Hoping someone might have an idea--otherwise I'm stumped. 2006 F250 v10 gasser with midship 35 gal tank. Fuel gauge dropped below empty, no longer moves. Display reads "Fuel Level Data Error."

I have

• dropped the tank,
• removed sending unit,
• verified that ohm resistance goes up and down with the float movement,
• hooked up sending unit out of the tank and manually moved the float up and down--no change;
• took sending unit apart and cleaned contacts--no change. Completely unplugged the sending unit--no change,

...all of which leads me to believe it's the gauge. Fuel pump is on the same wiring harness, and it works fine, so I think the harness (and ground) are ok.


I've seen threads here and elsewhere about the "fuel level data error" but don't see many successful fixes. The only think I can think of that I have not done, is grounding the gauge as a test--but would really like to avoid pulling the dash.

So, I'm at the give up point, and ready to just use the trip meter as a substitute for the gas gauge. Any other ideas, please?!!?

 

you many need the gauge assembly rebuilt... unless you have a wiring issue under the dash.. or along the frame rails.

 

Chuck's First Ford: Thanks for your reply. The problem turned out to be the sending unit after all. Found the entire fuel pump assembly for $63 on ebay. Hooked it up, error gone, gas gauge working. Might not be the highest quality, although it looks exactly like the original, and I doubt the Motorcraft version is 5 times better, according to the price differential. And, if it goes bad, I can just replace it--having learned how to drop the tank, I bet I could do the whole job in an hour, bad back and all--2 straps, 5 push on connectors, 1 wire harness connector, lock ring and filler tube, that's it. Highly recommended to run it dry or siphon off the gas, which makes the tank much easier to lower and raise, especially when doing it from under the truck.

In the end I could never isolate the problem--ohms read correctly on the old sending unit, across the whole range from something like 15 ohms to 165 ohms--forget the exact numbers; the "sweep gauge" test on the cluster worked fine, suggesting the gauge was operational; wires at the connector tested for good voltage and good ground; so at $63 I could afford to (and had no idea other than to) just start throwing parts at it. I checked the calibration by reading the 'miles to empty' on the dash display, then calculated it should hold an additional 30 gallons of fuel, which it did, exactly, so the gauge and the new sending unit appear to be in sync.

Not sure I learned any other tricks worth sharing, but if you're trying to decide on lifting the bed or dropping the tank to get at the fuel pump and sending unit, I would definitely vote for dropping the tank--at least for this gasser V10--not sure about the diesels. I started this job by taking a kind of poll/survey of opinions here and elsewhere, and consensus seemed to be to raise the bed. So I started with that and then got into the whole bed bolt nightmare, grinding off bolts. Given that complication, unless you also want to gain access to paint the frame, etc, it seems much easier to just drop the tank, which we did. Because I couldn't isolate the error, I wanted to completely remove the tank and assembly to get a good look and find any other possible sources of the error. We put a 2x4 under the tank, and were able to relatively easily guide it, and raise and lower it using a floor jack. It had about 10 gallons of fuel remaining when we removed it, and when we re-installed, elimination of even this relatively small amount of fuel made it much more manageable--it's the extra weight, plush the sloshing of fuel from end-to-end on this oblong tank that makes it especially ornery unless empty.

At an average of 10-12 mpg, I guess this will probably be the first and last time I'll feel anything but frustration when staring at the (now working) gas gauge! Funny how your perspective on things can change, ain't it? :-)

 

Replaced the in-tank float/sending unit assembly 11 months ago, which fixed the issue. Today, same as last time--no warning--worked yesterday, dead today. May have to go to the dealer to see if they might be able to find some other error code. Just in time for hot summer temps! Noice!

 

Fuel gauge is working (again, for now). Had seen videos that Chevron Techron fuel additive would take care of it, chemically scrubbing adverse effects of hi-sulphur gasoline on the circuitry of the submersed fuel pump assembly. A Ford service bulletin years ago also mentions this fix.

I originally started with this attempted fix the first time I had the problem, running a couple of tanks of fuel with the additive--no results. This time, instead of the recommended 2 containers of additive per tank full (35 gallons) I added 3. The truck sat overnight, and the next morning, fixed. Ran a tank of fuel through it--no problem. Then, first fill-up (at an Exxon), problem re-appears. 3 more containers of Techron additive, sat overnight, fixed, again.

Not sure if this additive is indeed what's fixing it, or if high sulphur is the culprit, but this has worked--twice. However, now worried about possible affects of using too much additive, i.e. burning a valve or causing some other $$$$ problem, just to get a fuel gauge that works :-(. So if it craps out again, not sure what my next and more permanent fix might be...