Mad*Max

I put the Techron treatment during a fill up yesterday...when I started the car this morning the fuel gauge was reading the gas level slightly lower (by 1/16th of a tank) than the level (full). After driving for about a few minutes it came back to normal. During this period the range on the DIC was also correspondingly reduced and increased as the fuel level increased.

When I started the car at lunch time it was the same thing but climbed back up within seconds.

When leaving for home after work it was normal.

It is too much coincidence for this to happen when I put the Techron so I am sure it caused it - anybody know what's going on?

PS - this has never happened in my car before and I have used Techron a few years ago

Kvothe

I use it in all three cars once or twice a year and have never noticed this happening.

AORoads

neither have I noticed such a thing. could it be it's freeing up something in the tank that's sticking? that's about the only thing I can think of.

RicK T

Probably just dissolving some gunk on the sending unit(s). Good idea to use it a couple times a year along with good, top tier gas all the time.

seamus2154

Techron was actually the recommended cure for inaccurate fuel gauges.

FortMorganAl

Let us know if this happens after then next fill up. Until then

Red12

I`ve been using it for years. Recommended to me by a drag racer. Supposed to be good stuff.

truckplay

it has nothing to do with Techron. the sending units do act up from time to time. keep in mind you have 2 tanks. the sending units do go bad. it may have somthing to do with the ethanol in fuel that corodes the contacts.

johnny3

Where can you buy "Techron"?

Hameister

Interesting!

I notice there are a number of Techron products.

This one is sold at my local Wally World.



Which one do you guys use?

bucwheat

I buy nothing but Chevron gas with techron for many years well I had the dreaded fuel gauge problem on my C-5 and I put in Seafoam,by the end of the tank the gauge went back to normal,I had the same thing happen with my F-350 Diesel,the gauge just died,I added a bottle of Seafoam to a full tank and it fixed it.Seafoam is the way to go,Techron never done anything for me.

Top_Fuel

Search the C5 forums. Apparently the sulfur content in some gasolines made the fuel level sending unit act goofy. A bottle or two of Techron would often help clean this up and solve the problem. I think there was a TSB stating this for C5s. I didn't think this was an issue with C6 sending units...but maybe it is?

9C1

My fuel gauge on the 2008 dropped to 0 on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) last summer, accompanied by all the appropriate bells and whistles. I was told by a Corvette engineer that when the two fuel gauges (there is one in each tank) do not reasonably agree with each other the computer defaults the gauge to zero to "encourage" (his word) the owner to get it repaired.

It took several Techron treatments over the winter, and ultimately I had to disconnect the battery for several days, to solve the issue. However, Techron is a lot better than removing the fuel tanks to change the sending unit.

I searched this site and found several posts, both C5 & C6 relating this issue and the Techron treatment.

So yes it affects the C6s as well.
Terry

Top_Fuel

Good to know.

LDB

I’m not going to attack adding extra Techron as a fuel gauge repair technique. There are too many posts about people having fuel gauge problems, adding a brief, heavy dose of Techron, and having the problem solved. But I would question use of Techron or any other additive as a preventive measure for a properly functioning engine or fuel gauge. I can tell you from personal observation of real engine test data that it is possible to overdose on additives. They are basically detergents, which are very heavy hydrocarbons, and if you get too much, the detergents themselves can start breaking down and causing deposits. Think about it. Suppose you put 4 times the normal dose of laundry detergent into your washing machine. Do you think the clothes are going to get 4 times cleaner? Nope, and not only that, you’ll probably have residual detergent left in your clothes even after rinsing, which might give you a skin rash.

If you use top tier gas, you don’t need any extra additives. In fact, not only don’t you need them, they can actually do harm. Repeating the earlier statement, I’ve seen actual engine test data that says when you add more detergent, engines get cleaner to a point, but beyond that point, adding more detergent causes more, not fewer deposits. Those data are on engine cleanliness, not fuel gauge senders, but if too many additives can make engines get less clean, there’s no reason to think they can’t make fuel senders less reliable too. Whether that’s what happened with the OP’s sender, who knows? But it’s certainly within the realm of possibility basis what I’ve seen of additive test data.

AORoads

While I don't disagree w. above by LDB, let's note that OP Mad Max put in 1 bottle, and the last time he used it was a few years ago. That's not an "overdose" of detergents/additives. Now, if it's the gas he's been using, that's a different story. Not sure what "top tier" gas there is in Canada where he lives, but I'm sure it exists even if the label, "top tier" may not.

Re the question of what is/where to find "Techron" in a bottle, it's made by Chevron, comes in a black bottle, and there are at least two kinds that I've used in the past. Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner (12 and 20 oz bottles) and Chevron Techron Fuel Injector Cleaner (can't recall sizes). I've found the first at every auto parts store, Walmart, etc., and the latter also there as well as at Costco.

Sunset-C6

Snake oil will do that.....waste of money.

LDB

Depends on how you look at it. If you consistently used a can of Techron or other additive in every tank of gas, you would very clearly be overdosing and doing your engine harm. There is absolutely zero doubt in my mind about that. I’ve seen the engine test data that proves that beyond any reasonable doubt. However, using a can now and then to “blow things out” may be different. I don’t know, and I have not seen any engine test data on the topic of occasional use to “blow it out”. Personally, my intuition tells me that if consistent use is a bad thing, then occasional use is also bad. But there is the contrary view that occasionally blowing things out will help, and though I seriously doubt it, I have never seen actual engine test data which would prove or disprove it.

RocketDawg

Mad Max: is it reasonable to assume that you poured the bottle of Techron in the tank first, then filled up with gas so you mixed it up well?

If you added it to the already full tank I suppose the concentrated Techron could have gotten on the fuel sending unit and made it act squirrely.

Mad*Max

kinda like when you get your perfectly good transmission serviced and then it fails?