I got a 97 F-250 HD PSD, the fuel gauge just started acting up. It has duel tanks and does it on both tanks, so I know it isn't the sending units in the tanks. I have also run some fuel additive/cleaner through it and it didn't help.

It works, sometimes. When I start it up cold, it seems to work. When it warms up it starts to act up, or so it seems. I will start to read right on and off. Sometimes it will go to almost empty or 1/4, then it will go back to normal.

I checked the fuse, it was ok.

I think it could be a wire shorting out somewhere. Could it be a relay? Which one it is if that is the problem?

I am looking for any ideas.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

Probabley the guage itself. Ford Gauge clsuters are junk.

 

My 96 PSD does almost the same thing. If I start it up and its like below freezing the gauge will work for a few seconds then it goes past full and stays there. I am going to invest in a new fuel gauge before long, probably gonna go to LMC for the gauge,

Greg G

 

It may not be the gauge at all. It may actually be the IVR (Instrument Voltage Regulator). When they fail, they typically fail with higher voltage output. Normally, the voltage is about 5 volts, but when they go, it'll put 12V on the gauges. I chased overheating problems on a car forever, that wasn't actually overheating. It was the IVR. After a stealership fried my digital odo by connecting my battery backward, I had to replace the cluster. Put the 'new' cluster in, and bingo, car's running normal temp. Checked the IVR, and yup, it's dead. Probably finished frying it when they killed my digital odo/speedo, alternator, factory stereo, etc, etc.

 

Is the IVR a separate piece or is it integrated within the gauge cluster somewhere and you have to buy the whole cluster to replace.

Greg G

 

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fd/0040.asp part number 31 Is this what you are talking about??

Greg G

 

That may be it for the truck, yes. It's mounted right on the back of the cluster on my T-Bird. Whatever the case, it's normally just a solid-state regulator, to turn 12V into 5V. The normal mode for these to fail is high output. Fortunately the gauges will handle it, albeit will be pegged out. If I remember right, the fuel gauge, OP gauge, and engine temp gauge all use the same source voltage. If all of them read high, then I'd suspect the IVR. I say this because I've never had a problem with a gauge in a Ford, despite them being "junk gauges" as so many in here claim.