Broken Fuel Gauge
 

Well, my fuel gauge isnt working and i'm wondering why. Do you guys have any ideas. Its stuck at like the empty position. It was sitting for a few years before I just got it running again, and I dont know if it was working before it sat. Is it possible that it is just stuck?

123

Might have a bad fuel sending unit.

Where exactly would that be. I looked in my haynes manual for something like that but I cant find anything. I have a '92 4.0

The sendor is in the tank, if you pull the wire you will get full with it grounded and empty with an open, or is it the other way around. LOL. If you need to replace it pull the bed, much easier then dropping the tank.

123

The sending unit and fuel pump are an integral part. It is located in the fuel tank, so if it is the sending unit, you need to drop the fuel tank. Check the guage first to see if that is the problem. Disconnect the electrical connector tor the fuel pump/sending unit at the fuel tank. Turn on the key. The guage should go past full. Probe the connector for the hot side and ground the other side. It should read below empty. If both those tests are ok, the guage is working and the problem is the sending unit. Just hope it's the guage. Sometimes a well placed tap on the dash will fix the problem if it just stuck, but be careful not to tap too hard. It also could be a bad wire in the system. Good luck.

Thanks for covering my back on that, I always forget.

If your sending unit/fuel pump in the tank is similar to mine: The parts guy at the dealer told me that the reason mine only reads full when I first fill up and drops down to almost empty is because of a little float used to measure the fuel level. He said over time it will leak fuel into the float and cause the gauge to have a bad reading. The good news is that the part is only about $5.xx at the dealer. The bad news is like the other guys said, you will have to drop the tank.

I cut the straps on my tank to try to get it down over the weekend and it is still hanging there. Like murder4hire said, I read the Hayes manual and it tells you to dissconnect the 3 fuel lines and unplug the wires at the top of the tank???? I couldn't see the 3 lines, and I can get my hand up there now on the wires, but I don't want to just pull. Can't see how they are connected???

welcome to Ford gas gauges, lol, really all gauges, in the Ranger, my gas guage doesnt work, nor does my speedometer, and finally nor does my battery needle. In the Lightning... the gauges will only light up half of the time at night, then they will just go out on you in a few min.

;) lol, and no, i havent gotten in there and messed w/ anything, nothing has been tampered with. The speedo just doesnt work during the winter, and the battery guages just started flicking (yes, the battery is just fine) and the dumb gas guage just works when it wants too (therefore i have to go off the odometer, which chooses when it wants to work too, hehe)

Hmm...so it sounds like I'm screwed then. I guess I'll try and drop it this weekend. But if I cant, guess I'll just carry a gas can around with me for insurance.

Actually, it is easier to remove the bed and work on the tank from the top. The bed is a simple removal and not too heavy. Then you can get to all the parts.

I don't doubt you that it would be easier to get to the top of the tank with the bed off. I don't know about murder4hire, but I didn't have the tool to fit in the strange looking bolts in the bed. How hard is it to remove the bolts, and with what kind of tool??? Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I need to get to the top of the tank too.

They're prolly just torx bits right?

I think it's just a huge torx bit that you need. Might be able to get one at autozone, but most likely home depot or lowes would have em.

This was a post I put in one of my own treads, but it might help anyone trying to work on the fuel sending unit/fuel tank.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...hreadid=202406
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Hey guys, this is an update to the tank problem. Well it is out now. Looking on the inside there is some kind of "blemish" about where the leak was. Could have been an impact crack made worse by freezing tempsI would like to address some of the issues that the Haynes manual doesn't cover.

Once the straps are free I supported the tank with two jackstands to give me room to look up top. I had to remove the 3 bolts that hold the gas filler neck behind the fuel door. This gives a little more slack to the tank. The filler neck tube is connected to the top of the tank with a hose clamp that has to be unscrewed. In the middle of the tank at the top is a plug/cap with a wire comming out of it. It needs to be pulled up. You can just get your fingers under the rubber part of the plug and pull. Then on the back of the tank there are 2 fuel lines. DO NOT JUST PULL ON THEM! They have a plastic retainer (like a c-clip) that has to come off first then they can be unplugged. Last is a flat wire plug right next to the fuel lines. The plug has a clip on it that will allow the plug to come straight up when you unclip it. By now I had the tank on the ground with plenty of room to look at it.

The moral of the story boys, and girls is: If you can remove the bed. DO IT! It will be alot easier. New fuel tank to come.