<VV> Erratic gas gauge

[Frank DuVal]

It sounds like you have a working gas gage.

1 1/2 gallons in a really empty tank should read E.

If you step on the brake and the needle quivers and resettles on E, that 
is also correct operation with 1 1/2 gallons in the tank.

Now if you are seeing E until you operate the turn signals or brake 
pedal when the car is stopped, then it is not sloshing gas. Now you may 
have a bad dash ground along with a bad ground on one of your rear lights.

Explanation:

Current flows through the brake light switch or turn signal switch to 
the rear lamp assembly. There it goes through the "bright" filament to 
the shell of the lamp holder. It SHOULD go to ground at this point, but 
if the ground is bad, the current can flow through the "dim" filament 
back to the dash lamps. Here it should again flow to ground after 
passing through the dash lamp filaments. But, with a bad ground at the 
instrument cluster, the current flows through the fuel gage to the 
sending unit and then to ground. A long path, but electrons like to 
travel through the least resistance path.

So as others have said, check the instrument cluster ground screw. It is 
one of the lower ones near the steering column.

Frank DuVal

chris c wrote:

>My gas gauge is just wrong. 
>
>Before I replace the tank I checked the sender.  Resistance is constant 
>threw the entire movement (forget the exact readings).
>
>With 1.5  gallons - minus what was required to run the car for about 15 
>min it reads empty. Unless I use my turn signals, or hit the brakes.
>
>Where do I start?  I was going to clean the dash grounds, and check for 
>something shorting out when I apply the parking brake or use the signals.
>
>Also I went threw two flasher fuses last season (at the time I thought 
>the replacement fuse was defective).
>
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>gauge
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