Gas - Petrol - Fuel GUAGE reads full

[andyf]

Okay, I know this has been discussed before but I could not see the answer in the search results. Since getting the car back from the body shop the fuel gauge reads full all the time although the low level warning light seems to work.

Can anyone point me in the direction of the main suspects?

Ta muchly.

[dursleyman]

Swap the gauge.

[busheytrader]

Have the connections to the tank sender been dislodged at all

[andyf]

Nothing has been dislodged as far as I know, all it was in the shop for was bodywork. I guess it is a wiring fault somewhere, something earthing out that shouldn`t. Come on, where`s all the electrical experts

[dursleyman]

Andy, I was not being flippant when I said to change the gauge.
I went all through this with the gauge reading full. Tested and changed out wires and sender to no avail until I fitted another gauge. Just saying its something to keep in mind.

[andyf]

I have a spare gauge somewhere Russ, I will give it a go, thanks mate.

[FI Spyder]

Could be wiring, could be gauge, do what ever is easiest first if you have a gauge. Lots of posts on this, a search will show all.

[Cobber]

Jeez, some people don't know when they're well off .............I wish my bloody petrol gauge would always read full!

[unicorn]

Happened to me few months Back turned out to be the gauge which was my first thought. Unfortunately it was a long journey as the new guage I swapped it for also said full so changed the sender. Still full. Bypassed the wiring from sender to gauge still said full. Back to my first thought got another new gauge... that said empty. Third new gauge said correct reading which was about half ( I know I tasted it when I syphoned out for the sender ) so lesson learned just cos it's new don't mean it works lol

[andyf]

I didn`t have time to have a long look at it over the weekend and I could not find a spare gauge so I crawled under the back of the car and checked that the cables to the sender unit were all in place and gave them a little wiggle as you do. The gauge now reads empty I could not get it to read anything after that so there is certainly a fault at the wiring there (there is now) so I will change the connectors there when I get a spare hour or two.

[andyf]

This weekend I cleaned all the connectors to the sender and changed the gauge for a spare that I had, still reading empty. Can anyone give me an idea as to what I should check next?

Thanks.

[Sautie]

This I know sounds daft, but I had this problem some years ago. I found that the gauge's needle was sticking, I simply used a tooth pick to push the needle back after removing the glass.

[FI Spyder]

Just because the connectors are clean doesn't mean the wiring is good. Wires can break inside the insulation which is difficult/impossible to see because the connector case is covering it or the insulation itself. You can do some voltage measurements (power on) or continuity measurements (power off, battery disconnected to be safe). I had that happen to me not on fuel gauge circuit but had no instrument lights. Turned out a broken wire where it went into a connector after the dash light dimmer. Difficult to see, easy/cheap to fix. This can happen at any connector in the car.

[andyf]

Yesterday I tried another two spare gauges and still dead. Next to look at is wiring and sender I think. Looking at the wiring diagram if I removed the green/orange and green/black wires at the sender and joined them together the gauge should then read full, is this correct?

And if it does can I then assume it is the sender?

[nick]

As FI Spyder says, a multimeter may be helpful. With the gauge out check for 12 volts at the gauge. Those wires on that flexible circuit board break. Also check for 12 volts at the sender.