Another "gas gauge" problem

[shamaal]

Let's see how this works, the gauge fuse is #17.

 

[djbiker27]

i also seem to have a fuel gauge problem. after i fill up the fuel level drops at a rapid rate and i have to fill up again!



well i hope you find out whats wrong man

 

[gsmaclean]

well, I'm reading about 150 ohms on my sending unit's plug-in on a full tank of gas, and I'm reading the same on the plug-in at the firewall. So my problem is between the firewall and the gauge itself. I'm thinking it's the gauge itself, which reminds me I need to check my bid on Ebay I bypassed those wires along the gas tank and the chasis. I run new wires from the sending units plug-in to the front of the gas tank, before I thought to check the plug-in at the firewall........

Does the gas gauge have a fuse?? or anything other than wires?...... I tried clicking on your link their, and I"ll keeeep trying, but it wont pop up.....

Thanks for reply, BTW

Tried sending you these via email with no success. Hopefully they will help you out - they are from the Ford service/diagnostics CD.

 

[gsmaclean]

I pulled out the back seats today, pulled the carpet back, did some measuring, and cut the floor open with my grinder. I suspect you have a 2-door Explorer, as mine was in a different location than your photos showed it to be. I started with the grinder, but it was a little too inaccurate, so I switched to using my air chisel, which cut through the sheet metal like a knife through butter, and very accurately.

Once I had the top of the fuel sender exposed, I spent about an hour attempting to get the fuel connections to release, with no luck whatsoever. The fuel lines on the sender unit were rusted so badly that the releases no longer work.

I duct-taped it all back together for now, and ordered a new sender unit from rockauto.com. When it arrives, I'll cut the old one out, transplant the fuel pump to the new sender assembly, and put it in. Fingers crossed!!!

Thanks for all the help, Todd!

 

[todd_adams2001]

Anytime man!!! Beats droppin' the tank, huh..... Yea, I had a time with my couplers too. I had to clamp vise-grips on there and beat'em off. Destroyed the "retaining clips" that goes back inside the coupler, but you can buy a pack w/6 of those for 'round five bucks, I believe. Also, on mine, there's no way of getting those two fuel lines crossed. One is a little bit bigger than the other.

Ooh yeah, check on Ebay for a sending unit. I got one there, week before last brand spank new for 58.68 and advance in town was asking 124.00 for theirs.....I've narrowed my problem down to the firewall plug-in and the instrument cluster. I believe my gauge itself, is bad......(cluster)

I've checked all my fuses and those little silver relays or whatever they are, like #17 is showing, and I'm reading continuity via all of them in my fuse panel.....I don't know.......I haven't fooled with it for a day or sooo, tired of looking at it shammal, I appreciate the help/replys Alot though......

 

[shamaal]

gsmaclean posted a good diagram and troubleshooting guide. The silver relay things (F17) are actually thermal circuit breakers that rest themselves when the short's removed.

Good luck, and let us know what you find.

 

[gsmaclean]

Anytime man!!! Beats droppin' the tank, huh..... Yea, I had a time with my couplers too. I had to clamp vise-grips on there and beat'em off. Destroyed the "retaining clips" that goes back inside the coupler, but you can buy a pack w/6 of those for 'round five bucks, I believe. Also, on mine, there's no way of getting those two fuel lines crossed. One is a little bit bigger than the other.

Yeah, I figure I'll take the air chisel to the old ones (the lines on the sender), then do what I have to to get them out. Same on mine - fuel lines are different sizes, one for source, one for return.

Ooh yeah, check on Ebay for a sending unit. I got one there, week before last brand spank new for 58.68 and advance in town was asking 124.00 for theirs.....I've narrowed my problem down to the firewall plug-in and the instrument cluster. I believe my gauge itself, is bad......(cluster)

I ordered a new one from rockauto.com for $63. I find they are consistently the lowest price for parts that I have found online, and their shipping is FAST - one or two days, usually.

