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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

Fuel gauges

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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 06:01 PM
  #1  
Tom Bowser's Avatar
Tom Bowser
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Fuel gauges

85 F250 diesel
fuel gauges not accurate, goes up and down at will. When reading empty, you still have about half a tank, same for both tanks. Haven't figured out how to get to tank switch on dash.

HELP!
 
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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 08:40 PM
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Most likely, the tank sending unit is worn out or the float has sprung a leak and filled with gas.

Pull the wire from the sending unit and ground it with the ignition in RUN or ACC, the gauge
should swing fully to the right. Release it and it should swing fully to the left.

If that test passes, the gauge & wiring are OK.

Best way I know of to get at the dash switch is to remove the HVAC controls, this is most
easily done IMHO by first removing the dash pad.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 08:43 PM
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If you have a diesel, the wiring for the fuel guage does not go through the switch. The switch tells the frame mounted valve to switch the fuel lines, and the frame mounted valve also has a set of contacts that switch the fuel gauge.

But yes, more than likely your sending units are worn out, and they are very expensive for the diesel.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2011 | 08:58 PM
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Fuel gauge

I will try that. If the sending unit is bad, can I get one of those units from JC Whitney? I used one years ago on a diesel tank on a boat.
 
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