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I fill up the tank only to have it read half full after about 80 miles. Go to fill up again and it only takes 8.00 dollars. I think that the sending unit or float is bad. Do I have to buy the fuel pump assembly to get the float?
Yes, to get a replacement fuel float, you will have to buy a new pump assembly. Or go to a junkyard and pull one. However, fuel floats, are really prone to becoming stuck due to physical displacement (tipped up too high and stuck on something, obvious solution ) and residue from old gasoline as it decays. (which is basicly solidified varnish, and is quite sticky, but can be cleaned off with petrol products: more gas, paint thinner, etc...) If you decide to replace it, remember to inspect the part carefully beforehand, which can quite often save you a return trip to the store for the correct part.
No you need the sender wich is atached to the float this you may be able to buy seperatly ( the sender is not the sending unit. the sender is the part the float hooks to and send an electronic reading to the fuel gauge.)
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the fuel sender unit needs replacing as is reading lower than what is actually in tank from whay you've said so far, if your basing your MPG on the gauge reading it will be way out , best way to check MPG fill tank, drive for say 50 miles,, refill tank and see how much you have replaced, that will be your MPG
If your fuel gauge is showing you in accurate readings this is normal to all vehicles that are not used to fill-up gas full regularly but sometimes the cause of the inacuracy is due to faulty float valve in the gas tank you need to replace it
Fuel gauges are not meant to be precision instruments. You might want to fill up a 2 gallon can and drive the car until it runs out of fuel to see how low the gauge will go before it's really empty. Use the 2 gallons to get back to a filling station.
I once spent three working days trying to get a 1972 Chrysler to read full when it's full, half when it's half and quarter tank when the tank has a quarter amount of fuel. The customer did not want to accept anything else, but in the end all I did was to get close, not exact.
It is possible that the fuel float in the gas tank is "drowned", that is, the plastic float might have a slow leak and some fuel found its way inside. This will cause the float to submerge slightly and give you a low reading. To check this you will have to remove the float unit from the tank.
In any case, if you feel up the job (not easy) remove the float unit from the tank and manually move it up and down while checking the meter reading. You can bend the wire holding the float to correct misreadings.
Personally, I wouldn't bother, just be aware that when the reading is low, feel safe that you still have enough fuel to get to the next filling station.
Its very simple. If the gauge is showing half full then fill the tank and see how much fuel it takes. If the amount you add is approximately 50 percent of the fuel tank capacity then you know the fuel gauge is accurate . In that case the computer is giving an inaccurate reading and should be ignored. All you need is an accurate fuel gauge - it does not matter a row of beans what the computer says if the fuel gauge is reading correctly.
{: ) Your fuel level sensor could be intermittently reading high resistance and may need replacement. An intermittent reading can happen at any level (say 1/4, 1/2, 3/4) and will suddenly give you an empty reading and fuel light, sometimes an SES light may follow. At any rate, this kind of symptoms still recommends replacement of the fuel level sensor.
You can observe it by yourself. Does it read normal on lets say half full but will read empty when you can calculate that you still have 1/4 remaining on your tank. In your case you've just filled it full, and it's no different once the fuel level sensor start getting erratic readings.
Although it may take time, you can wait until the fuel level stabilizes to a certain lower level where you think your gauge was reading normally before. You can also do some stop and go, forward and reverse, to slosh the level arm to a a more readable position. Check if you can get clearer results out of this trick.
A scan tool is a better tool to determine quickly the condition of the sensor and may tell also if there are other codes that is related to your problem.
there is a book publish by the govnt or minister of transport on the exact milage as well if you know how many liters or gallons go in your tank like 80 liters and the gas is 1.00 a liter it cost $80 for 80 liters on a full tank you do 500 km but make sure proper conditions of 100km a hour tires all proper equal pressure the wind is also a facture there is a lot involved to calculate your gas proformance as well if you had a oil change done latly you can find out on a govt site for gas consuption or consumers report
Most cars and truck nowdays show the tank empty when you start it. Then it slowly advances to the correct level of fuel in the tank. You can try and use some fuel additives like Gumout or Valvoline that clean the injectors and other fuel sytem parts. You can get a buildup of tarnish in these parts and this can cause slow readings. If this was the case it should improve after a few tank fulls of gas with the cleaners added. The guage could also slowly be going bad. The newer style guages are connected to the fuel pump and you will need to replace the whole unit if this goes out on you. Keep in mid that when the fuel pump quits, it quits, usually without much advance notice. If the car starts sputtering and does not have full power, this will hint at the fuel pump going bad. If your car has over 100,000 miles on it, you might want to think about preparing to change the fuel pump, these seem to want to go out shortly after 100,000 miles, but you can get lucky once in a while and it can last longer. Keeping your tank at least half full with clean gas is a big help, the gas keeps the fuel pump cool so it last longer!
fuel tank vent could be blocked by mud/pebbles etc, not letting the gas fumes escape while your adding fuel making it overflow, check underneath the car near the fuel tank .. something to start with..
Sending unit is in gas tank. usually as an assembly with the electric pump. These aren't cheap either, If you know a mechanic you can trust ask him how much to install a new one, I can get them wholesale for less than two hundred dollars, but of course retail probably more like 250.00 Hope this helps you!
new sending unit and float assembly installed
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