Fuel gauge issues

[bubba966]

Friends '95 525iT has a fuel gauge that's erratic. Sometimes it reads right, and sometimes it reads empty.

OBC does still give the correct range when the gauge isn't reading properly.

Nothing else in the cluster is acting weird. Nor is there any other electrical anomalies.

Fuel gauge issues are either the sender, CCM or cluster related if I'm recalling others problems correctly. As the OBC gives the proper range, that leads me to believe that the sender is fine as the OBC would need to get a proper fuel level to give you the right range. And as there's no other electrical problems I'm guessing that the CCM is ok as well.

Is this just a case of need to replace caps in the cluster? Or is there something else that might be an issue?

[Ross]

A corroded connection could do this.

[bubba966]

A corroded connection could do this.

Where?

Though I wouldn't look so much for corrosion as I think it was a southern car for most of it's life. And we don't have much of a rust problem around here. Haven't found any corrosion on the car yet.

But it does seem like the car has seen a lot of heat over it's lifetime based on it's interior condition. I could see a melted connection somewhere...

[632 Regal]

sounds familiar, I fixed the stop light and the fog light fixed itself, next day gas guage worked properly, still does.

Friends '95 525iT has a fuel gauge that's erratic. Sometimes it reads right, and sometimes it reads empty.

OBC does still give the correct range when the gauge isn't reading properly.

Nothing else in the cluster is acting weird. Nor is there any other electrical anomalies.

Fuel gauge issues are either the sender, CCM or cluster related if I'm recalling others problems correctly. As the OBC gives the proper range, that leads me to believe that the sender is fine as the OBC would need to get a proper fuel level to give you the right range. And as there's no other electrical problems I'm guessing that the CCM is ok as well.

Is this just a case of need to replace caps in the cluster? Or is there something else that might be an issue?

[tim eh?]

I have exactly the same problem and I am suspecting the cluster. I don't think the signal even goes to the CCM - according to the schematics it goes straight to a splice where one lead goes to the obc and the other straight to the cluster. So I am assuming since the obc reads ok (*-you can read the actual volume if you unlock the obc) then the problem is somewhere between the splice and the gauge or even the gauge itself.

[Bo525i]

I´ll join the club then, exactly the same is going on with my gauge..

[aston_jag_tech]

go to a salvage yeard, take out a fuel pump sender assembly, check the resistance of the sender yourself and if ok, install that bad boy in your car

[632 Regal]

Krap, mine is wigged out again, lights all work, guage says empty or just above half tank no matter how much gas is in there...full or empty guage is in a world of it's own. Can the sending unit be cleaned or repaired?

[Bo525i]

It can be opened, not that hard.. But if it helps to clean the resistancewires I dunno!

[yaofeng]

My vote is the fuel level sender. Happened on both of my e34's. Fixed by one from ebay.