Gator_86_951

My gas guauge reads low in turns 17 and 16 at sebring :-). Big corners make it go low, by the end of the straight i know what my fuel level is. I think it is funny.

944na_whorhay

I think my 85.5 NA 944 has a tank that should hold about 25 gallons. I guess I don't really "know" how much gas is in there when it hits E but it's enough so that I can only put in 16 gallons. Which is amusing to me because I know plenty of peope with cars that won't even hold that much.

ZV

21 gallon tank in the later cars IIRC.

Aaron

kennycoulter

so what exactly is over top of the sender? isnt it some type of fiberglass cloth? are you guys tearing glue to take it off? what are you doing to put it back on? is there a rubber plug below it?

Dilberto

When the light comes on normally, the tank should contain 2.2 US gallons. Thats way less sweating around while you drive about, and procrastinate refueling. My needle had a mind of its own...until I lacquer-thinnered all the contacts. Now, they just behave accurately.

NOTE:When re-needling the gas pin- the power-off indication pointer should read just a hair below the last white notch, just above the "R".

Zach

Robby

....the 2nd part in the above link to Clarkes Garage.... In his pictures, there are two tubes that connect... IF I REMOVE these tubes, like he says to do(?) HOW do I keep from getting fuel everywhere, or, is this a stupid question....? Also, the cap that is underneath that reveals the three brass-looking prongs... I couldn't get mine off the last time I got in there to check this... Does one just PRY that little square plastic cap off, or, what....? Is there a release...?

SDGuy

On my late car, I used the resistance checks ( see http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/elect-13.htm ) to determine that my sender was not at fault for my 3/4 reading when the tank was full. This sure beats pulling out the sender. I've heard of early cars solving their gauge problems with a sender clean, but has anyone with a late car solved their "3/4 reading when full" problem with a sender cleaning?

I checked the resistance two ways: I filled my tank and checked the resistance at the sender itself (I believe between terminals "G" and "T". I got 2.5 ohms. I then installed a 2.7 ohm resistance between "G" and "T" at the sender harness and turned on the ignition. It read 3/4. I then lowered the resistance to 1.3 ohm and never got above a 3/4 reading. So I proved my problem was NOT with the sender.

I also cleaned the terminals at the cluster and still had a 3/4 reading. So I did what several others have suggested. I reset the gauge needle to full! This might be a kludge solution, but my gauge still goes down to "R" when the tank is empty and below "R" when off. So I haven't robbed Peter to pay Paul.

As for the low fuel light, I checked all my bulbs but I have never seen the light come on. I tried 63 ohms and above at the sender harness and could not force that light to come on!

So if anyone needs a 2.7 ohm resistor, I'd be happy to send one to you if you promise to pass it on to others. PM me. Howard

KLR

I cleaned my gauge contacts and now am in the just below full when full club. Cleaning the sender contacts had no impact for me. I also find that if I run it all the way down to E (enough to freak out my wife), the car still has about 4-5 gallons in it.

Key question: is the light controlled separately from the gauge? I.e., if the gauge is reading inaccurately, will the light still come on at the proper time? This could impact a decision that I make Sunday morning.

nickhance

My light has never worked since I owned the car. I ran out of gas one time to prove it to myself.

kennycoulter

i have no idea. i filled mine up yesterday, the light was on, and the gauge read empty. after fill up, it always sticks to empty, then after driving some, i finally notice that it reads full. it took about 14 gallons in my ealry car, so i think mine reads right, just sticks to certain points sometimes. still havent checked mine out, i should be doing homework.

Robby

Anyone....? The 2nd part in Clarkes Garage.... In the pic, there are two tubes that connect... IF I REMOVE these tubes, like he says to do(?) HOW do I keep from getting fuel everywhere....? Also, the cap that is underneath that reveals the three brass-looking prongs... I couldn't get mine off the last time I got in there to check this... Do I just PRY that little square plastic cap off, or, what....? Is there a release...? Anyone....?

