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93 Ford Explorer Sport-Gas Gauge not working

Z3CHYD

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City, State
Quarryville
Year, Model & Trim Level
93 Ford Explorer Sport
I just bought a 93 Explorer Sport 4.0 5-speed 2wd, and everything works perfect, but t he gas gauge doesnt work...I checked if there was a fuse for it, but I didn't find one. So what else should I check? I'm thinking the connections on the gas tank? thanks guys
 



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most likely the sender. factory makes the float out of brass and they develop little pin holes so it fills with gas and sinks to the bottom of the tank.
 






....it's time for all good pumps/sending units to goto heaven..."

being a 93 i'm betting that your float has just gone bad (brass,fills with gas and sinks)but if your truck still runs then the pump is still good of course .to replace the sending unit you have replace the pump ( they sell the sender by it's self but it's self ( hard to find...somewhat) but whenever this happens it's best to replace the entire unit ...pump and sending unit as a whole .

but this is all if the sending unit is bad ....maybe it's the guage but like i said 8 times out of 10 it's the sending unit ...how many miles on the odometer??? over a 150k ??? , if so then it's time to replace the pump .

you could try filling the tank about half full and have someone on the bumper in back hop up and down and watch the gas guage and see if it moves from fuel rolling around ,could be that the float is stuck but like with mine ( a 94) the brass float was filled and you could see a small pin hole from corrosion .

to check if it's the guage it's self thats the problem ,check the connection at the pump and see if your not just got a loose or bad / damaged connection ( located on the left frame rail past the shock and a little past the axle tube .the connection has a plastic keeper that holds it to the frame rail ( you'll need to remove that keeper to gain better accces to the harness)


search for pump replacement in the forum ...but i can tell you there are 2 methods for removeing the pump both have there up's and downs ( i lowered my tank when i did mine ...not that bad but it's got it's downside) .


whichever direction you take just remember one thing .....

BUY A QUAILITY PUMP.

i bought a chepo unit when i did mine and it's failed 3 days after i installed it so i had to go buy a name brand pump ( bosch ) and look into a pump that offers a lifetime replacement ...thats what the bosch is ( got it at advance auto) but regardless i had to do it twice .


goodluck :)

edit : looks like dillion beat me to it :rolleyes:
 






Thanks guys, I'm gonna drop the tank tomorrow at my friends garage and replace the float then, if thats the problem. the truck runs fine, just gauge not working lol when this is fixed then I can get into the "modding" lol
 






Thanks guys, I'm gonna drop the tank tomorrow at my friends garage and replace the float then, if thats the problem. the truck runs fine, just gauge not working lol when this is fixed then I can get into the "modding" lol

Srsly? Cause I was wondering about that possibility. Ran into a web site that sells brass floats for 20$. Didn't save the link though. Got to thinking about it more and wondered why not solder the hole? People will come on and say that's dangerous but why not drill another small hole to help empty the float, dry it out, then re-solder. I dunno, maybe the pin hole leak is too hard to find.

Save 80 - 100$
 






...now theres a thought ........ never really thought of doing that but if one figures that the float has gone belly up then the pump is not far behind so it just good to replace it while you have it all apart and only have to do it once .

but good idea really tho .....i kinda did the same thing with the fog light switch in the dash .....got the lights to work but the light that is in the switch was shot and did not come on when the system was active .

so instead of shelling out $20-30 for a new one i took mine apart very carefully and with the donation of of a small light bulb out of a standard lit rocker switch ( same bulbs btw ) i re-soldered the new bulb onto the pc board inside the switch and now it works like new again .saved me money but i was out a spare rocker switch in the process .
 






...now theres a thought ........ never really thought of doing that but if one figures that the float has gone belly up then the pump is not far behind so it just good to replace it while you have it all apart and only have to do it once .

but good idea really tho .....i kinda did the same thing with the fog light switch in the dash .....got the lights to work but the light that is in the switch was shot and did not come on when the system was active .

so instead of shelling out $20-30 for a new one i took mine apart very carefully and with the donation of of a small light bulb out of a standard lit rocker switch ( same bulbs btw ) i re-soldered the new bulb onto the pc board inside the switch and now it works like new again .saved me money but i was out a spare rocker switch in the process .

Love a good repair done with ingenuity, oh hell yeah.:D

Always a gamble when you get a used vehicle, don't know what repairs have been done. I'm banking on the pump having been replaced before 155K. In case it hasn't' been I've been using the trip OD as a gas gauge.
How many 100$ items does one wanna buy. I want auto locking hubs but not at 200 each.
 






so let me ask this.... 92 sport fuel gauge AND eng temp guage not working. two different probs or do you think its something behind the inst cluster? it has 202,000 miles on it and i just bought it with these quirks so i dont really know too much of the history other than i had to gut the interior cause of dirt. guess it was used as a rural mail truck for a while.
thanks!
 






Just replace the pump assembly. You will wish you did when you are dropping the tank again to fix a bad pump in 6 months. You are also best to go with quality parts. I always try to use motorcraft stuff. Especially when its comes to sensors and eletronic stuff.

Most shops will not weld/solder/heat on any fuel components even when cleaned, and for good reason. Gas tanks will still smell of fuel even when chemically cleaned. Honestly i think you would have more time in it than its worth. But, whatever works for ya.

