I performed a search on this, but I couldn't find the answer to my question. My Grandfather has a 94 ranger, and the gas gauge worked fine. Well, he hauled ALOT of gravel for his driveway (only from our neighbor's house to his driveway...about half a block) which squatted the truck down pretty far. Now, the gas gauge reads 1/4 with the key off, and goes to empty when you turn on the key. Now, I'm willing to bet that something has happened to the ground. I don't have anything to test the ohms.

I've read that it's easier to remove the bed to get to the sending unit. Even though I've never worked on one like this, I have to respectfully disagree with it being easier to remove the bed. So, there's no way I'm prepared to try that. I guess I'll have to remove the tank. I can feel the top of the tank where the unit is and it feels as if the wires are ok. Any other ideas? If I do end up having to drop the tank, any tips? It looks like a bolt on the end of a long strap that runs front to back, and a couple of bolts towards the center of the truck.

Finally, I want to see if anyone has a diagram or something that they can email me of the sending unit and fuel tank from a repair manual or if you can point me in the right direction.

Thanks alot...my Grandpa puts great pride in his little truck and I just want to help him get it fixed.

 

You may want to check the wires to the tank also. With that kind of weight you may have pinched a wire. I am concerned that the gage reads 1/4 with the key off. A short may have damaged the gage element itself so that it will need to be replaced. Do the rest of your gages work? Do you have full gages or idiot lights?

When you haul a weight in a truck it is not only the springs that sag. The brakes are not powerful enough to control the vehicle. The wheel bearings can grind apart, axles can break, frames can bend, etc. These problems can manifest themselves long after the vehicle was overloaded.

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Yea, and he knows better than to haul that much. But, he only went from next door, and he'd never go any further than that.

Regarding the gauges, everything else works. I read in another post on here that a person had the same problem, and it was the sender.

If I pull the sender out and move it one way or another, will that tell me anything? The sender/pump is on top of the tank (as you know) and I don't see how anything could have come down against it, as the tank would have come down with the springs. But, I can see where a wire could have gotten pinched. When I pull the tank, I'm going to trace the wires just to be sure. Any other thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

The resistance of the sendor should be 15ohms on an empty tank and 160 full. You can test the gauge by using resistors.

 

Since the gas gage worked b4 the hauling look there first. It could be a coincidence that the sender or wiring went bad. If all of your other gages work fine it is not the instrument voltage regulator. I think your truck still has stone fence tech gages. Just think of the mess if they were all computer controlled...

Pulling the tank is a LOT of work, don't do it until you have exhausted ALL other possibilities.

Go to Radio Shack and get a couple of 10Watt resistors to try first. A 10 Ohm # 271-132 and a 100 Ohm # 271-135 should be adequate to test the gage ranges. The 10 Ohm should make it read real empty, and the 100 Ohm should make it read ~2/3 full. Keep the resistors around in case you need to test another sender unit someday. If the resistors work when one end is stuck in the gage wire at the sender and the other end is grounded to a good ground, -then you will know it is the sender. If they dont work that way check the gage up at the panel or the wiring in between. Some rock dust mixed with water could have corroded a connection also, either the tank ground or another connecter.

Thanks for using FTE!




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