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How to - Fix the Inaccurate Fuel Gauge (.pdf)


SteveW

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The contact cleaner was £3 I think so it's not special. Any car shop or DIY place should sell it.

 

Yeah, it's finding it here, most people look at you with an honest-to-God blank look on their face, including the place i found it at! :headhurt:

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  • 4 weeks later...

What a fantastic guide! Thank you SteveW for taking the time to do this step by step.

 

I had a similar issue, under a quarter tank the needle and electronic read out were jumping all over the place. One minute 80miles, ----- the next!

 

Followed this guide to a T and fixed my issue! 90 odd miles back in my tank and going down slowly!

 

Only problem is, once i had put the sub and cover back, car wouldnt start and petrol gauge didnt seem to be fixed. Slightly miffed to say the least. Took the sub back out and the tank cover off....i hadnt connected the pump back up to the loom! :bangin:

 

Again, Thank you! :thumbs:

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  • 2 months later...

Well sadly the fix only lasted 8 months and has now gone mad again.....

 

So I need a new sender but not sure which one....... Time to experiment I feel

 

 

***update after 8 months I thought I was having issues but it seems I am not. I moved house and now my journey to work is very short. This moved coincided with the fuel gauge behaving oddly when in actuality it was due to my overall mpg dropping. So now December 2012 the gauge is still working after cleaning the senders.****

Edited by SteveW
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  • 2 months later...

Wow what a comprehensive guide Steve, i own an '04 and although i've yet to encounter this problem its great to have the knowledge to be able to fix it rather than hand over my hard earned to a workshop and run the risk of 'well it took us four hours to find the fault sir'. :rant: A brilliant job well done. :teeth:

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  • 1 month later...

Welcome.

 

Good luck fixing it.

 

Just as further information I recently found in the service manual a procedure for checking the resistance between the terminals on the senders and it tells you the correct resistances you should see when moving the float from full to empty.

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

I just finished doing this. I found the guide very usefull and the job was very simple to complete. I found the fuel pump sender was dirty and the other side clean. I've straight away got a quarter of a tank rather than nothing. Thank you for the guide.

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  • 2 months later...

Right update time. Sender has now gone mad again.

 

After filling up and driving 160 miles I was told 3 DTE then after driving 240miles it now says 34DTE and everywhere in between from - - - - to 70DTE.

 

Either time for another clean or a new unit. May have to be a clean until I've bought a house.

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