2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Fuel Gage

[RMHanes]

Just filled up today and noticed when driving down the road that the fuel gage only was at 1/2 full mark. Gradually went to 3/4 full mark. On way home also it suddenly and quicly went to empty and then back to 3/4 full. Got the chime when that happened. Got home and shut truck off and waited a few minutes. Looked around underneath and saw nothing. Started truck back up and fuel gage went to full and stayed there for a little bit then went slowly back to 3/4 full mark.

Is this the start of the fuel gage/sender unit problem that has been posted in the past? Just how much of a pain is it to switch this sender unit out yourself. Only have limited tools so will be improvising alot here. Will do this when have a nearly empty tank though! Will be using the trip odometer a lot now till this gets fixed.

Any one know which issue or issues of the magazine talked about changing this fuel tank sending unit out? By now there has to have been a few replaced.





2500 Quad Cab '98. 5 with 5spd.

 

[Gifford]

sending units

It's pretty obvious to me now that ALL Dodge Ram sending units fail after 40 to 70k miles (your mileage may vary, but not by much!) I finally got around to fixing mine, its not too hard, do a search on here, and then check out Dave Fritz's Ram site for simple instructions. You'll need a new sending unit/float (I paid 54. 00 for mine) You'll either have to drop the tank, or raise the bed, I tried dropping the tank but it is VERY difficult to get at the lines/fittings on the top, its actually easier to lift the whole bed and replace it from the top, just loosen the bolts on the passenger side, and remove the ones on the drivers side and jack it up. You might want to modify the sending per the instructions on the Fritz site so it will not wear out so fast.

 

[illflem]

Go here http://dodgeram.org/tech/repair/index.html#engine and scroll down to WIRING, SWITCH, AND GAUGE RELATED for instructions.



It is much easier to raise the bed to get at it. Two people lifting and one putting in a prop will do it. You only need to go up 16"

 

[HLEschenko]

I got this info from this board previously and used it. I have the original fuel tank sending unit on my 97, with just over 105K miles. Worked for me.



Your fuel gauge problem is due to the sending unit in the tank going bad. Don't spend the money to buy a new one though. The fix is so easy and cheap (cost49 cents). Here's how you do it. Following your manual to get the fuel sending unit out of the tank. This is the hardest part since the tank straps are very difficult to get off and the "Big Platic Nut" on top of the sending unit can be a bear.

Once the unit is out of the tank (it's big by the way) find were the float hinge is. You will find an electronic brush that moves along a variable resistor. The problem is that the plastic bushing has worn out and allows the brush to move away from the resistor (infinite resistance and therefore the light on the dash lights up).

Remove the pin and the float hinge joint and drill the hole slightly oversize.

Replace the pin with a small bolt and screw. Make sure to use a self locking

nut.

Tighten the nut only enough to prevent freeplay in the joint but so much that it restricts movement of the float.

I did this to mine about a year ago and its still working fine.

 

[rblomquist]

RMHanes,



First ? I have - Are you using Marvel Mystery Oil (or 2-stroke oil etc) in your tank? MMO fouled my sending unit and it was just dumb luck that I stopped using it and thats when my gauge came back. This happened 2 different times before I put 2+2 together and realized what was going on. I'm a lot more smarter now and don't use anything but PS or Stanadyne type fuel additives.



Also, it'd be nice to see what kind of ride you have, go to the User CP and post your specs.



Good Luck.

 

[RMHanes]

Well, once again the people that are members of this site really shine through!



First of all, let me bring everyone up to sped on what happened today. Started up and had the same problem. Let it run for a little bit to charge up the batteries a little bit since it was cold, relatively for here, and the heaters were on longer than usual. Shut it off and ran errands with the other vehicle. When got back, started it up and same problem but after a about 3 minutes it went to full and stayed there. Thought about this some while stopped and started a few times just to be sure. No way this has fixed itself!! What I have come up with for right now before I checked back here is that I need to stop "overfilling" the tank. Stop when the nozzle clicks off the first time! Thinking that the float could have been jammed at the top and just running ti lowered the level enough to get the float working for the time being. After reading the posts here, will try the fix that HLEsckenko suggested. Like the idea of raising the bed vs dropping the tank. A full tank of fuel will weigh quite a bit!



rblomquist - am not using any additives so thanks for the idea. Was using something every third or fourth tank but stopped that after reading some other posts here.



HLEschenko - thanks for the tip. Will look at this when I get the float out.



illiflem - thanks for the link. Will check it out now.

 

[illflem]

Here's a good one

A few years ago a friend took his then new '99 to the dealer for a stuck on full gauge. The service manager laid on the ground and proceeded to kick the tank. Told my friend not to overfill any more and what to do if it happened again then sent him on his way. Last I heard it was still working.



RMHanes, your symtoms sound way different, getting into the tank is what you need to do.

 

[stick]

First of all let me say that I have done two of the sender replacements now. First was on my 97 about three months ago. the second was on a friends 01 today.

I agree that raising the bed would probably be easier, but that is not always an easy option with extra hitches installed.



HLEschenko:

This is a good fix for our trucks, unfortunatley this might not work for everyone, because the sender for the 01 was made different from ours. I'm not sure what year the design change was made.

I gave around 44. 00 for mine, and the sender for the 01 was 35. 00 and some change, from the same dealer.



Stick

P. S. I still say the worst part of the whole job was figureing out how to get the lock on the electrical connection loose!

 

[The Sequel]

My gage still works fine, but at about 50,000 miles, from one tank to the next, the low fuel light quit coming on with 8 gallons in the tank and started coming on with 4 gallons. Is this the sending unit? Funny thing is, for the first 50,000 miles, it would come on with 8 gallons left religously. Now it does if just as consistantly with 4 gallons left. Makes me wonder. Any chance this is under warranty?