- hollywood- As far as your gauges, you might want to pull the cluster and see if there is damage to the printed circut on the back side. You may have lost a ground. I never have liked how they connect the gauges to the harness. Its kind of easy to damage it if your are not careful removing it, especially since its easy to get mad when removing the damn thing. But, start simple make sure the connections at the sensors are good first.
 






yea i was thinking the same thing as far as the pump and pulling the cluster but here's an update on the problem..... so i unhooked the battery to clean the terminals and clean some of the sad ford wiring and when i re-connected the battery the fuel guage worked as i turned the key to the "on" position, as soon as i turned the key all the way to "start" the truck it went back to empty as usual. might have a short is what im thinkin. gonna check the connection to the fuel pump in the rails today so ill let ya know what i find.
also on the temp guage im gonna trace the wires from the therm housing and see if its even connected then im gonna pull the cluster.

thanks again for all the help!
 






Any updates here?

My 93 also has a bad temp gauge, and the fuel level gauge is not functional.

Now, the funny part is when the one wire temp sender is connected, the ecm will throw a 160 code.

However, due to engine and harness replacement the sender and harness have been eliminated as the cause.
When I disconnect the one wire sender the 160 code will not appear.

The temp gauge reads warm when cold-( approx 1/4" into the scale) and reads very hot when warmed up. The thermostat is brand new.

Seems to me the problem is in the cluster? It seems the ecm uses the cluster for temp reference, instead of the ect sensor? This is strange to me.
 






Any update on this problem i share the same problem... and just recently I noticed that when i start the ex after a few hours the gas gauge will go up to halfway then drop down 5 minutes later
 






My gas gauge quit workin one day then went back to working about 2 weeks later. replaced the sending unit and it still dont work. i can fill it up and the gauge shows a quarter tank. then when it gets down to a quarter it will drop to empty. traced wires and everything and couldnt find any other problems. when my gauge goes to droppin i know its time for some liquid gold.
 












Nope. It was not the cluster--

15 ohms at the sender plug, even when full

I was at the Junkyard today and saw a fuel sender laying on top of a fuel tank inside a 1st gen
I brought it home, and found what causes them to fail.

The sender will come apart, and, inside is a 2 fingered prong contact which rotates against the metal backing plate. This is the ground path for the sender.

Probing it with a meter showed it was opened, in all positions.

I took it all apart and sandblasted the backing plate. ( sandpaper would work also)

I then re assembled it and sprayed electronics parts cleaner inside, blew it out with air and sprayed it down again, right through the cleaning hole which is provided in the plastic housing

now I have a smooth operating sender. :D It rises up the resistance scale with no flickers from my meter.


I heated the float with a propane torch, brushed on some flux and soldered the tiny holes closed. There is a product called "seal all" which I will coat it with also just to be sure.

You may call me cheap, but I have a total of about 25 minutes into a good working sender. I am broke, and I recycled a part. Hopefully. :D
 












update:
I finally got my sending unit out while it was up on jacks for a slave cylinder/throwout bearing replacement. I turned the sending unit upside down to shake the float and see if i could hear sloshing sounds. yep, sounds like it. Noticed the float is a clip on (cool) pulled it off, shook it again. Yep, there's liquid in it and it's too heavy for an empty float. Now where is it leaking?


Shaking it would show a wet spot but not a clear and definite exit spot. Wiping it with a paper towel and tilting the float at different angles gave me a good idea where but the wet spot quickly covered a quarter inch area. So I took the probe end of my test light and started gentle probing for a soft spot. Found it. be real gentle at this point. Didn't take much to put a 1/16th inch hole in it. (If you watch the wet spot form you can get a really good idea where the hole is)

A bit of compressed air in the hole helped the gas exit the float.

Some fine emery cloth for some cleaning, Some flux from sweat soldering, but my pencil soldering iron wasn't enough heat. So I further heated the S-iron tip with a propane torch. The solder flowed good like sweating copper lines so I'm confident it will hold.
 






1993 fuel gauge

Got a "gift" from my daughter...1993 Explorer...5k later...it is in good shape...except for the fuel gauge...When I turned it on, it went to Full, then gradually fell to empty...Soon thereafter, my fuel pump went out. Replaced the pump and sending unit with no change in the gauge. Then i discovered the term, anti-slosh module. As it turns out, its proper term is instrument cluster amplifier. It is a little circuit board about 2"x2" that has about $5.00 worth of parts and as of 7/1/11 was still sold by Ford for $100.00. I Bought one, removed the instrument cluster, took the old one out of the left side rear of the cluster panel and plugged the board in, and "Voila" It's Alive"...

Now on to the abs brake light...I changed the sensor, its still lit...any ideas?
 









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most likely the sender. factory makes the float out of brass and they develop little pin holes so it fills with gas and sinks to the bottom of the tank.

This was my exact problem. I took out the sending unit, and was able to solder the holes.

1. Sand the entire float with fine sandpaper. This will help you find the cracks, and help the solder stick.

2. After draining all the gas, use a magnifying glass or strong magnifying glasses to see the cracks, there will probably be more than 1. They tend to crack where the groove is that the gauge attaches on. You should be able to see the wetness.

3. Heat the whole thing with a lighter, or torch first before soldering. This is so it will be cooling down while you are soldering, so the solder will be drawn into the cracks. If you don't expanding gasses will bubble your solder.

4. Submerge the float in gas for at least an hour when you are done to be sure you did not miss any cracks.
 






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