Fuel Gauge - Inaccuracy

[iano]

Hi All - I have dodgy fuel gauge - showing 3/4 full , when full - then hangs around on the R range for a while after about 300km
I have access to the sender unit - Are there any tips/ tricks that I could do to it that might help with accuracy? -
Ta Ian
(NSW, Australia)

 

[67panel]

Is it a tube one? if an arm one then bend the wire and check the float is okay.

 

[sparkywig]

Take it out, give it a clean and make sure the internal float moves easily.
Don’t shake it though.

 

[JLT]

I have that same problem, although it reads 7/8 full when I top the tank. When it hits the low mark, I know I still have about a quarter of a tank left. A previous owner made an ink mark on the lens where the true empty mark should be, and I'm real careful when I get that near.

When I bought the bus, the gauge wasn't working at all. I had to cut a hole in the rear deck to access the sending unit without dropping the engine and removing the tank, cursing all the while that VW hadn't provided a port to do the job. I guess they wanted to eliminate any chance of fumes getting into the passenger compartment. The sender turned out to be fine, and it was a wiring problem.

 

[iano]

Is it a tube one? if an arm one then bend the wire and check the float is okay.

 

[iano]

Hi All - Yes its an arm one
will try your suggestions and get back to you - like to get away from writing down each time - Cheers Ian

 

[iano]

Hi All

Looks as though I have a break in the resistance wires - Non repairable ??? -
will try and track down another unit
Cheers Ian

 

[blackcountrybob]

Hi All

Looks as though I have a break in the resistance wires - Non repairable ??? -
will try and track down another unit
Cheers Ian

With the float type I understand you can replace the resistance wire ( Dom chinea did a YouTube video on this). It's called nichrome wire and is readily available I think - it might be worth some further research.

 

[blackcountrybob]

With the float type I understand you can replace the resistance wire ( Dom chinea did a YouTube video on this). It's called nichrome wire and is readily available I think - it might be worth some further research.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=380693
There's a " how to" fix the resistance wire on the lever type sender on the samba, see the link above. I think it's always worth having a go at fixing an OG one first before resorting to replacing with a reproduction one which are often reported as being of dubious quality.

 

[ozziedog]

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=380693
There's a " how to" fix the resistance wire on the lever type sender on the samba, see the link above. I think it's always worth having a go at fixing an OG one first before resorting to replacing with a reproduction one which are often reported as being of dubious quality.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,fantastic word is ‘dubious ‘