HELP!! E36 92 325is Fuel Gauge Failure

[R_F_L]

Hey guys, I know this topic is been discussed but mine is a little different. I've been having a bad fuel gauge for a while but didn't bother trying to fix it until I ran out of gas while doing 96mph on the highway yesterday. All gauges work except the fuel, the needle is stuck at E and the problem is that the orange warning light on the gauge is ON all the time whether the tank is full or empty. Some people suggested short wiring the cable and tightening the needle but that still doesn't resolve the warning light problem. I haven't yet opened-up the cluster and am waiting for some advice before I do so. Any suggestions??!!

Thanks in advance,

RFL

[SpeedInfusion]

Originally Posted by R_F_L

Hey guys, I know this topic is been discussed but mine is a little different. I've been having a bad fuel gauge for a while but didn't bother trying to fix it until I ran out of gas while doing 96mph on the highway yesterday. All gauges work except the fuel, the needle is stuck at E and the problem is that the orange warning light on the gauge is ON all the time whether the tank is full or empty. Some people suggested short wiring the cable and tightening the needle but that still doesn't resolve the warning light problem. I haven't yet opened-up the cluster and am waiting for some advice before I do so. Any suggestions??!!

Thanks in advance,

RFL

its the fuel sensor

[Hamfisted]

When ours was acting up like that it was just corrosion on the terminals at the senders (there's two, one on each side of the tank...). Take out the rear seat and pull the wires off the terminals and brush 'em off, see if that helps. Its a saddleback tank so there's a sender on each side. The fuel pump is only on one side though.




-Mike

[R_F_L]

Hey guys, I removed the back seat first thing today and cleaned all the terminals. There were two on the left side and one on the right. I sprayed them with electrical parts spray and cleaned them really nice. I also short-wired the cables while the car was on and nothing happenned. When I looked very carefully at the needle after turning on the car, I noticed that it moved up very slightly (the car has a full tank though), maybe .001 of an inch. What does that indicate? Could it be something in the instrument cluster?

Thanks,

AT

[johnnyb_s]

Check the resistance at the leads for both fuel sending units using an ohm meter. If there is no resistance, one of the leads probably broke off from the sending unit. Remove the sending unit and solder the lead back in place. Reset your gauges by holding in the odometer reset button while turning the key to the on position. Continue to hold in the odometer reset button until the needle goes up and then back down. Problem should be solved.