I don't understand the ohm testing thing at all.... I'm electronically challenged to say the least... BUT, I DO know my tank & I know it WELL.... I get 17.2G in my tank if I fill it up immediately when the light comes on- this gives me 3.9G of "reserve" & I've checked my tank to the limit- It IS 21.1G for SURE.... Earlier tanks were a few gallons less & 968's were 19.x IIRC.... one would need to check one's manual to be sure depending on model year, etc.....

SDGuy

Robby, try this. Fill up your gas tank completely and drive over to a Radio Shack. Grab the 3 prong connector firmly and wiggle it off. It is on there tight, but as long as you are not pulling on the wires themselves, you shouldn't damage the connector. There is no clip or catch on this connector. Go into the Radio Shack and see if you can't get a kindly employee to bring out their digital multimeter and measure the resistance (tell him it will be less than 10 ohms) between "G" and "T" - see diagram below courtesy of Clark's Garage. If he gets 2.8 ohms or less, button up everything in your hatch. It's not the sender. If it is over 3 ohms in a late car, it MIGHT be the sender. BTW, your car is OFF while detaching/attaching the plug and during this ENTIRE test.

951Tom

Robby, when I pulled my sender to clean it, I let the tank run down to almost empty. When I pulled off the two hoses on top no fuel came out. One of them is the return hose from the fuel rail, I think the other is the vent tube for air to escape while filling up so that shouldn't have fuel in it if your tank is almost empty.

Tom
'87 951
'86.5 Supra

Robby

OK- thanks a LOT guys... that really helps... First off, I have to ask- SD Guy- you're saying that, IF my Ohms are above that # (2.8 or so...) then it is likely the sender, SO, I should pull the hoses & get in there & clean it out, right....? In other words, it's the SENDER that is what everyone says needs to be cleaned...? Is the FLOATER, one in the same...???


Ok- I MAY be able to do this myself- I bought a digital multi-meter... I haven't used it yet, b/c, I've been told that they can be blown by checking things incorrectly... IS there an easy way for me to use it to check this out...? I mean, can someone walk me through it simply? I'm assuming it is just the same as any other... It has the two wires & three plug-in places for it- I can take a digital pic of it, etc, or, probably even find a link to the exact same model online.... not sure how big of a deal this is, but, in Clarkes Garage, IIRC, it says they hooked something else up to it too....? any input here...? I can PM w/e-mail addy, phone #, whatever, if that would make it easier... I really want to learn to use one of these things... I'm having a prob w/my battery dying- it's coming in through Fuse #39, which is the main stereo fuse- it doesn 't make much sense, but, I really bought this thing to start off by testing that issue... not sure how to do that though, &, considering the situation, I think this gas gauge thing may be simpler...

Anyway, thanks again for the help guys... I hate this kind of stuff, b/c, everytime I try to do it on my own, I end up messing something up... EX: I removed my rear window wiper- actually pulled the arm off first & left it that way, till I had something to plug the hole with- just a few days... the FIRST time I started my car, I started getting smoke out of the center console- from the rear wiper switch.... when I finally noticed it & realized I had to kill the car (or pull the fuse- didn't think about that) it had eaten up the wire several inches up underneath... I THEN removed the switch itself- later learned I SHOULD have just pulled the fuse... I DID learn something at least... still- I have no idea WHY it did it, even though my mech explained it to me....

SDGuy

Yep, if the resistance is OVER 2.8 ohms with a completely full tank, that would suggest that a cleaning might help. On a digital multimeter, rotate the **** to the ohms section (omega symbol). If the multimeter gives you a range setting, select the lowest value you can that is over 10 ohms (maybe 100 or 200 ohms on cheapie meters).

If you are going to pull the sender (the float is part of that assembly), Tom's advice to run the tank down to near-empty is a good one. I've never cleaned the sender on a late car - so Tom can tell us how hard it is to do. Tom, why did you pull your sender and what symptom did you cure? As I've said before, I haven't heard of anyone curing the 3/4 full problem if the gauge reads smoothly otherwise. Howard