madvette74

ok here it is, my gauge stuck on the full ( i think it was 13 years ago) anyway i replaced the gas gauge with an autometer, and had it mounted in a chrome cup just between the cowl of my hood, it was off by a 1/4 tank, so i replaced the fuel sender with some jc whitney ####, that didn't work so i got a one from ecklers, same problem it says empty when it's really a 1/4 tank, ok, i say this is it, i didn't want to do it, but i changes the original gauge with one from ecklers as well, same damm thing, this reminds me of the problems i had once i changed my temp sender, i never got an acurate reading... did anyone goe through this when they changed the gauge or sender

Jvette73

How about gettin one of those tanks you strap to the back of old army jeeps. hook it to your bumper. then if you runout of gas you have some rescue. :jester No really...its not so bad...if E means 1/4 the you wont ever run out right?

Chevyguy1973

I'm kind of a low tech guy, but I'm thinking that with the gas tank out of the car you could hook the gauge up and move the arm in the tank with a piece of clothes hanger to check the range of movement inside the tank while watching the gauge. That's what sounds like is off anyway. I have had to manually adjust the arm on the sending unit before. It's a very delicate matter of grab here and bend just a little bit. Keep working at it until you get the full range of movement that you want on the gauge. It's either that, or you could just keep replacing stuff until you find a combo that works. In either case, good luck. :thumbs:

Shark Racer

I think every time I fill my tank on E it's still got 5-6 gallons left. Chevy designed it (in 78 anyways) to stay on full and on E for a while.

-Steve
PS - Somehow I don't think they "designed" it so much as "couldn't figure out how to get it to work right", so they just met in the middle and claimed it was a design thing.

aharte

A lot of cars are like that. I think it is actually design (most of the time!). Most people like to let their car go to the E mark until they start to think about getting gas. If the gauge was accurate, people would get stuck more often. Of course you'd eventually learn not to do that, but people would still see just how close they could get. If you just know that you're low on gas, but not exactly how low, I think that's a stronger motivator.

guppie

You could always do what I do in my truck. My gauge hasn't worked right for 3 years. I just checked my average gas mileage and use the trip odometer.
If you know your mileage and how big your tank is you know how many miles you can go, it's almost as good as a gauge. Just a thought :cheers:

madvette74

yea, i tried with the coathanger, but a lot of people are forgetting about the other end of the gauge, when it's full it will say 3/4.. i personaly dont like this, i had the car 14 years, the gauge use to be extremely acurate. so i know the car was not built to read 3/4 tank when it's full, i cant even imagine that some vetts where like that... just dont make sense... it's like when you change a temp gauge you know the one you just installed, is 15 degrees off, you know this cause you checked it with a temp gun, but do you just let it go, and say oh, i know it reads 185 but it's acually 200.. no, you jump on here and ask how can i fix this.. dont mean to sound rude.. does this make sense??

ZD75blue

Your tank bladder may be imploding... making it so that ya dont have as big a tank as ya used to...

:cheers:

madvette74

i filled it many times when it was nearly empty, it will hold 15 gallons.. is there something that has to do with the amount of ohms, could i change it? to see if i get a different reading

Gameshow Bob

The sensor works on a resistance to ground signal. Over time, the connections get crudded-up and resistance will increase. Try cleaning the connections along the wire or run a new wire and see if that helps

flynhi

Call Roger at Corvette Clocks by Roger. Your guage may not be calibrated.

madvette74

how do i find his website, or how do i get his number?

madvette74

yes. i cleaned all connectors very well, still no luck

PRNDL

Maybe I am overly paranoid, but the only thing I will stick in my gas tank (to play with the sending unit) is a wooden dowel. (No metal coat hanger for me!). I even feel nervous shining a flashlight into the gas tank! :eek: MJ