Fuel Gauge Acting Up

[Mtrhd0024]

Hey Guys,

So I recently aquired an 04' Ranger Edge. Its a 4.0 Supercab Auto Tranny and 4x4 in case that matters...

Anyway, the fuel gauge is acting up. It works, but here's the deal:

When you fill the tank up, the gauge goes up almost all the way to full, then it quickly drops to empty and the fuel light comes on. Once you drive about 20 miles and burn some fuel off, the gauge goes back up to full where it should be. It then registers properly for the rest of the tank all the way down to empty.

This wasn't a one time thing, it happens every time I fill the tank. Anyone ever seen this before? Any idea whats bad? Sender? Anti-slosh unit? Thanks!

 

[RonD]

Reads like the sender has a short when float is at the top of the tank.

Ford currently uses 16-158 Ohms senders
16ohms empty
158ohms full

So a dead spot(no connection) would be infinite ohms so above full
A short would be 0 ohms so below empty

As float goes down short goes away and you are just under 158ohms, so back to almost full

Is it worth fixing?
I wouldn't

Will it get worse?
Probably not

 

[Mtrhd0024]

Reads like the sender has a short when float is at the top of the tank.

Ford currently uses 16-158 Ohms senders
16ohms empty
158ohms full

So a dead spot(no connection) would be infinite ohms so above full
A short would be 0 ohms so below empty

As float goes down short goes away and you are just under 158ohms, so back to almost full

Is it worth fixing?
I wouldn't

Will it get worse?
Probably not

Thanks Ron.

That was along the lines of my theory as well... Anyone else ever had this problem? That's part of what I was curious about... Whether anyone else has seen this before or not.

I'll just keep my eye on it and see how accurate the gauge is. I'm gonna run around with a gas can in the back for a few days and see how many miles I get until I run my tank dry. If the gauge is inaccurate, then I'll probably go ahead and replace the sender. If its accurate all other times except when the tank is super full, then I'll probably just live with it like you said!