inacurate gas gauge

[chsblazer84]

im not sure if this is just specific to my blazer but i have an 84 k5 and i think im havin trouble with the gas gauge. whenever i fill up the needle never goes all the way to full and sometimes doesnt make it past the 3/4 tank mark. normally i wouldnt care about something as minute as this but its a little disconcerting because i dunno if whens its on empty if its really empty or not. also whenever its on empty and i fill up it seems like i only put about 20 gallons in it each time. just wonderin if this is common or just my problem. some tips on fixin it would be apprecaited. thanks.

 

[kp texan]

On my '88 K5, I had a similar problem. The gas gauge would read full but as the gas gauge went down it would go no lower than the 3/8 mark. I dropped the tank and found out that tank baffle had broken off and was stopping the sender float from going all the way down. Since your K5 is an '84, though, I don't know if you have a baffle in the tank since you're carbed. In that case I guess your sender may need to be cleaned or something else could be stopping the float from going all the way down. Good luck, maybe some of the guys with more experience can help you out.

-Wes

 

[84blazin]

Be happy your goes up to 3/4 of a tank. I have an 84' also and when full only goes up to "just above" 1/4 tank.. Might need a sending unit.

 

[lrazer]

i got the same type of problem on mine sometimes the gage is acurate sometimes its not it could b at 3/4 one minute then half the next it usuallt is accurate to within 1/4 of a tank (which isn't very accurate at all) don't really know what causes it or what needs to be replaced/repaired to fix it, never really cares enough to get into it have had to just make sure i keep it full
if anyone knows what causes this i would also like to know

 

[natehate]

looks like i lucked out
when i fill up my needle goes like a "1/4" tank past full
and when i hit e the party is OVER

 

[tunedportk5]

Its a blazer thing, I have a 91 tank with gage problems too. I fill it up and its fine till it get just below half and out of nowhere it'll be on E

 

[pauly383]

Its not linear , it goes faster from 1/2 to empty due to what it is and how it works

Mine works from past F to right on E , and it does go faster from 1/2 to E

 

[readymix]

Be happy your goes up to 3/4 of a tank. I have an 84' also and when full only goes up to "just above" 1/4 tank.. Might need a sending unit.

I thought that this issue and the fix for it was common knowledge?? 7 other posts and 66 views, yet no one replied??

Any way, that is casued by the cyrstal being cracked or damaged in the back of the fuel gauge. Usually casued by vibration over the years.
You have two choices, and neither of them are related to your sending unit.

1. Change out the entire gas gauge.
2. Replace the crystal. You can get a kit from Fix-A-Gauge for around $8-$10 that will do the trick.

I just put a 79 gauge in my 87 and other than the different looks, it is perfect now.

 

[lrazer]

i just looked on fix-a-gauge's site

Q.: How do I know my fuel gauge is broken?

Ans.: Fuel will indicate 1/4 of a tank when full. The needle will not move until tank is under 1/4 of a tank.


this does not seem to be the problem here or is this not the only way the gauge can be broken?

 

[readymix]

You said...

i just looked on fix-a-gauge's site

Q.: How do I know my fuel gauge is broken?

Ans.: Fuel will indicate 1/4 of a tank when full. The needle will not move until tank is under 1/4 of a tank.

this does not seem to be the problem here or is this not the only way the gauge can be broken?

I was replying to....

Be happy your goes up to 3/4 of a tank. I have an 84' also and when full only goes up to "just above" 1/4 tank.. Might need a sending unit.

How is that not the same issue

 

[lrazer]

yea sorry i just realized that, i was about to edit it

i was thinking it was all the same issue

 

[readymix]

All good.
I was going to get that kit fom Fix-A-Gauge, but i have so many spare gauges laying around here, I just used one of them....

 

[MTChevy]

Its not linear , it goes faster from 1/2 to empty due to what it is and how it works

Mine works from past F to right on E , and it does go faster from 1/2 to E

mine is the exact same way...

 

[botboy]

Be happy your goes up to 3/4 of a tank. I have an 84' also and when full only goes up to "just above" 1/4 tank.. Might need a sending unit.

My dad has the same problem with his '89 V3500 crew...except, it has saddle tanks and does the same thing on both tanks! I think it's a gauge problem, have a new cluster to install just haven't gotten around to it yet...

 

[readymix]

Mine has a saddle tank too, as it is a truck.