Fuel Gauge always shows full

[lightsandsirens]

Got a strange issue, possibly self inflicted
I swapped out my XLT cluster with a Platinum cluster a few days ago. I had done the forscan stuff and everything was working fine or so I thought. The day after the install, the cluster showed low fuel (fuel gauge was on E) and 0 distance to empty. I went and filled up, no issues the fuel level showed full and 500km DTE.

However, I have been driving around for a few days but the fuel level has not dropped. Shows full, but I've put over 300km on the car. The DTE does go down as I'm driving but at the next restart, it goes back to 500km.

Did I miss something at the set-up? I've read a few threads about the cluster swap and nobody has ever mentioned any issues with their fuel gauge post install.

On the weekend I will swap the original cluster back and see if that works and it's not an issue with the sender.
Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Got a strange issue, possibly self inflicted
I swapped out my XLT cluster with a Platinum cluster a few days ago. I had done the forscan stuff and everything was working fine or so I thought. The day after the install, the cluster showed low fuel (fuel gauge was on E) and 0 distance to empty. I went and filled up, no issues the fuel level showed full and 500km DTE.

However, I have been driving around for a few days but the fuel level has not dropped. Shows full, but I've put over 300km on the car. The DTE does go down as I'm driving but at the next restart, it goes back to 500km.

Did I miss something at the set-up? I've read a few threads about the cluster swap and nobody has ever mentioned any issues with their fuel gauge post install.

On the weekend I will swap the original cluster back and see if that works and it's not an issue with the sender.
Any help would be appreciated!

Does not seem likely to be the sender, if the unit was working fine before replacing the cluster.

Did you disconnect the battery while you were working on the cluster? Or maybe disconnect the battery now for a reset?

Good luck.

 

[lightsandsirens]

Does not seem likely to be the sender, if the unit was working fine before replacing the cluster.

Did you disconnect the battery while you were working on the cluster? Or maybe disconnect the battery now for a reset?

Good luck.

Thanks and yes I did while I was working on it but I haven't disconnected since the install. I will try that.

 

[lightsandsirens]

So far after the reset the gauge seems to be ok, at least it went down and it doesnt reset on turning the car on/off. I'll fill up soon and see if the problem comes back. Thanks Mr. Alligator!

 

[lightsandsirens]

Still strugling with this, when I reset the battery the fuel gauge corrected itself, dropped as it should. However when I filled up, the DTE went to 550km it would drop very slow, but then would go back up to 550 on Some startups but not all the time. Then it would drop but would show more than the actual fuel (my trip is at 400km but DTE would show 200+)

Just weird. I have to look at forscan not sure if there are any settings there. I'm guessing somehow the platinum cluster is calibrating DTE for a the 3.5 TT? According to google both the Platinum and XLT have the same fuel capacity so that may not be the issue.

 

[Project91Jp]

Have you swapped the clusters back? I had similar issues with my old altima. The fuel gauge wasn't reading resistance correctly. Nissan eventually had a fix for it, but I got rid of it before then.

 

[peterk9]

Still strugling with this, when I reset the battery the fuel gauge corrected itself, dropped as it should. However when I filled up, the DTE went to 550km it would drop very slow, but then would go back up to 550 on Some startups but not all the time. Then it would drop but would show more than the actual fuel (my trip is at 400km but DTE would show 200+)

...................................................................

Is that 400 km all highway driving? If so, the fuel usage would drop and the DTE would account for that.

Peter

 

[lightsandsirens]

Is that 400 km all highway driving? If so, the fuel usage would drop and the DTE would account for that.

Peter

Yes mostly, but Toronto area highway so mostly stop and go.... but the DTE would go from say 500 to 580 (yep...) and then it would slowly start to drop. However I noticed as the fuel gets lower, the DTE and Gauge starts to drop quicker (like the DTE would drop 4-5km for ever one I drove)

And yes I swapped the old cluster back for the weekend and it's fine. My next stop may be a dealership, I read somewhere on a google search that there is a firmware update that may solve this.

 

[peterk9]

Yes mostly, but Toronto area highway so mostly stop and go.... but the DTE would go from say 500 to 580 (yep...) and then it would slowly start to drop. However I noticed as the fuel gets lower, the DTE and Gauge starts to drop quicker (like the DTE would drop 4-5km for ever one I drove)

And yes I swapped the old cluster back for the weekend and it's fine. My next stop may be a dealership, I read somewhere on a google search that there is a firmware update that may solve this.

