2

I have a Chevy Impala 2005. I bought it second hand. The instrument cluster was faulty so I replaced it with an old one. Now when I fill up my gas tank it reads to Full. When I drive the car for some 10-20 miles or even more, the gauge doesn't go below Full. One day the gauge was showing the reading in between Full and Empty and the vehicle suddenly stopped. I could then put around 17 Gallon oil in it(which is the tank size) , then the car ran. This means the tank was empty but the gauge was showing reading exactly in between Full and Empty.

What may the cause and solution of the problem?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

I would suggest the sender in the tank is probably bad. It's probably getting stuck at the half way point in its transition towards empty. This could be an obstruction not allowing it to go down all the way or a problem with the sender itself. More than likely the sender will have to be replaced to fix the issue.

Conversely, it's not uncommon for a fuel gauge to read up past full after a complete fill up. You have to take into account any fuel which may be in the upper reaches (above the level of the float), such as any portion of the filler neck.

Improve this answer
4
  • Where is the "sender" located?
    – Sulav Timsina
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 19:10
  • @SulavTimsina - In the fuel tank.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 19:10
  • When I turn on the vehicle key, the gauge checks itself and the pointer goes from empty to full and again to empty. It doesn't seem to be stucked.
    – Sulav Timsina
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 19:11
  • @SulavTimsina - That is part of the dash's "Power On Self Test" or POST. If you notice all of the gauges do this on your dash. Go to max, go all the way down, then settle up to where the level is at prior to starting. This has nothing to do with whether the sender in the gas tank is working.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 19:18

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .