Daewoo Nexia Fuel Gauge Problem.

Daewoo Nexia is the one that is more or less a mark 2 Astra?

Astra and Nova fuel tank sender units are notoriously unreliable. There is a little pointer that moves up and down over a track as the float bobs up and down in the tank, and the bits that get used the most - maybe between quarter and three quarters full - wear out first. So you fill the tank, the gauge reads full for a while, goes to zero till the fuel gets down to about 1/4 full, then the gauge starts to read again. In other words, there is a range in the middle of the dial where the needle never points.

So if those are the symptoms, I'd suspect the sender unit is dud. Of course, the Daewoo version may be better than the Vauxhall one.

Lock

Yep, so I believe.

Hi Lock,

Yeah, I know where you're coming from there, I remember my VW Beetle having a similar sender unit in terms of functionality, and that explanation would make perfect sense to me. What confuses me though, is this gauge reads sporadically, even when the wires to the unit ( from the cockpit presumably ) are disconnected? For instance, at the mo, this multi connector is disconnected - the fuel gauge reads half full. As I said, I've already tried earthing the sender wire, which is suposed to force the gauge to read zero, but nothing. There must be something happening somewhere, coz the darn thing works occasionally when connected, and with very little usage of fuel.

I can get the unit partially out with the hose connected, but what I can see certainly doesn't match what you describe ( long arm/float ). Looks more like what I remember the innards of a carb look like. Could this be a pump rather than a sender unit?

Cheers,

Don't Daewoo use the same parts with the car they are based on? Isn't the Nexia based on the Astra?

Bob

"KN4665"

Yes I think the nexia is fitted with 2 fuel pumps with one located inside the tank. If you let the fuel run too low (or run out) it has a tendency to also knacker the pump in the tank. If you listen carefully to the rear of the car as you turn on the ignition you can hear this pump spin for a couple of seconds.

yep, I can hear that, Mark.

Arse..Anyone know where the sender unit is??

:-)

Well, I hear so, yes. But I'm not sure *all* parts are Astra.

That picture looks like it is an in-tank fuel pump, under a hatch below the back seat. I'd assume there is one pump in the tank, rather than a low pressure lift pump in the tank and separate high pressure pump under the floor, like in a Mk2 Golf GTi K-jet.

The sender unit will be in the lower half of the rear vertical(-ish) wall of the tank, just in front of the rear axle beam. The sender unit is sort of a bayonet fitting. I did say sort of. You remove it by unplugging the wires then levering against lugs on the rim, with crossed screwdrivers or similar, to turn it less than a quarter turn anti clockwise. (Assuming again it is like an Astra)

If there is more than a gallon or two in the tank, a raging torrent of fuel will emerge.

You can pump fuel out by disconnecting a pipe under the bonnet, putting it in a petrol can, and running the pump.

Lock

carefully

If you still have problems or need any cheap nexia spares give these a bell. They've been a lifeline to me for getting hold of second hand Daewoo spares

Hi Lock,

Thanks for the info and tips there mate.

I had been led to believe the sender unit *was* under this flap under the back seat as you describe.

It looks like it's the garage then for me! I don't like the idea of running the fuel to empty, and I'd probably make a balls of it all. I was hoping the sender unit would be more easily accessible for me to just swap. We live and learn.

Thanks again,

Thanks Mark,

I had seen that link by you before I think, perhaps in the Daewoo NG's archives at Google.

Cheers again for the link,

Tank doesn't have to be empty , just low. raising the back of the car helps too, as the hole is in the rear wall of the tank. So put the back wheels on ramps, or put the back on the pavement and the front on the road. Have a look underneath, and this will make more sense.

By the way, it would be worth unplugging the wires and making sure the connections are clean, and when you have found the right wires, do the test that you described earlier. Before removing the sender unit.

Lock

in

Hi Lock, sorry for the late reply.

Must say, now you've explained it like that, it doesn't sound so daunting. Let's hope it's fine for the next few days for me to have a try. ( as a kind of update, I put a good amount of fuel in the tank the other day and like you said, the gauge needle (finally) rose - so it looks like it could be the track that's the problem )

Thanks a bunch for your help, I'll let you know how I get on.

:-)

Cheers,

Mick.