I've been driving for years with an in-op fuel gage. I fill it up and reset the trip odometer and always fill it up around 250 miles. I am curious about how many people have a fuel gage that works and how many just use the odometer like I do?

- Jimmy

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1987 Fiero coupe; Blue; 2.5L; 5-spd
1987 Firebird Formula; Blue; 5L; 5-spd

Please.....dont go there.

quote Originally posted by Macarchie: I've been driving for years with an in-op fuel gage. I fill it up and reset the trip odometer and always fill it up around 250 miles. I am curious about how many people have a fuel gage that works and how many just use the odometer like I do? - Jimmy

Three out of my four Meras have fuel gauges that are mostly correct. The fourth one indicates 1/2 to 1/3 of a tank when the engine refuses to run due to a lack of fuel. The trip odometer is my friend on all of the cars.

Nelson

I'll be walking if mine gets to anything less than 3/8 tank on the gauge. So I refill anywhere between 3/8 and 1/2 tank.

Never looked at the trip odometer.

quote Originally posted by Macarchie: I've been driving for years with an in-op fuel gage. I fill it up and reset the trip odometer and always fill it up around 250 miles. I am curious about how many people have a fuel gage that works and how many just use the odometer like I do? - Jimmy

250 miles on one tank, I'd be sweating bullets. When I first got the car, 1/2 full on the gauge, ran out of gas. Showed 260 some miles.
Round trip to work is about 120 miles. Try to fill up every day.

Ditto on the 250 miles! I start sweating at 180!

Working and accurate.

Both my Fieros have accurate fuel gauges.

I use both, I fill up at half a tank which is about 200 miles. I start sweating at 220. gauge left me stranded at 1/3 of a tank once.

Mine's pretty accurate, grounding my gauge wire makes the gauge read just below empty (zero ohms).
I have several senders but have not found one that will go below 4 ohms when empty, almost 1 needle above empty on my gauge.

One of my future projects is to fix it - I found a few NOS sending units from Freightliner trucks that have the same 0-90 ohm senders
and actually go to zero ohms empty, plan on switching one over when I have time to drop the tank.

My rule of thumb: 1/4 tank, find a gas station.

Something I found when the needle fell off my 86 SE and just replaced the gas gauge from my 84 and found out that not only are they different but when I hit a quarter tank I was OUT OF GAS !

Now there is a difference in the years and I think models over the years when it comes to gas gauges and tanks. So if I previous owner didn't know that and just grabbed one out of a Fiero in a yard to replace his without know that you may have one of those gauges. But most likely it is the sending unit in the tank most times.

My 84 and 86 were both fairly accurate until the needle fell off my 86. I think, and don't quote me on this because my memory has turned into a pile of mushy Goo. There is a section called,

FAQs & HowTos

//www.fiero.nl/cgi-bin...&number=9&LastLogin=

available in the page where you decide if you want o go into OT, Tech or Chat there is also FAQs & HowTos. Click on that then check out all the great info people have posted over the last 30 years these things have been around. And then there is the ogres cave available up top and the bottom of each cage that is a life saver when there is no one on here.

http://home.comcast.net/~fierocave/

I believe the cave has an article on how to adjust a gas gauge or any of the others in the electrical section.

But yes when I first got both the 84 and the 86, both had accurate gauges that worked very well.

Now remember these things are like what 30 years old, every part in them is 30 years old and eventually everything needs ether adjustments or replacement.

Steve

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Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't



Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

I was doing the odometer method, looking for fuel around 180 but also trying to keep track of how much I might have used the supercharger. finally just paid someone to fix the float in the tank and now the gauge seems to be working as it should.

2000 SC3800 with 4T65e-HD

[This message has been edited by Grantman (edited 07-20-2015).]

For years I carried a small 1gal can of gas under the bonnet just in case. 200 miles on a tank is pushing it unless it's a highway cruise. I tried to calibrate my gauge once by removing the needle and repositioning. It's closer, but still would run out by around 1/8 tank. I try to never let it get past 1/4. These days even with a good fuel gauge I try not to go much below 1/2 tank on any of my cars.

I learned the hard way my gauge is off. I have a cracked exhaust manifold so I fill up around 200

Good discussion. However I think its may be a good idea to state what engine is in the car. That would definately affect your range. The the 87/88s had a larger 10 gallon tank as well.

