gas gauge not working right

Fond out on my way home today that my gauge is stuck between empty and 1/4 tank as I ran out of gas. I got a gallon put in gauge didn't move stopped at a station and put 4 gal in at first it didn't move then slowly went to 1/4. Goes all the way down when key is off. Where do I start to look for the problem ?

 

Most likely a in tank sending unit going bad, which requires to drop the gas tank or lift the bed, I think. Perfect time to do the urd fuel filter upgrade at the same time.

 

Typically the sending unit, its a cheap little resistor that is made of plastic.

Problem is the only way to check it is to remove the gas tank.

So you remove the tank, remove sending unit, then check it out of the tank.

So you'd best be off just replacing it regardless.

Wiring to the tank should be inspected as well.

It's a bitch of a problem because until its fixed you have to watch fuel levels and monitor mileage.

 

I just went through the exact same thing with my daughter's '06. I would have bet 10K it was the sending unit. Lowered the tank, tested everything from front to back, installed a new pump/sending unit - nothing. Same problem. It turned out to be the actual gauge cluster. You cannot just replace the gas gauge, it's the whole cluster. Not cheap, but it fixed the problem. Let's hope for your sake it's the sending unit in the tank.

 

When it is stuck at a low level, crawl under the truck with a mallet and give the gas tank a few thumps with the mallet on the bottom. That may free it up.

 

As a side note, my poor man's backup/fix to this issue is to just always reset the trip meter at each fill up. Once I reach a certain mileage I know it's about time to fill up, gas gauge readout be damned.

 

I got some dough, but still do this, even though my gas gauge works. The theory, if I calculated mpg at fill up time 12, 12, 12, then for no reason 9, something must be wrong.

 

You can check resistance on the sending unit to verify if it is working properly or not.

 

Thanks for all the info. I'll have to leave this for next weekend Luckily I don't drive that far for work. Just have to keep an eye on things for a week

 

Think I might try this first.

 

So I'm going to fix this on Saturday . In the mean while I wanted to figure my mpg. Got gas Sunday and today came out to 7.1 mpg. So something is going on. 115,565 - 115,505 8.4 gal of gas. This couldn't be right. Right?

 

I sure hope that isn't right.

 

The gauge on my 06 was doing this when my son was driving. Ran out of gas showing 1/4 of a tank. Dealer quoted me something like $900 to replace the sending unit. We just used the trip odometer instead for about 6 months. Then, on his way back to school in January it just started working again.

 

I use the @Waasheem method as well, I also have an Ultragauge that I reset the fuel onboard and MPG each fillup. That's another option.

IMO use a rubber mallet and just give a few taps. No need for a home run, maybe a bunt single..

 

I had this problem about a year ago. Managed to see my gas light recently, but I've been keeping it full since.

 

There are two possibilities here for the issue. The fuel sender at the gauge or the fuel sender at the fuel pump. How far you want to delve into it is up to you, or you could just replace the fuel pump module and hope for the best. 50/50 chance it works.

This is a great suggestion.

This is a great suggestion as well. This is why it always important to know the range capabilities per tank of your ride, for when issues like these arise you always have a backup plan.

 

Tried the mallet method and no go. Every time I get gas the needle gets stuck higher. Right now it's stuck on 3/4

 

It’s something you’ll have to live with until you decide to fix it. Using the trip meter isn’t too horrible. Of course it won’t work if you have a bunch of teenagers sharing the vehicle, and they only put in enough gas to barely make it home. My nephews car wouldn’t start, found fuel pump fuse blown, replaced & immediately blew again. Found the fuel pump wires in the tank melted together from seizing the pump from repeatedly running out of gas.

I’ve had other cars with problems I used a redneck ingenuity fix. One with a speedometer that didn’t work so I used the tach to guess what speed I was going. Another that the left turn signal wouldn’t flash so I manually moved the lever up and down to simulate a flash.

 

How funny. The same thing happened to me last night. My gauge showed between 1/4 and E and I ran out of gas. It seemed to have worked correctly for months but this week perhaps it just got stuck between that position. Thankfully I was able to coast into a gas station, scared the crap out of me though. I use the trip method anyway, usually I fill up at 1/4 mark, which for me is about 280-290 miles.

 

I am curious to see the float and assembly in these trucks. Maybe something stands out.