Help! fuel gauge problem

[juanvera213]

i bought a corvette 1994 and i saw the reserve under the fuel gauge from what ive read it has to do with the tank being low on gas but i have filled it up many times and it doesnt show any bars on the fuel gauge i dont know what to do pls help cus i dont want to run out of gas in the middle of the highway

 

[XLR8]

I can't help with your technical problem but we've got some good folks here - tech savvy and always willing to help. I'm sure they'll be along soon with suggestions. In the meantime, I wanted to say "HI!" and WELCOME to the

One suggestion I'd make is this: if you're able to access your trip odometer (you didn't mention if it's working/displaying), zero it every time you fill the tank and monitor your mileage. This will at least let you know how many miles since your last fill-up. As a matter of fact, I do that very thing on my C5 with every new tank full.

Jane Ann

 

[John Robinson]

As Jane Ann said use the trip reset. It is fairly simple to figure how much fuel you have by doing the following.

Hit the fuel info button until you get the average miles per gallon reading. (example 16)

Hit the fuel info button again and it will show the miles left in the tank. (example 282)

Divide mileage by mpg (282 Div 16 = 17.6 gallons of fuel left in tank) or you have used 2.4 gallons from a full tank.

Using this method gives you some idea were you are with the fuel but when it gets down to 100 miles you should fill up.

As for what is causing your gauge not to work is a mystery to me but someone should be along with more information on that.

 

[juanvera213]

thanks everyone for the help and for the fule guage there are no bars that appear in the fule meter from the day i bought the corvette but i will go with the suggestion u told me anyways i will be driving it from college to my house and its aproximatly 90 miles round trip but if anyone know how it can be fixed pls help


and i forgot to mention that the car has been parked for a few years i think 3 years but the guy would use it from time to time and he told me that he changed the fule pump in the tank not to long ago
i also found some rats nest i think they tore up the wiring thats is my guess do you think it will be dificult to find the problem or should i just change the whole gauge system and if so how much do they sell for

 

[juanvera213]

thanks for the advice but its not going to work for me becuase were its suppose to say how many miles are left over it just says (RANGE LO) and it keeps blinking SYS any advice

 

[John Robinson]

You might take the fuel pump out and make sure the float for the fuel level arm is there and or not full of fuel so that it wont' move up and down with the fuel level. If you are familiar with how a toilet float works this is the same principal. Also you can put a voltmeter on the wires from the fuel level sensor and check the voltage as you move it through its arc with the float arm. Since it is a potentiometer the voltage will start out low and increase as you move the arm.

Since as you say the previous owner said he replaced the fuel pump you don't know if he left something undone or not done correctly with the wiring and fuel level sender. It is also possible that he somehow has the fuel pump dampener not installed correctly and it is restricting the fuel level float arm from moving.

There is a recent post with a good description on how to remove the fuel pump. It is a very easy thing to do.

Go to this and read it for information on how to remove the fuel pump.

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/c4-general-discussion/128858-plastic-gas-tank.html

 

[juanvera213]

thanks for the help i really appreciate it