Fuel gage taking a dive
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Joined: May 2016
Posts: 55
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From: Lewes Delaware
Fuel gage taking a dive
Had 3/4 tank of gas was on highway 65 to 70 miles per hour got a ding looked down check gages light on and low fuel message! This happened one other time 3 weeks ago. Hit reset to show odometer miles and knew after getting gas last night had 234 miles to empty. Once I hit reset today low fuel light goes out for a while then comes back on in about a half hour later. I knowdrivingbup to Wilmington today is about 160 miles round trip. The first time it happened 3 weeks ago the low fuel light went out after the car was shut off for about twenty minutes. It had not come back on until today. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks
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You most likely have sulfur buildup on your fuel sending unit and it is causing an erroneous reading. Try running a bottle of Techron Concentrate in each of the next few tanks of gas - that may remove any deposits on the sending units and let your gauge operate correctly.
If that does not work, you may be faced with replacement of the sending units - which could be expensive depending on the year of your car.
Good luck.
If that does not work, you may be faced with replacement of the sending units - which could be expensive depending on the year of your car.
Good luck.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 2,217
Likes: 784
From: Fort Myers Beach Florida
As previously stated, use TECHRON because it works like magic. The first time my gauge did that I added a bottle, and the gas gauge came back to life after driving two miles. A year later, it took three bottles and a few hundred miles, but it eventually came back to life. Now I add a bottle three times a year (on another car) just for insurance. When the car is stored for a few months, I fill the tank with ethanol free marine gas and Techron. It dissolves chemical build up on the internal gauge parts in the fuel tank.
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Joined: Oct 2004
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How many miles on the car? If you're over 100,000 miles, your senders are certainly worn to a degree. Try Techron, but if after maybe 3 bottles it isn't any better, you're just throwing your money away. I'll try to find a pic of what mine looked like at around 125,000 miles, and post it.
EDIT!!
I must've deleted them. Damn! Anyway, I spent more money on Techron than I did on new senders at Rock Auto. Of course, they were still available then (read; CHEAPER!), but I don't know if they still are, or not......
EDIT!!
I must've deleted them. Damn! Anyway, I spent more money on Techron than I did on new senders at Rock Auto. Of course, they were still available then (read; CHEAPER!), but I don't know if they still are, or not......
Last edited by grinder11; Feb 12, 2026 at 10:37 AM.
Heel & Toe
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 20
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From: Chicago suburbs
If you get to the point where you are thinking of diving into the sender replacement job, do yourself a favor and make sure you have the correct reference voltage from the PCM at each sensor. I changed the senders and it didn't fix the problem. In the end, the PCM was not putting out the correct voltage, so the gauge wouldn't work regardless of sender age. My PCM problem may have been an outlier, but checking it would be a logical first step after the Techron fails. My long-winded saga is here https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...placement.html.
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Had 3/4 tank of gas was on highway 65 to 70 miles per hour got a ding looked down check gages light on and low fuel message! This happened one other time 3 weeks ago. Hit reset to show odometer miles and knew after getting gas last night had 234 miles to empty. Once I hit reset today low fuel light goes out for a while then comes back on in about a half hour later. I knowdrivingbup to Wilmington today is about 160 miles round trip. The first time it happened 3 weeks ago the low fuel light went out after the car was shut off for about twenty minutes. It had not come back on until today. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks
https://www.motortrend.com/features/...tte-fuel-gauge
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