Gas Gauge gone crazy

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have a 2001 Chevy Venture Van and the gas gauge has gone crazy. Sometimes it reads all the way to full sometimes it reads in the middle and sometimes it just goes to empty and the fuel light comes on. I have disconnected the power to reset the computer and am out of ideas…can someone help???



Thanks Chris

2

A couple of questions… do the other gauges act OK, or do they misbehave? I’m guessing that you probably have a short in the wiring between the instrument panel and the fuel level sender in the tank, or possibly the instrument cluster is starting to go bonkers.

3

A couple of questions… do the other gauges act OK, or do they misbehave? I’m guessing that you probably have a short in the wiring between the instrument panel and the fuel level sender in the tank, or possibly the instrument cluster is starting to go bonkers.

4

All the other instruments are working fine…looks like just the gas gauge…

Thx

5

I’m having the same problem with the gas gauge on my 2000 Blazer. It started around 80k. The sending unit is part of the pump assembly, so the pump would have to be replaced ($$$)to fix the gauge in the Blazer. I just fill up each time and keep track of the mileage. I try to fill up with 3 or 4 gallons left in the tank which is at the 250 - 270 mile mark. By the way it’s the first car I’ve owned with a bad gas guage.

Ed B.

6

I suspect a malfunction in the fuel sending unit buried inside the gas tank. A sticky pivot, perhaps, that doesn’t allow the arm to swing free. If my guess is right (rare) this will be an expensive repair so you may choose to just live with it.

7

I agree with Steve, it looks like a sender or maybe the wiring.

Watch for what happens when the tank is full, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 and near empty. If it changes in relationship the the total amount of gas you believe is in the tank, that is almost certain a bad sendor.

8

I just had this same problem on my 2006 Chevrolet Uplander. The dealer did the repair under warranty. It was the fuel sensor unit and involved dropping the gas tank. Initially, the gauge would give strange readings after I filled the tank, but then it finally did the wierd things you mentioned. I had the feeling that this is a Chevrolet problem.