I doubt that a dealership would do anything since this is a modification and dealers are therefore very hesitant to get involved. I believe it has to do with possible liability. There have been several such instances where dealers would not help out.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

I doubt that a dealership would do anything since this is a modification and dealers are therefore very hesitant to get involved. I believe it has to do with possible liability. There have been several such instances where dealers would not help out. Good luck and please keep us in the loop.

Peter

 

[Xeme]

Yes mostly, but Toronto area highway so mostly stop and go.... but the DTE would go from say 500 to 580 (yep...) and then it would slowly start to drop. However I noticed as the fuel gets lower, the DTE and Gauge starts to drop quicker (like the DTE would drop 4-5km for ever one I drove)

And yes I swapped the old cluster back for the weekend and it's fine. My next stop may be a dealership, I read somewhere on a google search that there is a firmware update that may solve this.

Did you figure this out? I just performed the cluster swap resulting with the same issue.

 

[lightsandsirens]

Did you figure this out? I just performed the cluster swap resulting with the same issue.

No not yet, interesting to see another swap having the same issue. I do have to take it to Ford for another issue, I will ask them to take a look but as Pete mentioned they might not touch it. That said, what I notice is as you get lower on fuel the gauge does start to show the correct level so at the very least it will tell you if you're low.

 

[peterk9]

Did you figure this out? I just performed the cluster swap resulting with the same issue.

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[Xeme]

No not yet, interesting to see another swap having the same issue. I do have to take it to Ford for another issue, I will ask them to take a look but as Pete mentioned they might not touch it. That said, what I notice is as you get lower on fuel the gauge does start to show the correct level so at the very least it will tell you if you're low.

Good to know. I am about 4 hours away from home, lol. I joined a facebook group ("Ford Explorers 5th Generation") -- I have seen it mentioned once or twice there, with no solutions.

 

[Xeme]

Thank you for the welcome!

Any updates on this? Someone pointed me here, but the sender unit option is only available in those pickups it seems --
How to use FORScan to adjust fuel tank size and DTE - FORScan forum

I really do not want to, but, I will consider putting the old cluster back in to see if there are any different values.

 

[Xeme]

Ok, I spent nearly the entire day on this... all settings were identical between the platinum cluster and my stock cluster. I went through every single hex code that I could find, even from other models. I went through other forums of people doing a swap with an equivalent cluster... and I ran into many dead ends with deleted information.

The only things I found helpful were here --
How-To: MKZ/Mondeo Instrument Cluster Swap
LIncoln MKX to Ford Edge Instrument Cluster Swap
(I used this spreadsheet to try to figure out what value the above threads were changing without success)

I got desperate... so I did this in FORScan 720-05-02 **** 15**

I have no idea what it does... but, it seemed to work. Of course, I have not refilled gas or anything yet... I am too tired. The backup plan was to try 720-05-02 **** 17**

Of course, I don't want you to brick your cluster based on what I said... if someone much smarter than I can figure out what I changed exactly, I would really appreciate knowing!

 

[lightsandsirens]

That's awesome Xeme, I will try it this weekend and let you know (Facebook group too)

 

[lightsandsirens]

So for those who have swapped the platinum cluster, you have to make a change to line 720-05-02 and replace the 5th and 6th digits with 15: **** 15** (** being unique to your vehicle)
The fuel gauge and DTE seems to be working fine now. Thanks to Xeme for digging up this info.

 

[utilitytristin]

So for those who have swapped the platinum cluster, you have to make a change to line 720-05-02 and replace the 5th and 6th digits with 15: **** 15** (** being unique to your vehicle)
The fuel gauge and DTE seems to be working fine now. Thanks to Xeme for digging up this info.

Is there anything on the temperature gauge? The gauge always says it's at operating temperature.

 

[peterk9]

Is there anything on the temperature gauge? The gauge always says it's at operating temperature.

Is that at first startup as well? There are a couple of threads about the gauge but they are older ones.

Temperature gauge question

Hi All, My temperature gauge sits in the middle when the car is warmed up, is that normal? The temp in my others cars has usually hovered a little over a quarter of the way up. Thanks

www.explorerforum.com

Normal operating temperature range

Am picking up my 2012 X today. Can anyone tell me what the normal operating temperature level on the gauge is? I noticed when I test drove it on Saturday that it was just below the half mark on the gauge. Thanks!

www.explorerforum.com

Peter