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VP Fuel Guage Only Works Sometimes? (Very rarely)

Endz

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Hi guys the fuel guage on my vp commodore only works sometimes, and by sometimes i mean very rarely! What is normally the common problem for this ? I would really like to fix this problem, thanks guys
 

MuckUte

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At the top of this section there is a topic about sticking temp/fuel gauges and how to fix them, if you tap the dash does it start to work. Could also be a problem with the sender but I would check the
 

Cheap6

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There is an easy way to test to see if the fault is in the sender or gauge. If you go to the sender unit (at the front of the tank, under the car) there is a white 3 pin plug. The two (there are only two) outside wires are for the fuel gauge sender. If you connect a variable resistance across those two terminals, on the car end, and turn the ignition on you can see if the gauge moves to where it should.

I don't know the resistances corresponding to the gauge positions off the top of my head but I have posted them before. If you really can't find them I can look them up and repost them. It will be something like 90, 180 and 280 Ohms for full, half and 1/4 tank on the gauge.

While testing don't short the wires together. Use a fixed resistor with at least the lowest resistance when using a variable resistor or be very careful about not using all the travel available in the variable resistor.

If you have some idea of how much fuel is in the tank you can reverse the process and measure the resistance of the sender.

Usually if the sender fails it will work at the extreme ends, of the measurement because the sender wears most where it travels most. The give away is a gauge that suddenly starts working after a fill up or when the tank gets low.
 

JetJackson

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I don't profess to be an expert but, I had some similar issues with my VN wagon. Sometimes the gauge would work, other times it would be working then not, then back working. It had me puzzled for a while because before this, it was always working as it should.
In desperation I jacked up rear and put it on stands and slid underneath with my work light to check the wiring connection at the sender. The connection looked alright, but I pulled the connector plug off the sender unit and then pushed it back on.

To my surprise, the dash gauge again worked when I turned the ignition on. My conclusion: the terminals in the connector plug and sender unit had just become dirty over time, resulting in poor conductivity, which changes the resistance required to make the gauge work properly.

This may not be the answer to your problem, but you could try just pulling the connector off and pushing back on a couple of times to clean the contact.

Cheers, Jet.:beer chug:
 
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