Mutley Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 A while ago I replaced the float in the fuel tank of my '95 300Tdi 90 And in some ways for the most part it works!?!.....But on the odd times when I'm flushed enough to have spare cash to it to the brim ie. the top of the filler pipe (Yes I know it's not good practice). The fuel gauge never shows/reads FULL on level ground!?! It ALWAYSshows 3/4 of a tank???...... Yet if I go down hill or round a right hand bend then the needle on the fuel gauge WILL rise to FULL!?! I have on numerous occasions removed the float and checked it's seated correctly, connected it up to the wires and moved it by hand with the ignition on and it all works and reads as it should!?!.....But FILL it with Diesel and it NEVER reads more than 3/4's Filled!?! Is this the way it is or am I being stupid and just need to drive round a downhill roundabout until there is actually 3/4's of a tank of Derv!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 The most important thing is not to know it's full but empty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 sounds like the float wire arm needs bending to a get a correct reading. or the float has a hole in it & is full of diesel so can't float on the fuel to read correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Yeah just bend the wire down a bit. More important to know where empty is anyway.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutley Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 Cheers guys, will check float for taking in fuel, may look at bending wire arm down a tad as a last resort!?! Totally agree the need to know when fuel is low, is the Important thing! BUT!!! On the odd occasion when I've saved all my pennies and treat myself to a FULL TANK of diesel, I would like the Green F@#$%€& Monster to show some appreciation and have it's gauge READ FULL!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cackshifter Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 There is always this kind of thing...link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 My suspicion is that you have a poor contact that is improving under the lateral forces of the turn, perhaps a wiring contact, but more likely the ranging arm on the sender making poor contact with the resistive windings, side forces pressing the float arm and ranging arm harder against the windings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 23 hours ago, Mutley said: Cheers guys, will check float for taking in fuel, may look at bending wire arm down a tad as a last resort!?! I'd adjust it as first resort - it's a pretty crude device and they aren't accurate out of the box, never mind after being shoved past the baffles. 2cm difference in the height of the ping pong ball on the end of the wire is probably over 15 litres variance. The most accurate way to set the arm is from empty - just about to conk out of fuel - then you can choose where in the red you want empty to be, and it will naturally read full on a filled tank. If you do it the other way you won't know where empty is until it's too late.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 I got sick of fuel tank gauge twitching and badly reading on my standard set-up - I cleaned the wee resistance slider on the sender and that helped improve the situation but in the end I installed a new float and sender and switched to my TD5 dash set-up, no more fuel level grips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quagmire Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 The sender on my 90 occasionally gets hung up on the baffles and the gauge stops moving. It always catches me for a short while as I start to think "I'm getting decent economy on this tank" and then I realise what's happened and either have to go over some speed humps or fill up again to get it unstuck. Happens maybe one time in ten, so annoying but evidently not *quite* annoying enough for me to fix it as it's been like that for years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 My fuel light comes on when it's brimmed as well as when it's getting low and the gauge has started doing exactly what you describe too, I put it down to the new fangled E10 petrol but it's probably the wiring / connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 To me it sounds more like your tank breather is blocked and your not actually putting a full tank in. For it to go up in corners etc the fuel level has to go up so if the breather is blocked you'll have an air bubble in the tank therefore you only have ¾ of a tank. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/13/2021 at 7:11 AM, miketomcat said: To me it sounds more like your tank breather is blocked and your not actually putting a full tank in. For it to go up in corners etc the fuel level has to go up so if the breather is blocked you'll have an air bubble in the tank therefore you only have ¾ of a tank. Mike Mine definitely isn't - it leaks if I brim it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 9 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: Mine definitely isn't - it leaks if I brim it Not yours! I was referring to the op. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakmaster Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 I'm with Mutley on this topic - If I've splurged on a full tank - I want it to show as a full tank! (esp. on the V8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.