Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) eletrical problems 1997 2500

[michealbernal]

The fuel gauge on my 1997 2500 series truck seems to be working incorrectly. It registers full when you fill it up. After driving only about 250 mi. it reg. empty. When I add more fuel the tank will only take about 10 gal. Is te sender going bad or is this an issue with the dash unit or is it something else entirely? Any info appreciated.

 

[jtwcummins]

The in-tank sender on this year, and other years which I am not familiar with, are terrible. Changed mine twice. If you do a search there were some mods made which I don't remember, but it is a known issue. Gave up and used the trip odometer. Last one set the low fuel light at about 8 gals left so I said to hell with it. After swap the sender would go about a year and start acting weird.

 

[Stein]

Mine broke many years ago, on my 95 2500. Its a known issue. . pretty hard to fix. Hafta drop the tank. I just use odometer as well.

 

[Bob4x4]

In my 94 I am only on my 2nd sender..... Not bad for the age and rough use

 

[GAmes]

The most common failure is the sender, however there are other things that malfunction. The factory service manual has a detailed troubleshooting procedure. Genos Garage has them. Get one, it will pay for itself over and over.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Try this fix! ( Had another fix also but link isn't working)

Fuel sending unit fix
http://dodgeram.org/tech/repair/fuel_sender/Huey_C-sender.htm

 

[fest3er]

If it isn't mechanically worn out, the sender *can* be repaired.



The sender on my '98 hadn't worked right for 6-8 years; I just hadn't had the desire to drop the tank and fix it. Finally, I had the need to drop the tank (fix a rotted brake line), and had to replace the module (got a '97) due to more rot, then frankenstein some parts of the old ('98) on to the new ('97)--including swapping the resistor plate--because the modules aren't exactly the same.



Drop the tank (or raise the bed) and remove the tank module. Clean all the black guck off it, especially on the screen and in-basket filter.



Remove the sender unit. Note whether the pivot has worn out completely. If so, you'll have to address that problem; the sweeper arm won't work too well if the whole thing can swing away from the resistor plate. Carefully disassemble the sender. Remove the resistor plate with great care; there are (IIRC) 4 little tabs that hold it in place. Clean the plate thoroughly. Use an ordinary non-abrasive rubber pencil eraser to clean the contacts. After doing this, my sender *almost* worked right. But there were still a couple intermittent dead spots.



Now address the copper sweep arm that contacts the plate. Bend it carefully so that it resembles:

____/\___

That is, carefully put a gentle U bend in it. Do NOT make the bends sharp. The 'U' need only be about 1mm tall, as you only need to move the contact point about 2mm. This will pull the contact to a difference arc on the resistor plate. Make sure the sweep arm is otherwise straight and true and still extends as low as it did before.



Now, after years of erratic fuel gauge needle and (near the end) really annoying DING! each time the gauge jumped to empty (which was very frequent near the dead spots), the needle is smooth and the gauge is just as accurate as it was when I bought it new in '97.

 

[michealbernal]

Thanks to everyone for all the info on the fuel gauge problems on my 1997 2500 series. I think I will Just let it go for now. and if I ever have to remove the tank for a real problem I will fix it then. It is just kind of an annoyance now.

 

[rMetzger]

The modification that we did back before the turn of the century was not what I think y'all just described. Perhaps there was a module difference. The problem that we observed was intermittent loss of contact between the float-arm, and the sweep contacts. The solution that a bunch of us employed was to remove the pivot pin (it seems like it was just a rivet, or somesuch other cheapy situation). Replace the pivot with a similar-diameter stove-bolt, with what looks like excessive length. 3/4 or a whole 1". Here's where you get somewhat ingenious: instead of just washer/nut reassembly, put an inkpen's clicker-spring on the little bolt (might need two little washers to keep the spring out of the pivot hole) and then nut it down, so that the spring provides constant light pressure on the float-arm, and then nut it on. In order to prevent the nut backing off and ruining your work, just take a pair of pliers, and put some bite-mark deformations on the screw-threads behind the nut. (poor-man's loc-tite) Reinstall the whole mess, and you'll have a good fuel gauge. We actually did a sort of pay-it-forward thing for a while. I bought a new one, did the modification, and then, one Saturday when I had time, I installed my new, BOMBed sender, and mailed the old sender to the next guy on the chain. Presumably, he did the mod, and then, at his convenience, did the drop/swap and sent his old unit to the next guy, and so on and so on.

 

[jtwcummins]

That's the fix I couldn't remember. I had alot of files with fixes for my 97, put on a CD and gave to the buyerwhen I sold it!