E36 Fuel Gauge

[E36M43]

Hi guys and happy new year!
My E36 fuel gauge pointer drops fast giving me the sense of having a very high consumption.
Also,when I leave the gas station it shows like I put more gas than I really did.
It started doing it some time ago,changed the cluster but nothing changed!
Does anyone know what causes this??

[ivoka1981]

Hello man!

I have exactly the issue with mine E36 318i M43
Did you sort it out for yours ? Let me know please.

thank you in advance !

[Lord Vader]

Have you checked your fuel level sender? The device that tells the car how much fuel is actually in tank may be broken.

[Lord Vader]

Sorry, i meant the sensor.

See this link for a part diagram.

RealOEM.com BMW E36 328i Fuel pump and fuel level sensor

[ivoka1981]

No , I haven`t but I will do it! Whenever I did that , I will update you!

Thanx!

[ivoka1981]

Lord Vader , could you tell me how to check if the fuel level sensor operates properly ?
From the picture I understand that I have to take out the whole fuel pump , what to look for gone wrong on the sensor?

[Lord Vader]

Remove the wire from the sending unit and ground it. Turn your ignition key to acc or on and watch the gauge. If it pegs to full, you have a faulty sending unit. If it doesn't move you have either a faulty gauge or a faulty wire that goes from the gauge to the sending unit.

I dont know what model or year you have so you should fill in your profile a bit. But, i ran the part for my 328i, and it is part # 16 14 6 758 255 and sells for $71.99 at BMW parts and BMW OEM auto parts online

[ivoka1981]

Hi! I just did that with the LEFT sending unit and the fuel gauge did not point fuel tank , and did not move either!

I will check the right one as well in the same method and let you know!
I am gonna measure the Ohms also.

[Marcelino]

hi Guys ........how can i check if there is something wrong with my feul pump .........i am driving a 1996 E36 318is (M44) Motorsport

thanks in advance

[Lord Vader]

Your fuel pump is under your rear seats. Remove the seats and listen to the fuel pump when someone else turns the car on. You should be able to hear it priming. Or, get a voltmeter and test it that way.

[Marcelino]

hi thanks bru i managed to sort out the feul gauge issue .....i replaced the temp. sensor and also discovered there was a break in the wire, everything is working 100% now, now i have another problem with th car it just dont wanna start just cranking, i had a technician out and pluged the laptop in and discovered that there is a problem with the crank sensor, if he pulls on the wire then the car want to start .......any ideas where i can purchase this sensor ..........BMW charged me R1600 for this sensor but i am looking for a good second hand one .........for this month i spent almost R10000 on this car.