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Fuel guage reads SUPER FULL, way to the right??

Buffalo Bill

Buffalo Bill

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OK, this problem cropped up last summer, I don't get it.
The gauge reads way to the right, but moves to the left as gas is used up.
So I have to rely on the trip odometer for gas level.
Seen this before?
82 1100G
 
I guess I am. On my fuel gauge, full is all the way to the right and the needle moves to the left as gas is used up. Can you explain with a little more detail? Is your needle way past the full mark when full?
 
If you fill to the bottom of the neck some do that. Want to calibrate the gauge to a KNOWN amount of gas. So..see what the manual says capacity is and get half that in a empty can from the pump and dump it in. Say 2 1/2 gallons is what you need to get, the needle should settle on the half mark. To calibrate the gauge you simply move the arm by bending it a tad in the direction the gauge is telling you.

If it reads low bend the arm toward the bottom of the tank. If it reads high bend it toward the top. May take a few times of removing the sender to bend the arm but youll get it sooner or later.
 
Would have to be the gauge itself. The tank's level sensor could be shorted and still not make the gauge read that high. The total range of the sensor is 1 ohm to 120 ohms. If you unplug the fuel level sensor does the need fall completely to empty?

Not likely but check your charge voltage. Not sure if over voltage could cause this but it's worth checking. If charge voltage check out then I'd replace the gauge.
 
If the gauge works it works has been my experience. The only thing that breaks the gauge is the wire coming loose of the bimetal strip that heats and bends...which in turn moves the needle. Other than that its a very simply constructed gauge. My bet is on the sender being dirty, needs a good cleaning and a recalibration.

when cleaning be REAL REAL careful.Theres a hair thin wire that ccnnects the waffle board to the rest of the ccuitry. Beak that and its pretty much a throw away at that point.
 
A dirty sender will NOT make the gauge read higher. The gauge reads highest at the least resistance. Any dirty contacts will make the gauge real lower then calibrated.
 
I don't care how "FULL" the gauge reads, or for how long. The only thing that matters is when it gets to "EMPTY". :-k

It is my understanding that the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) requires the fuel gauge on airplanes to be accurate at one point: EMPTY.

I adjust my sensors so that I need to switch to REServe when the needle gets to the red portion of the gauge. It does not really matter how far to the right of that it goes when full, but I know when I will have to switch to REServe, then I have a bit of a feel for how long it has been on REServe by watching the needle drop farther into the red zone.

.
 
Got that right Steve!!!! Once i set all of mine per my described method, they all need switched to reserve about 1 needle width into the red. When the needle touches red I know i need to start thin king about fuel. Darn good feeling to know youre looking at something thats relatively well calibrated and feeding you accurate useful information.
 
chuck hahn said:
If you fill to the bottom of the neck some do that. Want to calibrate the gauge to a KNOWN amount of gas. So..see what the manual says capacity is and get half that in a empty can from the pump and dump it in. Say 2 1/2 gallons is what you need to get, the needle should settle on the half mark. To calibrate the gauge you simply move the arm by bending it a tad in the direction the gauge is telling you.

If it reads low bend the arm toward the bottom of the tank. If it reads high bend it toward the top. May take a few times of removing the sender to bend the arm but youll get it sooner or later.
Click to expand...
Thanks Chuck. Kinda like adjusting a toilet flush valve, by bending the float bowl arm?
This was the way I figured it could be fixed.
Funky how it went so far off, just sitting in the garage.
Yeah Steve, when the needle drops to Full, this tank is empty. So I have to rely on the trip odometer.
Maybe I bent the arm when I siphoned the tank some time?
 
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There are 3 little bent over tabs that hold the cover on the senders guts. Take the cover off and youll see theres a graduated wire wrapped board and a slider that rides up and down said board when the arm is moved. What I do is take a tooth brush and some carb spray and clean the slider and board..but like i said watch out for that hair thin wire.

I also like to take a pair of pliers and bend one of the rests for the arm out of the way so the slider will drop free of the board. I give that slider a bit more of a bend as to make sure its getting a good positive contact all the way. set the slider thing back on the board and rebend that rest tab thing back into position.

Then proceed with some recalibrations.
 
You have probably sorted this all out by now but one poster on this thread has alluded to the problem that I had; with a busted regulator/rectifier and a battery being overcharged at say 15.5 to 16 volts then the fuel gauge reads off the scale to the right and pretty much fails to come down when the tank empties. Along with the headlamp blowing, this is a good sign of overcharging. Your battery will be boiling at this point.

Greetings
 
When he unpluigs the tank he can turn on then key and see if then gauge is at the E mark. If so, the electrical hasnt damaged his gauge.
 
No problems with overcharging I've seen, however I'll need to check that. I've seen that before too.
The gage does return to empty when switched off, and it does move all the ways to the right with the switch on and before starting.
As I said earlier, it does change with the fuel level but it seems adjusted way over to the right.
 
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