Fuel Gauge malfunction..

[Viva*the*Ranger]

Hey folks. Like the title says, it acts pretty funny. When I fill it, the needle pegs up, after about 50 miles or so, it drops to half, then down to empty, even when I still have six or seven gallons left. Anyone know of a common reason for this, and a fixing method?

Thanks for your help

 

[adsm08]

Might be the float. Might be the resistor. Either way, it's a good bet that the level sender is the problem.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

adsm08 is right, that's where the problem usually lies.

Me? I know the fuel economy for my truck - I keep track of it constantly. When I fill up, I set my trip odometer and drive until the numbers tell me I need gas. Then if it's my F-150 or my F-350, I just switch to the other tank and reset the odometer, lol.

 

[Viva*the*Ranger]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated. I've been doing the same thing, with the trip odo. I'm doing mostly in town driving, and I figure I'm getting 14mpg, but assume the worst. For every gallon I put in, I pretend I'm getting 10 mpg, and add accordingly. It would be nice to fix it though.

To replace the float, you have to replace the whole in-tank pump right? Or have I misunderstood what I've read?

Thanks again