Dying Fuel Gauge
#1
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Location: Blacksburg, VA
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Year: 1998
Model: Grand Cherokee
Engine: 5.9
Dying Fuel Gauge
The fuel gauge on my '98 5.9 Grand Cherokee just started going wonky a couple of weeks ago. It will drop to just over 1/2 tank right after I've filled the tank. It stays there until it drops below 1/2 tank, then drops on to empty.
But last Tuesday it was showing 1/8 tank by the needle & 90 miles to go on the trip computer when it ran bone dry. 24 gallons later I was back on the road.
So I suppose it's time to fix the gauge. But apparently the sending unit is part of the fuel pump assembly. And that's not cheap. How likely is it that I can pull it out of the tank & clean it up & have the sending unit work? Is this a matter of a sticking float? Or is this an electrical problem that won't be fixed w/o a new pump assembly?
I only want to drop this tank once, and I don't want to have to wait for parts to come, if possible.
But last Tuesday it was showing 1/8 tank by the needle & 90 miles to go on the trip computer when it ran bone dry. 24 gallons later I was back on the road.
So I suppose it's time to fix the gauge. But apparently the sending unit is part of the fuel pump assembly. And that's not cheap. How likely is it that I can pull it out of the tank & clean it up & have the sending unit work? Is this a matter of a sticking float? Or is this an electrical problem that won't be fixed w/o a new pump assembly?
I only want to drop this tank once, and I don't want to have to wait for parts to come, if possible.
#5
CF Veteran
#6
Old fart with a wrench
IF the fuel gauges are the same as always was, you be lucky to find about 1.5v at the sender. The supply voltage is the ground leg of a delta shunt circuit with the gauge and a resistor as the other 2 legs. I don't believe the float and resistor in the tank are serviceable separate from the pump assembly.
#7
CF Veteran
[QUOTE=dave1123;3294497] The supply voltage is the ground leg of a delta shunt circuit with the gauge and a resistor as the other 2 legs.
As a licensed electrician of 21 years, I'm going to have to make the coffee a little stronger this morning to wrap my head around that one, Dave. lol.
As a licensed electrician of 21 years, I'm going to have to make the coffee a little stronger this morning to wrap my head around that one, Dave. lol.
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#9
Old fart with a wrench
Well, I'm not an electrician but that's the way it was explained to me. I can't draw the circuit, but I understand the resistor is across the supply, gauge, and sending unit in a triangular arrangement so that the whole circuit is balanced with very little actual current flow. I know I've put a multimeter on the sending unit wire and only got about .75v-1.5v. when the gauge was supplied with 12v. I had a problem with the gauge in my Chevy truck and it turned out the resistor was loose on it's mounting studs inside the gauge.
#11
Old fart with a wrench
No, just removed the resistor, cleaned the terminals, and reinstalled.
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