I turn the key on, it goes up to the E position at most. I checked all my fuses. Any ideas?

Rich

 

simple............ wireing in an fc sux, connectors get old.

just like the clock and some other warning lights dont work. just like the wiper switch sux. just like the door open sensors die .

wireing goes bad....

 

cuase your out of gas

 

Ok, so do I clean the connections at the pump? Which wires are for the guage? Or do i need to get a new sending unit? I just want to be able to monitor my fuel levels. I have about 10 gallons in it now, and have been judging by the mileage but Id much rather be able to see it.

 

Or a bad sender unit. Did this just start suddenly, or has it been messing up for a while.
Also, the door sender units go out? Never heard that one. Well, accept on my MX-3.

 

I am semi-reurrecting this thread because I have the same problem. Is this a bad sending unit? How can I check?

Mine actually ocassionaly reads correctly. When I filled her up it read full but now that I've been driving it around it dips way down as far as E or sometimes 1/4 of a tank. Any ideas / thoughts?

(This is my daily driver so I'd like to know how much fuel I have...)

iSP33D-for-J3SUS

 

I have your exact problem, i took out the pump unit and looked at the sending unit and it has a broken wire, it's a coil and it broke. They're expensive so I'm going to see if I can find one from a junkyard.

 

*sigh* All my money goes into fixing what needs fixing to keep my 7 on the road so I never have left over cash for fun mods... boo...

iSP33D-for-J3SUS

 

I have the same problem, I checked all connections and they are fine and I just changed the fuel gauge twice, thinking that was the problem. I believe it is the sender unit. Aside from droping to empty after 80 miles, If my car is on a steep hill my fuel gauge will start to drop to empty from above the half way point, but never return to the original reading when leveled. So I would add 2 gal of gas and it would rise above "E" then drop. I ordered a sender unit a month ago, so when or if I recieve it i think it should fix the problem.

Edit/add: The sender units are expensive, but Im tired of guessing. It also buggs me to see everything else on my dash working except the fuel gauge reading empty..

 

Just an addition which may not be related.
I got "spirited" on the way back from Sevenstock on a U-turn and my fuel gauge cut out. It dropped down to E(not a good thing on a 300 mile trip )

Turns out I messed up the float or something and got it hooked on the little fuel retainer or something.

I got home and pulled the fuel pump and installed it in and it worked perfectly.

 

I've never taken a peek inside my tank... umm... could someone tell me how to get a look inside? (Aside from opening the door, unscrewing the cap and using a flashlight? :P ) I hope my float is messed up and it isn't the sending unit... otherwise... junkyard here I come!

iSP33D-for-J3SUS

 

You can't see into the tank without removing the fuel pump.

The removal is VERY easy too.

lift up the rear carpet
get a screw driver and undo the bolts to that oval silver cover.

Spray some PB blaster on the fuel pump bolts below for precaution(don't want to strip them).

Unscrew the 10+ screw holding the pump cover in place.

Get some pliers or vice grips and unhook the feed and return gas line(no smoking for this part!!)
Pull the pump out. It may need a bit of twisting and moving to get the assembly out.
Check it out. Make sure you still have a float and then reinstall.

That's pretty much what I did and it workded fine after.

 

I'm sorry for resurrecting this ancient thread but rather than me creating a new one and get yelled at by the mods for duplicates, I might as well. Anyways, instead of me guessing the problem with my fuel gauge, is their any other way for me to diagnose the issue other than to dig into the fuel sender unit or the wires?

I've already replace the wiring with the two pigtails that goes behind my cluster along with another cluster and nothing seemed to work. My water temperature gauge doesn't work as well and I have an S5 FC btw.

 

As for your temp sensor, look on the driver side of the motor and there should be a flat metal prong sticking out ( I believe it's above the trailing plugs). A wire should plug write onto it.

 

you should have made a new thread since your wiring has obviously been hacked up at some time.

for the coolant temp what you need to do is remove the cluster and check the resistance of the yellow wire from the cluster all the way to the sensor on the engine by the oil filter.
for the fuel level you need to do the same with the sending unit, though the sending units usually are frayed and beyond their lifespan at 150k miles which is where they begin failing.

 

Thank you guys! Although, I'm kind of scared about fiddling with the fuel tank but If I want something to work, work needs to be done to it right? But anyways thanks for the heads up you two. I'll check on the resistance on the sending units as well as the wires tomorrow since I found the amount of ohms that they should have on the FSM.

 

Be prepared.
Although both tanks I've opened came apart without drama, the forum abounds with horror stories about the bulkhead screws (not the access panel, those will be easy).

I can't recall if they are 4 or 5 mm but they're fairly small phillips head screws and it's easy to see how they could be horribly corroded. You may need an impact to break them free.
I replaced both sets with stainless hex heads to avoid future issues.

 

if the car lived mainly in california then the screws shouldn't be a problem.