So full that gas reads at generator?!!

So, the saga continues. I have not checked into it, but I just noticed when looking at the gas gauge that it was off the scale past the FULL mark and pegged at the first dummy light. Any idea why my fuel gauge is way off? Could it be a sending unit issue? Dare i say - a grounding issue? A fuse blown? How do these fuel senders work anyway? I imagine it has to do with resistance changes from when the tank is full and empty. <P>Ahh the joys of electricity!<P>Anyway, I'll be looking at everything tonight, just need a place to start.<P>Thanks again,<BR>Cisco<P>1972 Skylark350 Suncoupe (RIP)<BR>1970 Skylark 350 Current headache! [img]images/icons/grin.gif" border="0[/img]

On my 71 Riviera the sender is made up of a cylinder with a float that rides up and down on some contacts. At the top of the cylinder the resistance is at its lowest(ground) and at the bottom it is a higher resistance.<BR> If the reading on the gauge doesn't change I would check the wire to your sender to see if it is split and shorted to ground.<BR> FYI a GM employee told me that they only used the cylinder mounted sender for a few years because it you get a dent in the bottom of the tank it will knock the cylinder off inside the tank and it won't work anymore. <BR> Anyways, most systems work on the same principles.

Tank wire open,"full" Tank wire grounded,"empty" Tank unit is a rheostat that gives you everything between.Double check that your tank itsef is properly grounded.Ralph