Gas gauge working intermittenly

[canyonrider]

Any ideas where to start with trouble shooting an intermittent working gas gauge?

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Gas gauge working intermittenly

Always start with the obvious...bad connection at the guage, and/or the sending unit in the tank. Don't assume that if it feels tight than it is making a solid connection...corrosion is the death of marine electrical systems! Also make sure that the ground at the gauge is solid....

Happy boating!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Gas gauge working intermittenly

Float arm could be hanging up in the tank. Fuel sender itself could be intermittent. Connections could be intermittent at the gauge or at the sender..

 

[Bilgamesh]

Re: Gas gauge working intermittenly

I learned an old trick here on the board: Percussive Maintenance!

For longer term, try pulling off the connectors from the terminals and spray everything with electrical contact cleaner.

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: Gas gauge working intermittenly

Pull the wire terminal spades off the gauge and re-seat them. There should be shiny metal-to-metal contact where the wiring connects to the gauge. A bit of sandpaper will help, but usually just pulling them off and re-seating them a few times will clean them so they make good contact.

After you've cleaned the contacts, if the gauge still doesn't work but it responds to finger taps, the gauge is sticking. That's what gauges do when they get old.

If the problem persists, it's probably the float/sender. It's not difficult at all to replace. Just make absolutely sure you don't have any ignition sources nearby when you swap it, and make sure it's properly sealed when you're done.