Fuel guage issue

[worldmac1]

Hi All,

Once again, I am asking for help. You guys have been so helpful in the past I thought I would throw this out there as well.

I just sold my 84 Sea Ray, and purchased a 2001 Four Winns Horizon 180. It runs great, and everything works perfect with the exception of the gas guage. I have checked out all the fuses and looked for loose wires under and beneath the dash panel, but no luck. More than likely it is a bad guage, but the needle always shows as full when the ignition is turned on.

Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Not really sure how to test the guage, but I know it's getting power. When the ignition is off all guages are down, but when the ignition is turned on all guages go the position they need to be in. (Oil, Volts, Temp, etc.) With that being said, I'm lead to believe it may be the other end, and not the guage itself. What do you guys think?

2001 Four Winns
180 Horizon
4.3 Volvo Penta
Guages are VDO from factory
Single battery

Let me know if you need any more info....
Thanks

 

[dubs283]

Re: Fuel guage issue

test the guage: find where the fuel sender is in the fuel tank. 3" diameter plate with a pink and a black wire connected to it.

pink wire is the sender wire, black wire is the ground. sometimes the sender is grounded through the plate and tank so there may not be a black wire.

disconnect pink wire and with the key switch in the "on" position, ground the end of the pink wire. the fuel guage should spike in one direction

you may also connect 12 volt positive to the end of the pink wire and the fuel gauge should spike the other way

if you get no response from the guage, the guage is bad, the sender wire is broken/not connected, or there is a voltage/ground issue at the guage.

if the guage does spike, the problem is the fuel sender in the tank

 

[worldmac1]

Re: Fuel guage issue

Thanks a lot! I'll check things out as soon as it stops raining here in my neck of the woods.