fuel gauge doesn't go past half

[wises4057]

so, I just bought a 95 AWD talon, and the gas gauge BARELY goes past half when I fill it up...any ideas? it does seem to go down slowly as I drive, and once it gets to 1/4 tank, it drops a bit quicker, but I'm sure it's not accurate cause I drove to point(i live in rapids) and back yesterday with it basically sitting on E the whole time. and no low fuel light yet. any ideas/suggestions would be great!

[EVILUTION]

Make sure the fuel pump is aligned correctly.

[wises4057]

yah, I tried to...I was looking at a repair manual, cause I haven't messed with replacing or fixing a fuel pump before, and it says to make sure the mating marks are lined up, but I don't see any marks..I mean the metal is a bit rusty, so it could be the marks wore away, but the closest thing I see to marks are 2 little circles on the metal about an inch apart, and then kind of like a square mark on the plastic ring cap that tightens down around the sending unit. are those teh marks that are suppose to line up?

[wises4057]

or do I actually have to pull the pump out to check the alignment?

[EVILUTION]

I thought there were two triangles.... one on the top of the fuel pump lid and one on the metal part of the tank. You may have to scratch some rust off to see the tank triangle.

http://tearstone.com/shop/images/stories/01080502.jpg

[wises4057]

yah, mine doesn't look like that, I'll go out and pop the seat up and snap a pic here in a min. what year was that pic snapped from?[/img]

[EVILUTION]

Well I know for sure there are marks that line up one on the top of the pump and one on the tank. The plunger gets hungs up on something in the tank and thats what creates the false readings. Its most likely only a 1/4" or so off. If you cant find the marks, let it run to almost empty (the low fuel light will not lie) then loosen the white screw cap and turn the key to on and move the pump housing back and forth till the gauge falls down.

[fordssuck]

Just fill it up half way....

[wises4057]

well the thing is, the gauge is on E right now, so it can't really fall down any farther...but the low fuel light isn't on. I would think that same theory would work the otherway around though, wouldn't it? the only thing is, it still seems to drop in porportion to how much gas has been used, just instead of reading full when I fill up, it reads just above a half tank. here's the pics. I snapped one of each access panel. http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=66993433&albumID=1754218&imageID=23068288

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=66993433&albumID=1754218&imageID=23068262

[wises4057]

shoot the pics didn't load...sorry

[wises4057]

evilution thanks, I THINK I found the marks...and I know I found the marks on the tank...the one with the pump looks to be about...probably a just over a 1/4" off...I'll let you all know in a little if that was it...again thanks!

[fordssuck]

I dont think a quarter of an inch wll make that much of a difference, but i could be wrong.

[EVILUTION]

It made a HUGE difference on my 2G. From working like ass to working better than getting ass.

[wises4057]

it should be pretty low on gas as of now, so I'm going to fill it up, or atleast put like 6 gallons in it, and see if the gauge goes any higher...I know it's not perfectly lined up, but without disconnecting one or two fo the lines on it, I don't think I'll get it much farther...one of the lines looks like it might be stretching a bit as is...bit it's the little 3 or 4 inch one, and I have more hose like that here if it rips. again, thanks and I'll post in a bit if it helped!

[Stash]

If that doesn't help it, I would pull the sending unit assembly out and test the resistance of the fuel level sender. Check the high and low values, then make a sweep with it and make sure the resistance increases(or decreases, depending on direction on movement) in an evenly manner. You may see a spot where the resitance drops to nothing or goes extremely high. Its not uncommon for the sensor to delovop a short on the contact point. Also at that point you can verify that the float arm is able to move freely along the whole sweep and not binding on anything. If you need the specs for the sending unit I can look them up in the FSM for you if needed.

[wises4057]

I know it's not perfectly lined up yet, but I put about 7 1/2 gallons in it, and it didn't seem to do anything to the gauge...it still filled it up to just under half, so i think it's still off...yah, I'm thinking there's a chance that it's the sending unit..I'm hoping not, but probably is. I'm going to see if a body who knows alot more on these cars then me will help me with it tomorrow. thanks for your help guys...and yah, stash, if you could get me those specs, that'd be great. again thanks

[wises4057]

I got the gauge fixed, thanks for the help guys, I just had to get the sending unit to turn a bit farther, and that did it. thanks!

[EVILUTION]

I got the gauge fixed, thanks for the help guys, I just had to get the sending unit to turn a bit farther, and that did it. thanks!

No problem.

[devlish]

nice avatar evil.