Gas Gauge
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 6,007
Likes: 2
From: Manteo NC
Gas Gauge
Here is an odd question about the gas gauge. I don't know if I have a problem or not? I was traveling on the local highway about 65mph to 70 mph and my DIC said I had 85 miles to go on the tank of gas. A couple of miles later it then told me I was on my reserve fuel!! Does the car burn fuel that quickly or is it possible that something is wrong?
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,550
Likes: 6
From: Now in God's Country, the Big Sky, Montana!
Cruise-In 7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12
It is probably the sender on the pump. Your first course of business would be to stop at Chevron and pick up a bottle of Techron. This will sometimes cure the problem. If that doesn't work you may need to replace the sender.
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,340
Likes: 24,779
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Techron can also be bought at stores like Wal-Mart or most auto parts places.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 486
Likes: 1
From: Houston TX
I normally average 18-20 mpg on mixed driving. That gets me around 268-280 miles per tank per week before I get gas. My reserve gas warning appears usually when the car has a range of 60 miles. Hope this helps.
- Wisdom
- Wisdom
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 9,420
Likes: 8
From: Southern New Jersey, The wet part at the bottom
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10
I've used both and prefer Seafoam. Fuel gauge problem is over 3 years ago and counting. A good practice to help prevent gauge problems is to keep the tank full, not below 1/2 as this help to keep the sender in gas and not in vapor where it is prone to oxidation.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 922
Likes: 1
From: Thousand Oaks CA.
A good practice to help prevent gauge problems is to keep the tank full, not below 1/2 as this help to keep the sender in gas and not in vapor where it is prone to oxidation.[/QUOTE]
I use a bottle of Techron every 6 months and always make sure the tank is at least 3/4 full, if I am parking it over a couple of days.
I use a bottle of Techron every 6 months and always make sure the tank is at least 3/4 full, if I am parking it over a couple of days.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 87
From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Here is an odd question about the gas gauge. I don't know if I have a problem or not? I was traveling on the local highway about 65mph to 70 mph and my DIC said I had 85 miles to go on the tank of gas. A couple of miles later it then told me I was on my reserve fuel!! Does the car burn fuel that quickly or is it possible that something is wrong?
I'm not sure you even have a gauge problem. Fill it up and compare the DIC fuel use with a manual calculation. Also check that the gauge performs normally. If its misbehaving it'll probably drop to zero even though you have plenty of gas. The other symptom that I had was that the gauge went up to 3/4 after a fill up and slowly crept up to full.
Techron is a good fix though and it won't harm to put a bottle through the system in any case.
As an aside, I normally don't let the contents fall below 1/4. Just old fashoned I guess but crud through the engine from the bottom of a tank is not good.
Last edited by DeeGee; May 4, 2007 at 03:17 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,234
Likes: 4
From: All that glitters is Gold - Hockey Is CANADA'S game
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Cruise-In VII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05-'06
Techron did not work for me. I am throwing a P1432 code, if you have the same code just reset the code.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,053
Likes: 2
From: "Man been singin' the Blues, since he began to till the ground"...Vancouver, USA WA.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,783
Likes: 15
From: Hurricane Alley
I have been filling up at Chevron ever since I had the problem, about four years ago, and it has worked so far. Dont bother replacing your sending units. It will cost you several thousand dollars to do that and they will still end up getting clogged up again. Best thing to do is use Techron or Seafoam.
