gas gauge in 96 stratus broken..

[Dabba]

think its electrical, probably a ground, any idea where to look?

 

[Dabba]

for the girlfriends vehicle before shes gets stranded, hope this is a quick and painless fix (yeah right)

 

[Stomis]

Hmmm search around I remember reading something along the lines that a bad ground will read zero gas and a short in the send will read full. But it might be vice versa thats why I say search.

Also you can check if your gauge is the culprit by getting your hands on a variable resistor. Its a little box we have at school that tricks the gauge into thinking the sender is plugged in. I doubt its the gauge though.


Good luck!

 

[Dabba]

yeah i got a feeling its a bad ground too, just have no idea where the gauge is grounded, guuess i should just pull the cluster and start tracing?

 

[johnnychimpo]

I'm betting its the sending unit in the tank. I have an Impala that had the same trouble.

 

[Dabba]

i should also mention its been acting up latley, going from working then it drops to E and then working, then it just stopped

 

[johnnychimpo]

Mine did the same thing. Replacing the sending unit cured it. I had a trusted garage do the work and it ended up being a tad over $300

 

[Dabba]

damn, my gfs never got any cash so i was hoping to do it myself but i dont think i can deal with that. guess shes gonna have to bite the bullet on this one cause she cant drive like that

 

[johnnychimpo]

Shouldnt be too bad to do yourself, unless the tanks got more than a couple of gallons of gas in it. The Impala I drive is a "company" car so I don't have to work on it.

 

[Dabba]

ha, i dont even know where the sending unit is or how to replace it or where it looks like, and being a new vehicle its prob gonna be a pita right?

 

[johnnychimpo]

Most are inside the gas tank. You'll prob. have to drop the tank to get to it.

ha, i dont even know where the sending unit is or how to replace it or where it looks like, and being a new vehicle its prob gonna be a pita right?

 

[Stomis]

Most are inside the gas tank. You'll prob. have to drop the tank to get to it.

Cross your fingers theres an access hatch. Either in the truck or under the rear seat would be the place to check.

 

[Dabba]

thanks guys, if its that cheap i dont think im even gonna bother