Well, today I took my daughter to school in the Maverick. Fuel gauge said that I had a full tank of gas. When I bought the car the previous owner had put a new fuel sensor onto the tank but when I received the car it showed empty. So I figured that it was almost out of gas and filled it up. Gauge still showed empty. After playing with the sensor, I discovered that it was turned around and was now showing a full tank as it should. Problem is that it never went down and thus, I ran out of gas. Any ideas?
Add gas a bit earlier than you think you need it. Sorry, I had to say that. It sounds like the PO took ouot the full tank of gas and gave you the car empty. There are a lot of post about fuek sensors ob here, do a search and you can find out how to assess the situation and repair it. Good luck
There are some posts on how to check the sender, and the gauge. I can't remember everything, or I'd type it out for you.
Did you not wonder why your Mav was getting 300 MPG?? Dont feel bad I have a 2011 Minivan right behind me here that says 1/4 tank and shes empty. 200 brand new km on the odometer. That'll teach them to go out of town to buy a vehicle. It quit on its way home from the other dealer. Karma I say.
You likley have to pull the unit out and inspect it. Make sure it works in hand as you move the float.
my gauge shows either full or empty depending on how I connect the wires to the tank. Its the in between that's the problem.
I checked my wires from the fuel gauge (double plug). One shows no power while the other does but it flashes on and off. I asked a mechanic friend of mine and he thinks that there is a grounding issue. He looked under the hood and noticed that I should have a grounding wire from the engine to the firewall that I do not have. As he was leaving he mentioned that sometimes there is a grounding wire from the fuel tank to the body. Didn't have time to look for it. Is he right about both items?
fill up the tank, remove the wiring plug and check the resistance between the two posts on the sending unit. iirc, it should measure 78 ohms full...
And if You don't have a multimeter to test ohms go pick one up at Harbor Freight on Monday. My treat just print out this coupon (click on the image then print the coupon)
Not to contradict anyone but I wouldnt suggest filling the tank if you want to test it. If its out of spec you now have a full tank of gas to deal with before you can pull the unit out. ITs up to you though. If your tank is empty just pull the sender out and inspect it. Its real easy. Sounds like your wiring is OK. You do need the body ground.
Thanks for the coupon. Unfortunately, the closest store is an hour away. That would be about 60 miles x 2 (round trip) / 10 mpg * $3.50 / gallon = $42.00. I think it would be cheaper to stop at Lowes in the morning. Sorry. I'm a finance major. Always looking at cost/benefits. As to the grounding, just to clarify, tomorrow I'm going to Lowes (gotta pickup a multimeter anyways ) and pickup a 3/8" bolt so I can ground the back of the engine to the firewall. Do I also have to ground the gas tank?
Grounded the mOtor to the firewall. Not sure what that does but it had no effect on the fuel gauge or sensor. Picked up a multimeter and set it to 20k ohms and got 0.07. Am I using this right? I believe that I have half a tank or less. I'm getting the feeling that I need to drop the tank and replace the sensor. Since it is a new sensor, could the bobber be bad or stuck?
