Fuel Gauge sporadically shows empty

[Adam Smith]

(posted in wrong place originally)

The fuel gauge reading on my '04 flex fuel Trac started having intermittent problems in 2012. It was very sporadic, only right after fill up, would still show empty, but would usually pop back up to "full" after restarting; or it would slowly creep up while driving after the fill up, and would be fine after that. Became more common in 2013 after fill ups, and now in 2014, I have had it happen while driving around - suddenly within a short time after fill up the red dash light and audible alarm will go off and the gauge drops to below empty (bottomed out). Anyone with some new ideas? I pulled every fuse and just pushed them back in; be careful if doing this, it's easy to forget where one went. I believe it is a 7.5 in the middle column that controls all the gauges on the dash (yes, I d/c'd the battery first).

Thanks!

 

[Mark Keefer]

I'd say the sending unit in the tank is bad

 

[Adam Smith]

Any idea what kind of $$ we're talking about to have a shop put in a new one?

 

[Mark Keefer]

I'm not sure what a garage charges but if you have a mechanic like back ground. just un bolt the 2 tank straps and drop the tank. Then unhook the wires/hoses and switch out the part and replace it.

 

[Vic Sorlie]

Found an excellent 5 minute video on this repair. View it and you'll have a good idea of what's required for this job. IMO this is a job for a professional; I don't like working around open gasoline tanks. Notice also that if you don't have access to a lift it's going to be even more difficult for a DIYer. My estimate (I'm not a pro mechanic) is that this is minimum of 2 hours shop time, plus cost of the part. You can check RockAuto for cost of part, but keep in mind that most shops will require that they purchase the part; you'll probably not be able to provide the part yourself.

 

[Mark Keefer]

If the tank has gas in it an you do it yourself drive it till most of the gas is gone and use a jack for a lift

 

[Eric Toften]

I just dropped the fuel tank on my son's Ranger this weekend. It is not an easy job. But one that can be done by any weekend mechanic like myself. I would say that if you don't have a lift you can use a jack. I did. I would suggest having two people. It took some wiggling of that tank to get he bolts to line back up. It's not as simple as zoey would have it sound by dropping two straps and unhooking the tank. The steps are that simple but it just doesn't work that easy. And I would agree that the sender is bad. Sometimes the float absorbs gas and looses its' buoyancy. Sounds like what you have.

 

[scott degroot]

e_toften,4/7/2014 20:31 MT



I just dropped the fuel tank on my son's Ranger this weekend.

Next time you do a Ranger remove the 3 screws securing the fuel neck to the body, loosen the right side bolts that hold the bed down until there are about 2 threads remaining, completely remove the bed bolts on the left side and then tilt the bed up and prop it up with something...takes about 10 minutes to change the pump after that.

 

[Ken Crockett]

In my case (also an '04 flex fuel ST, bought new), I have seen this multiple times. It has always turned out to be one of those electrical gremlins caused by a weak (dying) battery. Problem goes away when the battery is replaced.

 

[Johnny O]

On another much older car I owned the problem was a bad ground on the fuel gauge itself.