Every Fiero I've owned has had a faulty gage. I've owned 3. An 84 2.5 coupe, and 88 2.5 coupe and an 88 Formula. I can't off hand remember the range on the 2.5's but on the 2.8 it's around 200 miles, depending on driving conditions.

I keep an eye on the tripodometer, but 220 miles is no problem. I've never had to use more than 9.2 gallons to fill up. '88 w/V6. The gauge seems fairly accurate, but I set in myself by guessing after I had the needle off.

My 88GT 5 speed gets 18 mpg around town 25 on the highway the gauge is accurate when the it reads empty there is about one gallon left in the tank. Remember that earlier cars have a smaller tank.

'85 duke auto.

Gauge works great and always did. Dropped the tank to replace the fuel pump and didn't touch the fuel meter arm since it looked good. When it shows about 1/4 full I can get 6.6 gallons in it. Best MPG I ever recorded 100% highway doing 75 was 35 mpg. In a big town with very heavy traffic the MPG can get under 20's though.

Hope the numbers are right, been calculating from liters and kms so you get a better picture.

[This message has been edited by cebix (edited 07-20-2015).]

quote Originally posted by cebix: '85 duke auto. Gauge works great and always did. Dropped the tank to replace the fuel pump and didn't touch the fuel meter arm since it looked good. When it shows about 1/4 full I can get 6.6 gallons in it. Best MPG I ever recorded 100% highway doing 75 was 35 mpg. In a big town with very heavy traffic the MPG can get under 20's though. Hope the numbers are right, been calculating from liters and kms so you get a better picture.

Much appreciated by us Muricans...

In the original post, I guess I should've stated that I have a '87 2.5L / 5-speed. Over the last 12 fill-ups, I have averaged 34.04 mpg. (which I am very pleased with). I use it mostly on a two-lane road around 45 mph with very little traffic.
If I every need to drop the tank, I'll replace / repair the sending unit. At this point, the car is running fine and I just don't want to mess with it.

- Jimmy

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1987 Fiero coupe; Blue; 2.5L; 5-spd
1987 Firebird Formula; Blue; 5L; 5-spd

I guess I'm the lucky one. My gauge is off, but its off in that there is always MORE fuel in the tank than the gauge is showing. I have an 87 with the 2.8. I get 28mpg city with a range of about 320-330, on the highway its 35mpg with a range of around 400. I haven't tested on the highway recently though. I think now I might be able to do better than the 35. Sounds like a road trip!

quote Originally posted by Macarchie: I've been driving for years with an in-op fuel gage. I fill it up and reset the trip odometer and always fill it up around 250 miles. I am curious about how many people have a fuel gage that works and how many just use the odometer like I do? - Jimmy

My fuel gage works great.

SpeedHut electronic , reverse glow, programmable with LED low fuel indicator light.
All my gages, including the fuel gage do a full needle "sweep and set" at start-up.
The reverse glow color is cobalt blue.

Installed new TFS sending unit in the tank and replaced the wiring harness.

[This message has been edited by randye (edited 07-20-2015).]

quote Originally posted by AL68: Mine's pretty accurate, grounding my gauge wire makes the gauge read just below empty (zero ohms). I have several senders but have not found one that will go below 4 ohms when empty, almost 1 needle above empty on my gauge. One of my future projects is to fix it - I found a few NOS sending units from Freightliner trucks that have the same 0-90 ohm senders and actually go to zero ohms empty, plan on switching one over when I have time to drop the tank.

I used to have that same issue years ago with my 86 2.8. Got fed up so I pulled the sender and got an education. Fixed the problem by sniping a 1/4" piece off a paper clip "No not the plastic coated type" and soldering a stop peg for the wiper to rest on when it got to empty. Makes for a perfect ground. I took pics but that was several hard drives ago and I'd have to dig around to find them.

Spoon

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"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut

Mine will go around 300 to 320 miles on a full tank try not to go over 280 before I get gas.
TFS told me they have units in production again and should start selling again soon
when they do I am getting one , hate watching the miles

Mine gauge is accurate but acts up when the tank is near full, and, it's a hot day, or I am moving at freeway speeds. The needle will peg or fluctuate at the extreme full side. Kinda strange...

I filled up my standard 86 GT last night, managed to get exactly 7 gallons in there (8.25 US Gal) and the needle was on the mark just above the red.

