out.
Pull the plastic shell forward and unclip the four connectors - headlight switch, turn signals, cruise control and wipers. Take your time. Now tilt the top of the shell towards you and work it out until it pops free of the dashboard. Lift it right out of there and set it aside.
Four screws now, two on each side of the cluster. Try not to drop them.
Now the crappy part. Pull the cluster forwards. You'll find that it stops short on the (your) right side, but you're able to pull it further forward on the left. The problem is the speedo cable - you don't have much slack in there so you can't pull the cluster very far forward. If you have fat hands, this next part is going to hurt.
Get your hand in behind the cluster. You have 3 connectors to unplug. 2 are wiring plugs, the 3rd is the speedo cable. For the wiring plugs, there is a tab in the center of each that you must push upwards (you can sometimes feel it 'pop' when it's up enough) and then pull the plug off. The plug will be on there rather snugly, so you'll probably have to work it off. The next plug is the exact same thing.
One plug is white and one is black. Remember the order you took them off in so that you can put them back on the right group of pins.
And the speedo cable. The tab is in line with the cable. You'll be able to feel it. Hold the tab in against the cable and work the cable free.
Done. Now pull out the gauge cluster and turn it over. See all those screws on the circuit board? Ignore them for now. They're holding all of the gauges in place. They aren't holding the circuit board (PCB) to the casing. But the screws around the perimeter of the PCB are. So remove them.
Lift up and flip over the PCB. Find the guts of the fuel gauge. See the thin metal strip that's running diagonally across the backside of the gauge? See the metal post it's touching at one end. Cut a thin, narrow piece of sandpaper and use it to scrub a little at both the post and the metal strip where it touches the post. Be gentle, and don't sand the hell out of it - you want to clean them, not reshape them.
There may be another contact point back there - I think there is but I'm not sure. It was last fall when I did this.
You're done. Put it all back together. The speedo cable can be trickly to re-attach. Make sure that you hear/feel the connector click into place. Give the cable a couple of tugs, too. My own speedo cable popped off a little while after I did the re-install from this cleaning.
Is the fuel gauge working now? If not, maybe it was the pump after all...
Adjust your steering wheel so it's all the way down, remove the 3 upper screws (you'll need a short Philips for that) and the two lower screws, one each beneath the headlight/wiper switches. You'll find 2 or 3 on each side in those spots, but only one is holding the plastic to the dashboard; the other two are holding the switch in place. You'll figure it out.
Pull the plastic shell forward and unclip the four connectors - headlight switch, turn signals, cruise control and wipers. Take your time. Now tilt the top of the shell towards you and work it out until it pops free of the dashboard. Lift it right out of there and set it aside.
Four screws now, two on each side of the cluster. Try not to drop them.
Now the crappy part. Pull the cluster forwards. You'll find that it stops short on the (your) right side, but you're able to pull it further forward on the left. The problem is the speedo cable - you don't have much slack in there so you can't pull the cluster very far forward. If you have fat hands, this next part is going to hurt.
Get your hand in behind the cluster. You have 3 connectors to unplug. 2 are wiring plugs, the 3rd is the speedo cable. For the wiring plugs, there is a tab in the center of each that you must push upwards (you can sometimes feel it 'pop' when it's up enough) and then pull the plug off. The plug will be on there rather snugly, so you'll probably have to work it off. The next plug is the exact same thing.
One plug is white and one is black. Remember the order you took them off in so that you can put them back on the right group of pins.
And the speedo cable. The tab is in line with the cable. You'll be able to feel it. Hold the tab in against the cable and work the cable free.
Done. Now pull out the gauge cluster and turn it over. See all those screws on the circuit board? Ignore them for now. They're holding all of the gauges in place. They aren't holding the circuit board (PCB) to the casing. But the screws around the perimeter of the PCB are. So remove them.
Lift up and flip over the PCB. Find the guts of the fuel gauge. See the thin metal strip that's running diagonally across the backside of the gauge? See the metal post it's touching at one end. Cut a thin, narrow piece of sandpaper and use it to scrub a little at both the post and the metal strip where it touches the post. Be gentle, and don't sand the hell out of it - you want to clean them, not reshape them.
There may be another contact point back there - I think there is but I'm not sure. It was last fall when I did this.
You're done. Put it all back together. The speedo cable can be trickly to re-attach. Make sure that you hear/feel the connector click into place. Give the cable a couple of tugs, too. My own speedo cable popped off a little while after I did the re-install from this cleaning.
Is the fuel gauge working now? If not, maybe it was the pump after all...
Last edited by Amur_; 03-06-05 at 11:14 PM.
03-07-05, 01:01 AM
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thanks amur...... im sorry but i pretty much need somebody to hold my hand ...but hell at least ill admit it...lol
the tank wont be hard to get to we have been in it recentlly to check the fuel problem a while back so those nast screws have been tapped out and replaced .... if i need to go there what am i looking for???
the tank wont be hard to get to we have been in it recentlly to check the fuel problem a while back so those nast screws have been tapped out and replaced .... if i need to go there what am i looking for???
03-07-05, 01:23 PM
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Eet fase
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guys i have my fuel gauge out but i am not exactlly sure what i need to be trying to sand down ...it all looks real clean to me.........this is loquin23 btw im on acids computer right now
03-07-05, 08:04 PM
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Sorry, guy.
I went looking for my own spare gauge... and couldn't find it.
I didn't think it would be that hard to recognize things on the backside of the gauge.
Checking the pump - I suggest doing 2 things. Test it per the FSM (15-34, Fuel Tank Unit.)
And give it a visual inspection (duh.) On one old pump of mine, the little tab that the bobber/arm moved was broken right off. Zero signal, Major Tom.
I went looking for my own spare gauge... and couldn't find it.
I didn't think it would be that hard to recognize things on the backside of the gauge.
Checking the pump - I suggest doing 2 things. Test it per the FSM (15-34, Fuel Tank Unit.)
And give it a visual inspection (duh.) On one old pump of mine, the little tab that the bobber/arm moved was broken right off. Zero signal, Major Tom.
03-08-05, 01:52 AM
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i got every thing fixed tonight ....ended up pulling the pump played with the wires to find a short ..nothing then i pulled it out moved the arm around a little and now it is working ......... im assuming with the impact ...the gague must have "bottomed out" and got stuck but all is fine now .......thanks for all your help amur
03-08-05, 01:54 AM
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oh and it wasnt to hard to figure the gauge out i was just a little confused on if there was something i was missing cuz they all looked brand new .....sure didnt look 140k old .....oh well it works im happy
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