1995 Commodore 272 fuel gauge inaccurate

[hondoNH]

I have a 1995 Regal Commodore 272. When I fill the tank, the gauge does not read accurately. The needle moves as the boat is jostled so I am at least getting a reading. Is it most likely the sending unit? Is this easily replaced? There appears to be a screw off access cover near where the fuel intake is.

 

[airshot]

In my 60 years as a boat owner, I have saw only a very few that have been anywhere near accurate !! You might try cleaning the connections, and see if that helps, or pull out the sending unit/ float from the tank. Sometimes the floats get gas logged and don't float very well, or a poor connection can be the issue. All in all, don't expect an accurate reading like your auto gives

 

[Scott Danforth]

Most new boats electronically dampen the gauge. Not accurate, but people do not freak out

Old boats just have the gauge rise and fall as you hit waves, and people freak iut

As far as accuracy, only an ultrasonic sensor would be accurate. All others are dependent on how much the boat squats (no boat sits level), how much fuel is in the tank, the shape of the tank, etc

What you are seeing is normal

 

[Regal272Guy]

I have a 1995 Regal Commodore 272. When I fill the tank, the gauge does not read accurately. The needle moves as the boat is jostled so I am at least getting a reading. Is it most likely the sending unit? Is this easily replaced? There appears to be a screw off access cover near where the fuel intake is.

I have the same year and model and mine does the same thing. I just assumed that's what you get. It uses a float to gauge the fuel level and they're just prone to jiggling. Unless it's really choppy, a conservative assumption is the lowest level it hits is the actual fuel remaining.

Cool to know another with the exact same year and model. You're the first I've met. I've had mine since May of this year. Prior owner had both engines rebuilt, main selling point for me. 2 hours of time on the lake and the starboard engine started making what sounds like a bad lifter ("tap tap tap). Spent all I had getting the boat so have been running on one engine all summer. Such is boating life

 

[hondoNH]

I was able to locate the fuel tank and sender at the center of the boat, under the sleep compartment mattress. I pulled it out and the arm seemed to go up and down freely. If I rock the boat I notice that the needle jumps around and understand that this is normal for a float. However, I have had the boat fueled to full but the gauge almost never goes above 1/2 way. And if I tap the gauge, it sometimes moves higher. Not sure whether it is the gauge or the sender but I'm tempted to just change out the sender as a first step and go from there. At least I can eliminate that as a potential future problem.

Thoughts?

 

[hondoNH]

Nice to find another owner. Mine is a Volvo Penta 7.4 GL single engine duoprop that we bought in 2020. I call it my waterfront property. Engine seems to be in good shape, although I'd prefer the injectors over the carb. I've done my own maintenance since the boat is in the water since I am finding that marinas are hesitant to service it, and on-site mechanics always seem to be busy with other customers. Weatherizing for winter is pretty simple. Just replaced oil cooler that caused a mess in my previously spotless bilge. Otherwise, normal maintenance (change oil, filters,plugs, etc). Should probably do distributor cap and will likely do that after winterizing. The boat is always in the water in summer and seems to be mildewy all the time. Not much I can do to resolve that.

One question... any idea where the fuse box is?

 

[Scott Danforth]

clean the back of your gauges, the ground buss and all the connections at your sender. if tapping on your gauge makes it move, you have a bad connection somewhere

 

[hondoNH]

Will that be true if grounding the fuel sender pegs at full?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Yes

 

[hondoNH]

Wanted to close this thread. Ended up ordering a fuel sender unit from Amazon. Installed it and now my gauge reads correctly. Thanks for everyone else's help.