What happened to my fuel gauge?

[Uboat]

Hi,
My fuel gauge suddenly turned dead. The indicator lamp is still alive, but this doesn't help much as it goes red with a third of a fuel left.

I have found no errors on the wiring, and the earth contacts are ok. Any hints on what have gone wrong?

Ulf

[lycho]

Hi there, you might have a problem with the fuel sender inside the fuel tank - these were fitted with a plastic barrel and sometimes they seep in fuel and therefore are heavier because they are not properly floating.

When this happens, the fuel sender will indicate a lower amount of fuel in the tank than you have actually got which means you get the red flash indicator of nearly empty!

To rectify this, you need to remove the fuel sender unit from the back of the tank to check if it a barrel problem. If you can get your hands on another sender unit you can connect up the wiring to see if another sender unit gives you the right indication on the dashboard.

A replacement fuel sender unit is about ?70 (got mine from Paul Matty) but you must be careful to have minimal fuel in the tank before you remove the sender unit!

Hope that helps!

[yandy]

Hi there, you might have a problem with the fuel sender inside the fuel tank - these were fitted with a plastic barrel and sometimes they seep in fuel and therefore are heavier because they are not properly floating...

...A replacement fuel sender unit is about ?70...

Champagne's cheaper, and the cork does the trick nicely a day or two later. It even fits nicely into the original barrel if done carefully.

...but you must be careful to have minimal fuel in the tank before you remove the sender unit!

Park nose down on a steep hill (in gear, naturalement).

[Uboat]

Thanks, I sill have a look at the sender!