j-wireman

First, THANKS goes to "Frizzlefrak" for his How-To on fuel pump removal and sender repair. Good job.


OK. So, I did all that. The contact was black. The ohms were all over the place. Put it back in the car (yes, with a new gasket), turned on the car, gauge immediately shows 1/2 tank, then shoots up to FULL. I think the resistor/rheostat is bad.

So...
Is it sold as a replacement?
If not, does anyone have a good one from a bad assembly I can have?
Or, do I have to buy a whole new (expensive) fuel pump assembly?

I have new injectors and a new filter coming and I would like to do the whole job in one shot before the snow flies.


Mike
'90 'vert

sailorsteve

There have been problems with erratic fuel guages due to ethanol in the gas. Some have had successfully cured this with a fuel additive, either Chevron Techron Concentrate PLUS, or the GM juice, fuel system treatment, p/n 88861011.

coupeguy2001

There is something that they don't tell you.
1. The rheostat is clipped together. The ground is precarious. You need to make the ground better on the sender.
I have done mine and a few friend's senders, and the problem is eliminated.
also use the Chevron techron in your gas to keep the wiper clean on your fuel sender every 6 months or so.

j-wireman

The sender's "winding (?)" was a mustard-yellow with a bare metal path, from the contact, I presume. Is that yellow a result of varnish from the gas? When I rubbed it with a Q-Tip, the end came out blackish-brown (dirt and varnish ?).

I don't know. I guess I'll just take it back out clean it better. Can I use throttle body cleaner or electrical contact cleaner on the winding?

Thanks for any help.


Mike

j-wireman

Well, I took it back out, inspected it (ground measures good), cleaned it again, re-installed it. Same old thing---gauge reads FULL. I haven't had any luck getting just the rheostat for it, so I'm just going to bite the bullet and get a whole new setup with new pump (it's 21 yrs. old!).

Any suggestions? GM ($500+) or aftermarket ($300)? Catalog, internet, NAPA?

jamieo

I took mine out and flipped mine around.Worked fine ever since.It doesn`t cost anything so it`s worth a try!

Jimbo 89

I found in my 89 that there was a break in the windings (I used magnifying glass)
I went to C4 parts, started thread looking for one and got one, took it apart and just used piece with windings (tested to make sure it worked first) replaced and problem solved.

jamieo

Glad you got it fixed!