Gas gauge stuck on empty!

[rltarch]

My lovely 2005 XLT with 85k has just had a weird problem crop up - when I fill it with gas (ugh!) the needle stays on empty. Then very, very slowly - over many hours - it gradually works its way back up to "full".

Whassup with that??

 

[HiImBrian]

Try a fuel additive/cleaner before your next fill up. You may just have some sludge in there. If that doesn't work you'll probably need to drop your tank to clean it out and check the little float that measures the tank level.

 

[rltarch]

Thanks - I hadn't thought of that! Could end up being a cheap solution to the problem. Do you add that stuff to a full tank? Any preferences on brand?

 

[borland]

My 2002XLT has the same problem. Have driven with the problem for at least the last 90K miles. It's only slightly annoying, and not a serious enough problem to spend time or money on fixing.

At least the needle reliably moves up to 'full', and does run down as the fuel level goes down.

A fix would be to replace the fuel pump which includes the integrated fuel level sensor.

 

[HiImBrian]

Thanks - I hadn't thought of that! Could end up being a cheap solution to the problem. Do you add that stuff to a full tank? Any preferences on brand?

You add it to an almost empty tank right before fill up. I would just pick up a few bottles of seafoam and throw one in before your next few fill ups. One can does like 20 gallons. See where you're at after doing that a few times.


I would also recommend using respectable gas, not the cheap convenience store junk around the corner. Try to track down some ethanol-free gas and maybe switch to a higher octane (91-93). Where I'm at it's only $5 more per tank for 93 instead of 87. Definitely worth it in my opinion.

 

[ronwc]

additive

I've owned many Corvettes, and sticking and or non working gas guages were a common problem. A bottle of Techron was a well known fix and worked everytime for me. Add a bottle to about 16 gallons of gas.

 

[tower]

If you do a search you will find this to be a semi common problem, most will say to use a bottle or two of Techron.