Hello to all . I have checked the search and I have found several posts for rangers but none for the B2. I have a 88 b2 with a (new) 2.9 5spd manual 4x4 auto lock hubs . I am trying to find the wiring connector to the sending unit in the gas tank. My fuel gauge works some times and times it doesn't. There are days when I turn the ignition switch on and off several times and the gauge works each time , starts at below the empty mark and goes to almost 3/4 and has a hesitation and then skips on up to the full mark ( this is with a full tank ). During driving some times when I go over rough areas or a big bump the guage will start to go down to empty. I live in SC and the past three days it has been raining here, and the guage worked well. I pulled the guage cluster and traced the circuit from the guage to the plug on the wiring harness and tested the terminals with a voltage meter when I turned the switch on and there was no reading. Now it is no longer raining and the guage isn't working at all. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. Well, now you know as much about it as I do. I think there may be a short in the wiring somewhere or the sending unit may be faulty especially with the little glitch it showed when the unit was working. If someone can advise me of the wiring and the proper voltage and locations to read them from and where the connectors are located. Oh , also how to check the sending unit in the tank and how to remove it if it fails. Thanks to all in advance

 

I'm having the same issues with my 84. Replaced the tank and sending unit and when I install the tank the guage goes beyond full and pins. If the tank is out of the truck the guage & sender work correctly. I'm covering the tunk with undercoating to try & break the ground.

Dropping the tank is fairly easy: drain the tank, remove the skid plate, disconnect the fuel lines, unbolt the filler neck from the body, unbolt the straps, lower the tank and bear-hug it out of the way.

 

so you think that the tank may be grounded and that is causing the bad readings?

 

Yes, but I forgot that my truck originally had the "warning center" in the center console, so the spare wiring for that might also be the culprit. Since I removed the warning center, the new sending unit might be creating an open circuit that's grounding back through the tank, causing the bad readings.

I insulated the tank from the straps using some toolbox foam lining stuff, and that worked for the moment. I'm going to install custom guages later and run all new wiring, so I'm not going to worry about it for long, just this winter while I get the cash and parts rounded up.

 

Basically, the Ranger tests are the same as B2. Pull the electrical connector off the in-tank sender unit and check for power. If you find power in the elec. connector, ground it on the frame & check the guage. It should peg to one side or the other. You could wiggle test the entire wiring harness looking for breaks or move on to pulling the sender.
AL.
Something is going on here... "If you find power in the elec. connector" is how it does read in the "Edit Post" page. ????????????

 

Hey folks, I once had an 88 Ranger that had a crazy acting fuel gauge, as it turned out, the float had a small hole in it. The float just snaps in the hanger on the sending unit. I got a float out of a junker and the guage then worked fine.