89 Fuel Gauge Woes
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: Newport News Virginia
89 Fuel Gauge Woes
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Have an 89 cpe. with 70K. Fuel gauge seems stuck on full. Range/Avg. Mileage readouts seem wacky (won't stabilize) ex: range climbs as high 600 miles then drops. Just removed, cleaned and reinstalled cluster. Looks like sending unit? Maybe? Help!!!!!!
Have an 89 cpe. with 70K. Fuel gauge seems stuck on full. Range/Avg. Mileage readouts seem wacky (won't stabilize) ex: range climbs as high 600 miles then drops. Just removed, cleaned and reinstalled cluster. Looks like sending unit? Maybe? Help!!!!!!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 7,839
Likes: 22
From: San Diego, Ca
Sending unit varies electrical resistance as a means of conveying fuel level. 90 ohms is full, 45 ohms is half and 0 ohms is empty. To test the display and wiring, ground the sensor signal or purple wire at the tank (pink at the cluster), display should read empty. If it does, verify the ground is good by jumpering purple to black. If that reads empty, the contacts in the sending unit are probably faulty and there was a recent post about how to clean them. There was also a recent post wherein the high sulphur content in Shell gasoline at certain Florida stations destroyed the contacts and Shell is/was accepting claims for the cost of a new unit (about $300) from those who can verify a purchase at the contaminated outlets. Out of curiosity (and because mine was seemingly stuck on full), I did a Google search and found that these claims were quite prevalent throughout the US and Canada, with the Canadians recently participating in a class action settlement with Shell. I also found complaints in Ohio and in some of midwestern States. Though I don't use Shell gas, I now have a 2nd vehicle acting up, so I think I'll do a little more checking.
Drifting
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 1,478
Likes: 3
From: Sacramento, CA Money can't buy happiness - but it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than a Yugo.
Frizlefrak has an excellent write-up in the C4 Tech Tip section on repairing the fuel sending unit yourself. He also has a version in Word that includes his very helpful picturs as well. Do a search for his post with the pics from a couple of months back. It is an easy job and requires no specal tools.
