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Hi everyone. New to the forum here. i have a 1996 f-250 7.3l powerstroke. truck has dual tanks. the rear tank is full but when i switch it over to the rear, the fuel Gage is reading less than 1/4 of a tank, runs for a couple min and then dies. i have heard people say it could either be a bad switch or the selector valve could be bad which i have found out is very expensive for a new one. any ideas as to how to test whether its the switch or selector valve?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Port-Fuel-Gas-Dual-Tank-Selector-Valve-Chevy-Dodge-Ford-GMC-Pickup-Truck-U7001-/161113519213?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item25831d346d&vxp=mtr#ht_2557wt_1056 VALVE, FUEL TANK SELECTOR
Glenn's got you there. another invaluable bit of knowledge from this forum.
the selector valve in question IS expensive from Ford. the part itself is not, when sourced elsewhere.
now, to the OP's problem. it may well be the selector valve, but i believe the consensus is that these don't generally go bad.
the tank reading 1/4 full on the gauge could be an electrical issue or a bad float. i forget the exact wiring on this, but don't believe the fuel level readings go through the selector valve at all. the switch on the dash picks which signal to send to the gauge cluster, i think.
as for the truck dying on a full tank in the back, it could be a bad pickup tube in the tank or a bad hose connection somewhere along the way.
does it die on a full tank in the back when the front tank is full as well? if so, then its not the selector valve as it the valve, right?
i've raised more questions than answers, but i'd like to save you the cost of the selector valve if that is perhaps not the issue.
One other thought too. How do you know the tank is full. How much did you put in it. The reason I ask is the inner fill tube on my truck was kinked. I could barely get a pint in it and it would act full. Maybe you've got something similar with a broken pickup as well.
very good point, Nick. that's be the simplest thing by far. my tanks do the same thing. i have to hold the filler nozzle so its just barely in the filler neck to get it to fill. very annoying, but thats the only way to fill them.
I think the gauge wiring does go through the selector valve. The dash switch just reverses the polarity on some sliding contacts in the selector valve. That activates a little electric motor that turns a screw. The screw moves the motor carrier and the valve. The motor stop when it gets to the end of the slide at the same time switching to the wires for the other tank's level sensor.
I had some fun dissecting an old selector valve one day. lol.
Gauge feed most definitely goes through the selector valve, just as described:
Vent/fill issue: search on "vent mod" or "fast fill mod", here and on the other PSD-related forums. Indeed, for the OP, you should fill that rear tank slowly, wait 'til you actually hear it coming up the pipe. Or watch the meter on the pump and be sure that you're getting at least 10 gallons in it. This is starting to look like a combination of the fill/vent issue and a broken-off pickup base (showerhead).
Tank selector and float are both low on the suspect list, actually. If it were the tank selector, the gauge would _probably_ not change when switching between tanks. If it were the float, that would cause a low gauge reading but it would not cause the truck to stall.
I think the vent mod was the first thing I did when I bought my first PSD. My wife would say, you done yet? LOL Now I can pump 90 gallons of fuel by the time she goes to the bathroom.
Actually, the advantage of incorporating the gauge feed switching into the selector valve is that the gauge reflects the actual valve position. If you flip, say, from front to rear, and the valve fails and stays on the front, you wouldn't want the gauge to be reading from the rear.
Actually, the advantage of incorporating the gauge feed switching into the selector valve is that the gauge reflects the actual valve position. If you flip, say, from front to rear, and the valve fails and stays on the front, you wouldn't want the gauge to be reading from the rear.
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