Damn fuel gauge...

[Ibanezplayer272]

Hey everyone, well ive had this problem since I bought the car but I would like to fix it now. heres the deal. When I leave the car off say for a minute or 2, my gas gauge, slowly moves up and goes up to about the second marker, then as soon as I turn the key into accessory mode, it goes to E, I know there is gas in the tank, and I know that when the gauge goes back up after I turn the ignition off for a few minutes, thats not the reading cause Ive had a full tank and it read the same thing, then turn the key and falls to E, with a full tank, now im trying to figure this out, im strongly leaning as this to being my fuel filter, and I personally think the sending unit is in the gas tank itself, please correct me if im wrong, and I read that there are terminals that you can clean out cause I read that other people had my problem and they cleaned the corrosion out of the terminal that goes to their sending unit or something and then it worked fine... please help.

[Tbird232ci]

In accessory mode (key backwards) no power is supplied to your gauge cluster, if the car is in the run position, but not running, the gas gauge so go up to whatever level of fuel you have in the tank.

Fuel gauges in fox bodies are known to not be accurate.

You fuel sender is in the tank, you have to drop the tank, and pull it out from the top. Cleaning your terminals usually wont make much differnece, theyre packed with a dialectric grease that keeps moisture and corrosion from being too much of a problem. The senders are prone to going bad.

Yes, thats your fuel filter.

[Ibanezplayer272]

Sweet man that pretty much answered all my questions. Thanks!

[MonteCitan]

yeah chances are your fuel sender is bad.. that requires dropping the tank indeed..

when I drove my 89 all the time I just went by miles driven rather than fuel-in-tank..

[fast64]

Quote: Originally Posted by MonteCitan when I drove my 89 all the time I just went by miles driven rather than fuel-in-tank..

thats what i did in the 90

[Ibanezplayer272]

Thats what im doing in the 90.

[Bane-]

I had to do the 88 off of memory and dumb luck. speedo wasnt plugged in so the odometer didnt read and whenever there was more then 3gal in the tank, the gauge would peg itself behind the cluster bezel lol.

[dana]

it does sound like the sending unit. I have to change mine too

[Brent]

Thats what I did in the Firebird It had a bad sender unit as well

[damighty5.0]

Did the fuel sending unit change with new fuel filter and 190lph fuel pump and no more problems... The fuel sending unit is the source of your problems, there not very good.

[Zak Attack]

Anybody know how hard it is to get the sending unit and putting it in, just a matter of getting the gas out and just unscrewing a few bolts? I got my 92 5.0 on friday and I need to get the speedo working too, any suggestions.

[damighty5.0]

First you need to drive until you are almost completely empty of fuel.Reason,fuel is heavy and the more left the heavier and harder the job. Next get the car in the air if you can because you have to remove the gas tank straps and carefully lower the tank,make sure to disconnect the filler line from tank to gas cap? Use fuel line clamps to keep fuel from spraying everywhere because its pressurized. If you gas lines dont look good then I wouldn't use the clamps, you might need to release pressure in the lines, which can be done from the engine bay with the schrader valve for the fuel pressure regulator?Once the tank is dropped you can remove the tank cover and carefully remove the lock ring. Oh yeah make sure to disconnect your battery first! Pull out fuel pump & sending unit together and disconnect harness. At this point I would just replace the fuel pump,sending unit,sock,fuel filter,lock ring,etc...with all new stuff. You could also clean out the gas tank to remove any sediment in it but I'm not sure as to the best way to do that. When you put in the new stuff and make the electrical connections , put back on the gas tank cover, position the gas tank, a nascar style jack would be helpful in the removing and installing part , raise the tank into position connect the straps,connect filler neck, connect fuel filter in the correct direction secure all connections, . When everything issecured properly, reconnect the battery, then prime the pump several times by turning the ignition key all the way forward but not turning on the engine, I think this pressurizes the system if pressure was lost . check for leaks...start the engine and check for leaks.......drive the car then come back and check for leaks..... If no leaks are found then your good....If I'm wrong on anything let me know its not real hard just harder to do by yourself when trying to lower and raise the tank.

[SpectorV]

someone could have messed with your needle as well~ try filling the car up 100% and pulling the needle off and sticking it back on at the full mark. Its just a quick, easy way to try something and save you some hassle.