broken fuel gauge

[dwaynes]

Guys i have heard it is a common problem on the gq's to have a stuffed fuel gauge is this correct is there anything i should check before taking it in to get it fixed

[blkmav]

New sender fixed mine

[dwaynes]

are the readily avalible and how much?

is there any thing i can test on it as i would be pissed if got new sender to find it was not it at all

[blkmav]

From memory it was around $100

My gauge would drop from full to empty after 100 klms

No idea how to check

[bogged]

borrow a sender unit, I did before dishin out coin. its a 20min job to swap them over properly.

[dwaynes]

so does anyone have one i can borrow

[JBE]

The Nissan maintenance manual describes how to test the gauge using three different resistors. I'll have a look tonight.

Last time I asked at a Nissan dealership, I was quoted 510$ for the sender unit for a diesel GQ. Does anyone have a part number for it?

Cheers

Joachim

[mkpatrol]

Easiest way to check the sender. Remove wire & earth to body. Turn ignition on & if gauge goes to full straight away it and the circuit are working correctly. Replace sender unit as it will have an internal break in the wiring.

The only drawback with this method is it doesnt check for accuracy. There is a special machine to do that which most GOOD sparkys will own.

If the gauge just flat refuses to work then the above method will work.

If nothing happens when you turn on ignition, check the fuses. If the fuses are ok then see a sparky. If the fuse is blown the temperature gauge usually goes bunk too.

Its a waste of time replacing shit if its not diagnosed first.

[adam.s]

If it works the same as petrol ones take it out of the tank and clean the contacts.

They are a very simple mechanical device, with a float and some electrical contacts.

As the petrol/diesel? level rises, the float rises and makes contact with different contacts, the result being the amount of gas in the tank.

They rarely fail usually, so I'd be surprised if you couldnt just clean the old one up and use it again.

[dwaynes]

well undid the wiring turned ignition on and put multimetre on and got a reading just waiting for a mate to turn up so i can earth it under the car and he can look at gauge to see if it goes up

[dwaynes]

alright needle goes up slowy when earthed out and i mean slow
it takes a good 60sec to get to full tank now it could be because of bad earthing but i not sure

any ideas anyone

buy the way this is petrol and is a extra tank that runs under the drivers side

i think when i get back from interstate its time for fuel tank to come out

[BowTieGQ]

Had same prob with mine. Rang Long Range Automotive, as it's one of their tanks, to ask which sender unit it is and specs for testing. I forget specs but it didn't matter. Sender was faulty and I got one from them for about $60 I think. That was the original Nissan one they used to use in their tanks. They now use VDO.

[mkpatrol]

alright needle goes up slowy when earthed out and i mean slow
it takes a good 60sec to get to full tank now it could be because of bad earthing but i not sure

any ideas anyone

buy the way this is petrol and is a extra tank that runs under the drivers side

i think when i get back from interstate its time for fuel tank to come out

Slow is ok as they have a resistor in them to remove the movement of fuel. If there is no resistor to cause a delay the needle move back & forwards with the fuel (anyone remember HQ Holdens, they all did it).
Sounds as if the serder is gone.

Did you check the circuit in the sender for resistence with the multimeter?
If its open circuit it will be buggered. If it has a circuit it will be ok.
All they are is a series of windings with a non conductive backing. As the float moves up & down it has a strip which completes the circuit. As the strip moves up & down it wars out the windings causing them to break hence the open circuit. This is why some guys are alking about there gauges working for some of the time.

If you still cant work it out I would suggest you get a sparky to look at it, this will save you time & money replacing stuff you dont need to.

[dwaynes]

thanks everyone
yes it is off to see the sparky

[Woop]

The Nissan sender has small plastic clips that hold the arm with float attached in position. Over time, these small plastic clips,in contact with the fuel, wear/bend, allowing the contact on the arm to loose connection with the resistive strip. Its possible, after removing the sender, to carefully heat up the plastic clips and bend them back into shape.

Nick

[BowTieGQ]

I still have my original one that needs a quick fix. It looks very easy to fix, I havn't bothered as I don't need another good one. You can have mine to fix and pass your old one to another member for them to do same maybe.

[dwaynes]

bowtiegq,

that sounds great i am sending pm now

[MQHOON]

I have an unbroken one you can have for $40, and if you were in Sydney you could have the hole tank with it for no extra charge.
Let me know if you need one.
Cheers, Mick

[grazza]

I have an LRA tank also and I am about to fit a more accurate gauge, ususally for a boat, see www.cruzpro.com and look under fuel.

Will post a thread if it works, nice to have a gauge that learns the shape of your tank.

I am worried the sender might not be long enough with the LRA but there are plenty of more accurate boat tank senders out there.

Also, its normal for the original gauge to go slow.

With the power off you should see 0-70 ohms between the gauge and ground.