I did a search on this and came up with so many different posts , but none of them really talked about the fuel gasuge being pegged. I got a 88 Suburban and the fuel gauge is pegged at about 2-3 o clock position and doesn't move. What do you guys think it might be? gauge,ground, sending unit? if its a ground where abouts should I check? If its the sending unit how can i prove that that is the problem? Thanx guys and sorry for the newb question.
CK5
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Fuel Gauge pegged
- Thread starter mudboy
- Start date
mudboy said:
One of three things:
the ground from the sending unit to the frame
the wiring to the sending unit
the sender itself
Get thee an ohm-meter and check the resistance of the sender. This will mean dropping the tank, which is more fun than a barrel of lawyers
Otherwise, visually check the ground wire for corrosion or not-being-connected-ness, and do the same for the sender wire (which IIRC is pink.)
I gotta do the same thing today, except I know damn well it's the pink wire got broken somewhere when I re-re-re-did my shackle flip or the springs.
-- A
erik59
Registered Member
On newer GM models the guage will show empty is there is a ground issue
I'd check the gauge first (partly on the notion that it's easier to dismantle the dash than dropping the tank). I had similar issues, in my case it was a bad contact between the gauge itself and the printed circuit board in the dash. Power in to the gauge was fine, gauge ground was fine, but power out (i.e. power to the sending unit) had no connection. Bent the connector from the circuit board so that it made good contact with the gauge, and everything was working again. Your situation may be different, but this may be worth looking into. Hope that helps.
Pegged == a broken connection, i.e. an open circuit.mudboy said:
Shorted to ground, the gauge would show dead empty.
You can test your gauge and wiring IF you can get the rubber nipple off the tank (if you're nimble and/or have a body lift you can do this without dropping the tank, by reaching over the tank on the passenger side.)
Weasel the nipple out, and run a jumper wire from the center to a good ground, i.e. a clean spot on the frame. The gauge should read empty now (remember to have your helper who's looking turn the key on. Cough.)
if it doesn't read empty, the gauge or the wiring is bad. If it does, the sender is bad.
As it turned out in my case, some redheaded idiot ( :whistling
managed to crimp the wire when he put in his 52" front springs so that the wire was disconnected, but without breaking the insulation. I ended up pulling on the wire and ... snap. 
Anyway, stripped the ends and back together they go.-- A
