fuel gauge

[joetann]

The fuel guage on my 105 gallon tank doesn't work. When I bought the boat, the gauge worked if there was almost a full tank, and would then drop off rapidly to 0 once 15 to 20 gallons was used. <br /><br />Any ideas on how to fix this? Is it something a fairly capable person can do themselves?

 

[boatgrunt]

Re: fuel gauge

1) test the gauge by connecting the sender wire to the ground post. The needle should peg all the way to "full". Here's a complete link to a gauge troubleshooting guide:<br /><br /> http://www.teleflexmarine.com/cgi-bin/frameset2.cgi?site=gauges&type=int&link2=1047 <br /><br />2) If the gauge works, start at the back of the gauge and check the connections and wiring all the way back to the sending unit at the gas tank. If you find any corroded connection points, replace them. If the wiring looks good or you fix the wiring and it still doesn't help, go to 3.<br /><br />3) Remove the sending unit and manually raise/lower the float arm. The gauge needle should rise and fall with the movement. If it doesn't, typically the little wire has broken or detached. You can try to fix it or just by a new sending unit. They are cheap.

 

[joetann]

Re: fuel gauge

Thanks for the reply and link. I'll test the gauge and sender as described by teleflex. Think I'll start at the sending unit to see if there is any resistance reading for my 1/2 full tank. I suspect the rheostat is the problem.