Guest suffolk04 Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 broke down on the way back from work tonight, fuel gauge showing 1/4 of a tank left, but the the fuel pump making weird noise's, and cut out. would like to know if its possible to check fuel gauge and sender unit, rather than replace bits at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 When the pump makes a weird noise like that its out of gas im afraid Always carry a gallon of juice. broke down on the way back from work tonight, fuel gauge showing 1/4 of a tank left, but the the fuel pump making weird noise's, and cut out. would like to know if its possible to check fuel gauge and sender unit, rather than replace bits at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suffolk04 Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 any ideas which could be at fault though? gauge or sender? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maull Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Ive got a MK6, the temp gauge was well off. Kept bouncing from one end to the other. I dis-connected the battery, left it an hour then re-connected it and took it for a spin, now the gauge works fine. It resets the ecu or something. Im not sure if it will do the same on a fuel gauge though. Sounds to me like someone has had the clocks off at somepoint and messed around. I swapped my dials to white on a mk4 i had and the fuel gauge was off. Took me ages to get it right again, cant even remember how i fixed it now. Anyway, Hope you get it sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suffolk04 Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 was thinking about filling the tank up, then take the needle off, and set it to full, but dont kow if this would cause more problems later on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suffolk04 Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 is it possible to gain access to the wiring on top of the sender with out removing the tank on a efi model? should be able to put a feed to the gauge and see if the needle moves.....i think, not really good at electrics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigjohn0 Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Lift up your back seat and i am not 100% but there should be a big black bung. just pull it out and then you will see sender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maull Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 If you do remove the needle heres a quick tip i found handy. Use a fork to pry the needle off. Slide it between the needle and the dial and gently lift it off. It just gives a more even pressue and cuts down the chances of snapping it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suffolk04 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 If you do remove the needle heres a quick tip i found handy. Use a fork to pry the needle off. Slide it between the needle and the dial and gently lift it off. It just gives a more even pressue and cuts down the chances of snapping it. thanks for the tip, i'll try that. what would happen to the fuel gauge if i disconnect the sender? would the gauge drop to zero as if it was empty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maull Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/escort-cabriolet-xr3i-fuel-fuel-metering-unit_W0QQitemZ170433430419QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item27ae9fc393 Hi, Found this on ebay, says it from a MK4, Not sure if it fits yours or the source of the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suffolk04 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/escort-cabriolet-xr3i-fuel-fuel-metering-unit_W0QQitemZ170433430419QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item27ae9fc393 Hi, Found this on ebay, says it from a MK4, Not sure if it fits yours or the source of the problem. thats off an mfi model, so no good for my efi, thanks for looking though. what would happen if i disconnect fuel sender multi-plug? would the gauge drop to zero? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest adamk Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) Had that same prob on my mk4, but i let it run dry, while i had a gallon can of gas. id also left the glass of gauges so i could set it right on the side of the road, ran her dry used fork to take it off and set it at empty, was bang on full when i did fill her. I did do it on full, but wasn't very accurate, as i think the gauge dosnt allow for fuel up along the fuel filler pipe. and when i ran out, it shows just above the red, So empty i found much better, you know exactly when its empty then.. Edited January 19, 2010 by adamk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suffolk04 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 after searching my shed, i found an old fuel/temp gauge but was also at the 1/4 mark. connected a 9v battery to it, gauge went up to the 12o'clock position. so tried taking dial off to re-position pin snapped!!! so gunna be careful with the one on the car. Quick question though, when i disconnect the car battery, why doesn't the fuel gauge drop??? if theres no feed, should drop like my spare one did with the 9v battery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mossop1 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I take it you have a mk4 and if you disconest batery the gauge will stay were it is for some very strange reason they always did even on the orions did the same i would go with the empty tank sujestion and then reset needle on side of road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suffolk04 Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 anyone know what the resistance should be between at the sender? can't find it in the haynes. had the cluster half out at the weekend and started proding the back of the fuel gauge and the circuit board, and just like magic, the fuel gauge started dropping. so thinking more gauge than sender, but wouldn't mind just checking sender resistance with a known working one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suffolk04 Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 fixed it ran the car until it cut out, needle reads 1/4 of a tank left, so took the clocks out, and the needle was touching the back of the print, so it was sticking, bent the needle a bit, all sorted, saved £300+ on a new sender/pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingergman Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 good to hear mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeMcCarthy Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 well done mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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