1994 Ranger

Can't tell that until it's diagnosed. Could be the circuit, the wiring or the sender. Most likely is the sender, which involves changing the in-tank pump.

On Mon 11 Aug 2003 07:13:56a, dglenn assaulted the computer and came up with this:

mine died too... always shows empty now... used to show up every once in a while and the needle would move, but now it's just dead dead dead... pulling the bed to get to the top of tank.

It might be common. My BroncoII (1990, more-or-less the same as the Ranger) always reads empty on the fuel guage too. I have no idea if the problem is fixable, let alone how to do it (I don't even know the actual cause, on mine). I do know that the previous owner replaced the fuel tank and sending unit, and I kinda wonder if maybe he broke something in the process (maybe a bent float or something). Or, perhaps, the guage just isn't calibrated for the level sendor on the new sending unit.

The '91 Escort I used to have had the fuel guage stuck on full. Dunno what's up with that either. I'm used to using the trip odometer as a fuel guage :-).

I think fuel guages are probably one of the least reliable components. The '88 Pontiac I drove last winter (it was my dad's car) was empty when the guage read 1/4 tank. (nice of my brother to tell me, when I asked him what causes it to stall :-); come to think of it that car had the fuel tank replaced as well) My mom's '94 astro is the same now too -- 1/4 on the guage means empty in the tank.

OTOH my F-150 is the reverse -- empty on the guage means another 60-80 miles in the tank (depending on which tank) but otherwise the guage works correctly.

If you do identify the problem and a solution, I'd like to hear it. Maybe I would try it on my BroncoII. It'd be nice to know how much gas I have, since I don't even know how big the tank is!

-D

Yep, the electric sending units etc, on old VWs were too... but nope!;) when talking about the old mechanical sending units.

Ok so the float might leak on the mechanical units but that's not the mechanisms fault, is it?

While I had my gas tanks out on my '75 F150 I made changes in the sending units' internal adjustments and fixed them to read empty just as they really are getting empty and full when they are full.

It wasn't hard to do just needed what I call "hand work", something most manufactured goods hadn't gotten any of, for decades. :/

BTW that's just another one of my weird-ass things I've done to my pickup over the years. :/ I had the bed off, I was trying to get the main tank to take gas without gas running down the side of the pickup and also wanted the main tank to keep the gas in the tank!

That wasn't too much to ask was it? ;)

Same here, looking forward to the information too. :)

On the old VW's the sending unit's NiChrome wire winding would break (burn-up/wear-out?). Soldering it back together was just a temporary fix the sucker would break somewhere else right away. :(

Alvin in AZ