Drove the car all week ~300mi. and all was good. Went on a New Years cruise to the beach this morning and about 20mi, into the trip ding ding Check Guages

I look and see it says I am out of gas It had 3/4 when I left, pull into the parking lot shut it down ( it was running OK I knew I had gas unless it leaked out) and I started it back up and the guage went back to normal. Anyone seen this happen before? I am flying blind havent gotten a FSM for this car yet but I figure I should at least check the plug to the sending unit can somebody guide me to it?
TIA

 

Common problem. Sticky sending unit. Add a bottle of Techron Plus concentrate to the gas tank. Might take a couple of tankfuls and bottles.

 

search; fuel gauge and/or Techron additive

 

I used Seafoam, let it sit for a week, problem solved.

 

Happened to mine when it was brand new... read about techron and have only used Chevron gas since. No more issues.

 

This is VERY common,,and Techron is used by most,,Seafoam is also popular!!

 

I will toss some seafoam in it but this happened as I was driving and the tank was never empty so how could it be sticking at empty and not just empty but below the "E". Seems to me it lost the signal. I used to only use chevron but early this year the pulled out of South Carolina. I believe in Techron and was a little miffed about it

 

Same on my '99. Did search on Forum xxyears ago. Only use Top Tier Fuel with Techron and have had no issues since. Shell, Chevron, Texaco

 

Same thing happened to be about a year ago. I added the Techron additive the next time I drove the care the gage was stuck on empty and the warning came on. I hit the reset anf in about 5 miles the gage returned to its proper level and all is well. Not a big issue to worry about.

 

Have no idea if this means anything but everytime I fill up, i reset the average mpg in the dic (which the owners manual says to do). I have used BP for the last 10 years, never used an addittive & never had a problem with the gauge. Like I said, don't know if that means anything, just thought I would throw that in.
Gregg

 

2 years and I haven't had the problem since

 

Thanks guys had some Seafoam in the garage and dumped it in we will see.... I have been reading Bill Curleys sticky over in tech about electrical issues WOW I thought C4's had some electrical gremlins but it looks like this car may be in a whole new class. Better get My FSM I guess. Some guys never got the Fuel working right reguardless of how many cans they dumped in the tank. As long as I know what it is and I have fuel I guess it doesn't matter.

 

I ordered my 2000 new and as I recall GM issued a TSB for this problem. Mine did the same thing, went from 3/4 tank to empty and back to 3/4 tank. I was on a long distance trip and it made me nervous. I took it in to the dealer they told me there was a TSB on it and they fixed it. I don't recall what the problem was. But I still put Techron in a couple times a year.

 

Yes it was at 3/4 of a tank seems to be a common spot for it to happen.

 

The sending unit actually doesnt "stick" it simply gets to a spot on the grid where there is a buildup and cannot read the resistance, so the indicator drops to empty.

 

Do that and see if it solves your problem. If so, then just be sure to add some Techron every so often to keep the sulfur from building up on the sending units.

 

thats what I figured it "lost " it's signal. Funny thing was when I went to fill it up it stopped filling just above 3/4 and then I get this hmmmm some coincidence?Yeah I know the filling issue is another common problem.

 

From a DeeGee post:

"The dead gas gauge is a common problem here. Normally the symptom is that it will fall to zero. In my case, the first time it happened I filled to full but the gauge showed 3/4 and slowly rose to full. I treated it quickly and it cleared. I've since had a "drop to empty" when I ran the tank low on one occasion.

You can see from this picture how the sender works. The floating arm runs over pick offs and depending on the amount of fuel sends a different resistance to the computer to gauge the gas. The right tank pumps fuel to the left from where it feeds the engine. The computer averages the contents of both tanks. The problem is that sulfur in the gas fouls the pick offs causing a bad reading.


In your case it's working initially with a full load.

The easy solution is to treat it with Techron (or some prefer Seafoam). If it's only slightly fouled Techron will clear it quickly. If it's been a while with those symptoms and it's badly clogged it may take a number of treatments to clean it. If it's really badly fouled you may have to replace the senders. Theres one in each tank.

Try Techron first."

I did a quick search of Shell products, to my knowledge Shell has V-Power, Chevron/Texaco Premium has Techron. You can buy a bottle of it at your local auto parts store, and add it yourself if Chevron/Texaco is not available and not your favorites.

 

Chevron patented PEA chemistry in the early 1980s. Today, it's not only used in the company’s Techron Concentrate Plus, but also in fuel system cleaners from STP, Gumout, and Valvoline. In fact, many auto dealerships use PEA chemistry in the fuel injection-cleaning service they offer. So instead of paying $150, head over to your local auto parts dealer once every 3,000 miles, buy a fuel system cleaner with PEA, put it in with a full tank of gas, and save $140.

 

3 possible causes....

1. gas with inferior detergency package leads to build up on sending unit
- fix use 2-3 tanks of gas with a quality fuel system cleaner... Shell V Power, SeaFoam, Valvoline Synpower, Berrymans, Techron etc,
BUT switch to a fuel with a better detergency package www.toptiergas.com
2. a corroded ground connection - fix find it and clean it
3. a faulty sending unit... replace it