I'd only managed 155 miles on that, most of which was doing 65-90 on the motorway, some relatively spirited driving on smaller roads, a little bit of stop start traffic.

I wasn't too disappointed with 22mpg (18.8 mpUSg) at first but now that I think about it, that's pretty poor

Still, an improvement on the last full tank test I did which came out at 15mpg (12.8mpUSg) I suppose...

The gauge on my 88 t-top coupe didn't work correctly until I had to replace the fuel pump, at which time I also fixed the sender. The same thing happened with my 86 SE, now sold to my brother (and the gauge is still working fine with my repair). Now I have a Formula with the problem. I'll probably stick with the trip counter until I have to replace its fuel pump. I can't see dropping the tank until I have to.

On my last road trip with my 87 GT, I stopped at a little over 200 miles and the gas gauge read 1/2 full and the car too about 7 gallons. On the next 200 or so miles the gauge read less than 1/2 tank and it took about 7 gallons. The next 200 + mile the gauge read about 1/4 tank and it took about 8 gallons. So I just fill up 200-250 miles. I keep records of mpg, and it gets 30 +/- 2 mpg over the road. The car has a five speed and I stick close to the speed limit on the highway.

I have noticed that the gauge drops to half a tank, then creeps up, then down as I drive down the road.. I've had the car for 28 years and it still has the original fuel pump and 155,000 miles.

Both of mine work and are fairly accurate except the last 1/4 tank seems to go down a lot faster than the 1st 3/4s.

I replaced the sender when I bought the car (it wouldn't go below a half tank). It needed a new fuel pump so great time to change it. It is bang on now.

When it does run out of gas, or you can intentionally let it idle till it dies....just remove the lens on the instrument panel and pull off the needle. Its just a press fit, pull it off straight. Press it back on,with the key on, at empty and your good to go. Its not that important to know how full the tank is so if the full mark is off who cares.

Disconnect the tank, C502. That plug is below the main harness goes thru firewall.
Use your extra sender and tank wires and jumper wires to see sender or gauge is bad.
If you get some low value resistors (around 45 and 90Ω ) then just "plug" them into tank plug. Blk and pink wires.
(Resistors are good for oil pressure and others. My oil gauge is way off... Reads too high for 47Ω 90 pegs it.)

quote Originally posted by 84fiero123: http://home.comcast.net/~fierocave/ I believe the cave has an article on how to adjust a gas gauge or any of the others in the electrical section.

Nope. Not this time.

To add... my gas gauge/sender is good but 86 parts car before I sold engine was bad. PO said replace FP so likely did something wrong.

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 07-23-2015).]

quote Originally posted by theogre: Disconnect the tank, C502. That plug is below the main harness goes thru firewall. Use your extra sender and tank wires and jumper wires to see sender or gauge is bad. If you get some low value resistors (around 45 and 90&ohm then just "plug" them into tank plug. Blk and pink wires.

PRECISELY how I calibrated my SpeedHut fuel gage.

I have owned many Fieros since they came out. Thank god the fuel gauge in all of them have worked fairly well, but they were all off a bit. Showing full for way to long before they started to come down, showing empty anywhere from two white lines above E, to going about the same amount below E. It is a guessing game!

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"Because in a split second, It's gone"
Ayrton Senna

Well, I bought my 88 Fiero in 1990 and a few months later, on the highway, I ran out of gas with the gauge showing 1/4. So I drove the car for years knowing that when the gauge showed 1/4 I would have to fill up sooner than later.

However, my gauge has been working perfectly ever since I dropped the fuel tank to replace the fuel pump, back in 1998. I didn't do anything to the fuel sender but for some reason it shows the correct level . . .

Mine shows full until about 40-50 miles, and empties at perhaps 3/8ths. Generally I fill up at 200 miles, though Im sure I could get substantially further.

I will say this. In my 23 years so far, I have honestly owned/driven alot of different cars, mostly Ford/GM/Mopar...and I will tell you, with the exception of my current 2014 Impala, every single GM car had a gas gauge that didn't work correctly, even my 2012 Cruze when I had it. This does include like 5 or 6 Fiero's as well.

[This message has been edited by mattwa (edited 07-27-2015).]

Every time I fuel up I reset my trip distance to keep a watch on MPG. I've gone to 250 once or twice, but generally fuel up at 230.