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

Jumpy gas gauge?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Mar 20, 2001 | 05:21 PM
  #1  
fool4fords's Avatar
fool4fords
Thread Starter
|
New User
20 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Jumpy gas gauge?

hi everyone! My ford has a problem with a jumpy gas gauge. The meter just kinda "flows" back and forth across the gauge window. It seems to sometimes "settle" it what might be somewhat of a correct reading, but not sure. Anyone out there ever have this kinda problem? It wouldnt be such a big deal, but the nearest gas station is about 25 miles away. Thats wide open West Texas for ya!---------> pcline





99' f250 Powerstroke
99' e150 econoline
88' f150 V8 - 302
 
Reply
Old Mar 20, 2001 | 07:12 PM
  #2  
fatforty's Avatar
fatforty
Posting Guru
20 Year Member
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,475
Likes: 0
Jumpy gas gauge?

Hi, it sounds like you have an intermittant ground problem check the ground wire at the sender pull it off and clean it up with a piece of sand paper and reinstall it see if this helps it. John
 
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2001 | 01:10 AM
  #3  
hotrodford_88's Avatar
hotrodford_88
Fleet Mechanic
25 Year Member
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,504
Likes: 1
From: Texas
Jumpy gas gauge?

 
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2001 | 09:33 AM
  #4  
noremac19's Avatar
noremac19
Senior User
20 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 177
Likes: 0
Jumpy gas gauge?

Ya my 94" F150 does the same thing. The gas gauge moves when turning corners, stepping on it, or braking. Once my gauge settles its accurate. Dont worry about anything
 
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2001 | 10:12 AM
  #5  
Franklin2's Avatar
Franklin2
Moderator
25 Year Member
Photogenic
Community Builder
Community Influencer
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,950
Likes: 2,718
From: Virginia
Club FTE Gold Member
Jumpy gas gauge?

If the other guages vary some too, it could be the instrument regulator on back of the guage panel.
 
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2001 | 11:04 AM
  #6  
bjoern's Avatar
bjoern
Tuned
20 Year Member
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 426
Likes: 1
From: houston, texas (now Berli
Jumpy gas gauge?

I have the same thing - on one of the tanks. The other always shows empty :-)

------------------------------------------------------
1988 F-150, 5.0L 302ci, 5spd, SuperCab. Shorty headers, K&N filter, Accell 300 8.8mm race wires, Accell supercoil, Accell rotor+cap, Bosch +4 Platinum plugs, RanchHand bumper. Soon: MSD 6a ignition and dual exhaust.
 
Reply
Old Mar 21, 2001 | 04:56 PM
  #7  
mrlaserboy's Avatar
mrlaserboy
Senior User
25 Year Member
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 242
Likes: 0
From: St. Paul, MN
Jumpy gas gauge?

It's actually the fuel level sender in the tank. Not quite sure how to explain this but the sender is like a slide potentiometer with a wiper rubbing against a resistance film (this is the part I can't explain clearly). But anyways, over time the wiper wears out the film and grounds itself out resulting in a bouncing gauge needle. On mine, I can tell mine is worn out from 3/4 of a tank to 1/8 of a tank. The needle works just fine when full and almost empty but when it's anywhere in between 3/4 and 1/8 of a tank, the needle pegs out. Only fix to this problem is a new fuel level sender.

Dustin Siebert
mrlaserboy(No Email Addresses In Posts!)
Registry: http://www.superford.org/cgi-bin/sf.cgi?uid=default&vr2=1&ID=201
Home Page: http://www.superford.org/users/ylobronc/index.html
'88 Bronco XLT 302EFI/AOD/BW1356/44IFS with 8 lugs(open)/10.25 FF(Lockright locker)/4.56/6" Superlift/2" BL/35's-street/38.5's-trails
2 BIG BRONCOS 4X4 CLUB - GREAT LAKES CHAPTER http://www.2bigbroncos.org

 
Reply
Old Mar 22, 2001 | 07:20 PM
  #8  
KevinT's Avatar
KevinT
Senior User
25 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 425
Likes: 0
Jumpy gas gauge?

I'm not sure on your guy's problem, but mine will drop down to 1/4 tank when I do a nice pedal to the metal, quick shifting, when getting on the freeway or leaving my house (street in front of my house, speed limit=55) even with a 1/2 full tank it will drop down to 1/4 tank if I floor it for a bit, but after 20-30 seconds of normal driving it goes back up to where it was before, I dunno but I think its just the gas sloshing around

1995 F-150XL SC/SB
http://members.sounddomain.com/blind
5-Star Rated F-150 (Big Stereo)
 
Reply
FTE Stories

Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts

story-0

Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?

 Brett Foote
story-3

2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-4

10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!

 Joe Kucinski
story-5

Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026

 Brett Foote
story-6

5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time

 Joe Kucinski
story-7

Ford Super Duty: 5 Things Owners LOVE, 5 Things They LOATHE!

 Joe Kucinski
story-8

Every 2026 Ford Truck Engine RANKED from WORST to FIRST!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-9

The Best F-150 Deal of Every Trim Level (XL through Raptor)

 Joe Kucinski
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
J ballan
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
5
May 6, 2012 09:37 PM
plcrsn73014
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
6
May 17, 2011 06:30 PM
78bigunns
Offroad & 4x4
7
Jul 1, 2008 09:05 AM
Ford Freak
1997 - 2003 F150
2
Mar 31, 2004 08:24 AM




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:01 AM.

story-0
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home

Slideshow: Ford's bizarre fishing-themed Explorer concept has resurfaced after spending decades largely forgotten.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-12 18:07:46


VIEW MORE
story-1
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!

Slideshow: The 10 best Ford truck engines we miss the most.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 13:09:47


VIEW MORE
story-2
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?

Slideshow: first look at the 810 hp 2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road!

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-12 12:50:07


VIEW MORE
story-3
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!

Slideshow: Everything You Need to Know about the 2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package!

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-05-07 17:51:06


VIEW MORE
story-4
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!

Slideshow: 10 most surprising Ford truck options/features in 2026.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:17:22


VIEW MORE
story-5
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026

Slideshow: Here are the top 10 Fords coming to Mecum Indy 2026.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:49:49


VIEW MORE
story-6
5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time

Slideshow: The 5 best and 5 worst Ford truck wheels of all time

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 16:49:01


VIEW MORE
story-7
Ford Super Duty: 5 Things Owners LOVE, 5 Things They LOATHE!

Slideshow: Ranking the 5 things owners love about their Super Duty and 5 things they don't

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 16:36:49


VIEW MORE
story-8
Every 2026 Ford Truck Engine RANKED from WORST to FIRST!

Slideshow: Ranking all 12 Ford truck engines available in 2026.

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 13:32:20


VIEW MORE
story-9
The Best F-150 Deal of Every Trim Level (XL through Raptor)

Slideshow: The best Ford F-150 deal for every trim level (XL through Raptor)

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-21 15:59:01


VIEW MORE