Last night, it went from quarter full to quarter past full, then back to normal. Is this normal?

Well, at least you're not a "tank is half empty" kind of person!

^ hahahaha

Mine changes everytime I drive. Accelerate the you lose gas. Stop quickly and it shoots back up. I may never need to fill my tank again!! I just need to slam on teh breaks more!

It also likes to stick at the 1/4 tank mark and never go lower. Seriously though, its very annoying. Probably not normal but I really don't want to drop the tank again to fix it.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 04-16-2010).]

Did you drive up any REALLY steep hills?

I seen & dealt with that one before. It's very likely that the level sensor in the tank is going bad.

quote Originally posted by W Scott: I seen & dealt with that one before. It's very likely that the level sensor in the tank is going bad.

Uh oh.... That sounds expensive... How long do you think it has? It's Been normal since, if that makes any difference

quote Originally posted by grkboy707: Uh oh.... That sounds expensive... How long do you think it has? It's Been normal since, if that makes any difference

Could be free if you do it yourself. If you do it yourself and have to buy a new assembly, expect to pay about $150. If you have a mechanic do the work and buy the assembly, you'd be looking at $500+.

But why worry about it, if it's not a consistent problem? The fuel gauge on one of my cars used to fluctuate +/- a quarter tank once in a while, but it'd always correct itself and I never found it bothersome.

When my 88 shows 1/4 tank, I am out of fuel. My rule since then... when it hits 1/2 tank or so, I put $20 of premium in it. Keeps the guesswork out of it.

------------------
Phil
Always trying to create something new!
'88 SE
'86 GT
'87 GT Extreme body mod and 2.8L Turbo Propane powered (in the garage and getting closer to being completed)

quote Originally posted by grkboy707: Uh oh.... That sounds expensive... How long do you think it has? It's Been normal since, if that makes any difference

I believe the way the sender in the tank works is 90 ohms is full and 0 ohms is empty. So it's possible is was just a small bit of debris that momentary raised the resistance that the wipe saw on the variable resistor, in which case it was just a fluke and everything will be fine. If it starts to happen again and again it is likely the variable resistor starting to come apart (that's been my experience). Like was stated above it doesn't have to be expensive it you do it yourself.

If it does go bad an option is just reset the trip odometer every time you fill up (old motorcycle tip - lots of motorcycles have no gas gauge). You will quickly get use to how far you can go on various amounts of gas. I do it out of habit from all my motorcycle riding. Another benefit is you will know how well the car is running by the milage.

Fuel gauge fix for when you tank is empty at 1/4 tank on the gauge.

[This message has been edited by Fieroseverywhere (edited 04-16-2010).]