 

[gsmaclean]

Well my sender arrived from rockauto yesterday, so last night I went at replacing it. I cut the fuel lines on the old sender with a big set of diagonal cutters - I didn't want to chance causing a spark using the air chisel. I spent about half an hour trying to get the remnants of the first pipe out of the connector before deciding to drill it out. I started using progressively larger and larger drill bits, until - wouldn't you know it - it popped right out, onto the drill bit. The fitting was undamaged, save for the little clips inside. I used the same drill technique on the second one and had it out in about a minute. I pulled the clips out and will replace them today after I go buy some new ones ($5 at NAPA). I spent a fair amount of time cleaning the rust and crap out of the fuel line fittings.

I cut the wires on the old sender, then tried moving the retaining ring on the old sender, but even after copious amounts of PB Blaster, it didn't budge, so I took the air chisel to it, cutting it in half on one side, After that it just popped right off, and the old sender came out.

As I suspected, the float on my old sender was completely full of fuel.

I removed the filter from the fuel pump (THAT was a ***** to do), transferred the fuel pump to the new sender, installed the new filter, then installed it. I had to very gently bend the old retaining clips that hold the retaining ring in place to make sure they held the ring tightly. I tightened it up, connected the sender/pump wiring plug, and turned the ignition on - and for the first time ever, my fuel gauge shows something other than empty!

So all I need to do is install the retaining clips in the fuel line fittings, clip them onto the sender, then button everything up. I think I am going to get a piece of steel or aluminum or something and rivet it in place over the hole I cut in the floor of the truck to access the sender. I'll caulk around the edges or something to seal it properly.

Very happy that this worked, and I'm sure a lot less work than it would have been dropping the tank!

 

[todd_adams2001]

well, well, well, LOL................I'm happy for ya.....Wish I had that luck. Glad to hear ya got it solved..........yea, that strainer on the bottom of the pump is a PAIN lol...............From what I can gather, I believe my problem is a bad "anti-slosh module" ....yea, that's what it's called ...lol... I told them boys at work, and they horse-laughed me......it's that or either my gauge is bad.......Well, thanks for the update. BTW, I went to rockauto.com this morning and emailed them about the slosh module. he said that he knew what I was talking about, but didn't have one in stock yet. That's a great site, Thanks for mentioning it....well again, glad to hear ya got it workin'.

 

[gsmaclean]

well, well, well, LOL................I'm happy for ya.....Wish I had that luck. Glad to hear ya got it solved..........yea, that strainer on the bottom of the pump is a PAIN lol...............

Yeah, after trying for 5 minutes to finesse it off, I decided the best route was a big pair of pliers, and that's what ended up working in the end.

From what I can gather, I believe my problem is a bad "anti-slosh module" ....yea, that's what it's called ...lol... I told them boys at work, and they horse-laughed me......it's that or either my gauge is bad.......Well, thanks for the update. BTW, I went to rockauto.com this morning and emailed them about the slosh module. he said that he knew what I was talking about, but didn't have one in stock yet. That's a great site, Thanks for mentioning it....well again, glad to hear ya got it workin'.

Right, that's the damper module that keeps it from moving the needle up and down every time you hit a bump. I would guess it's just a big capacitor in there, and capacitors do die over time.

I got some sheet steel last night, spray painted it up to keep it from rusting, laid a thick bead of caulk around the outside of the opening that I cut, then riveted the steel down on top of it. Looks great, and it's air/water tight. Check another item off my "to fix on my Explorer" list. Thanks, Todd!

 

[pearsonbe]

Guys, I have a question. Is the float assembly separate from the sending unit? I bought my truck last year. The fuel guage did not work, so I had the guy replace the unit in the tank. Then the guage worked for about a week or two and died. My guess is that the float was not replaced and filled with gas.

 

[gsmaclean]

Guys, I have a question. Is the float assembly separate from the sending unit? I bought my truck last year. The fuel guage did not work, so I had the guy replace the unit in the tank. Then the guage worked for about a week or two and died. My guess is that the float was not replaced and filled with gas.

It's built onto the sending unit. The float itself can be snapped in and out of the sending unit. My float was filled with gas. The replacement one I put on is some sort of plasticy foam that can never fill with gas.

 

[pearsonbe]

ok, thanks.