Recently my fuel gauge has been stuck at the full top of scale (full tank) and I'm wondering if perhaps the float has stuck? Has anyone else experienced this? I suppose there is a chance that a wire has been pinched somewhere, but it seems more likely that it is simply a stuck float. Can anyone tell me how to access the sending unit so that I can perhaps tap on it to see if the float will unstick?
If it's the sendor and/or float you'll want to drop the tank,that'll take removing the two tank strap bolts and disconnecting the filler tube and the smaller vent tube.
Try and I say try to have the least amount of fuel in the tank as the tank alone empty is heavy but with 5 gallons of diesel makes it a real bear to handle alone.
If unsure about the tank level round up 3-6 clean 5 gallon buckets a 5'length of 5/16" 30R7 fuel line and a screw clamp to hook up to the outlet of the fuel pump to empty the tank as much as possible.
We used a pipe chain to R&R the black ring on top of the tank,also to note there'll be a wire harness that plugs into the top of the tank,that'll need to be disconnected.
Occasionally the top black ring won't want to remove or re-thread back on easily so a heat gun is used to warm up the ring to re-thread on.
__________________ 2002 Ford Excursion 7.3L 4x4 XLT 9th Annual Powerstroke Rally this Oct 3-5 2008 in Caddo Mills,Texas CLICK HERE for more Information & Register Here
I'd definitely do a code read on the truck first before wanting to drop the tank [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
__________________ 2002 Ford Excursion 7.3L 4x4 XLT 9th Annual Powerstroke Rally this Oct 3-5 2008 in Caddo Mills,Texas CLICK HERE for more Information & Register Here
My Ex just had this happen. The gauge is stuck on Full. Since it is still under warranty I will take it in this week to see what is up. I will post what they find.
Hey, thanks for the offer. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Ours has 36k so its out of warranty, plus we live out in the boondocks, an hour from the nearest dealership. So, I will genuinely appreciate the feedback. Again, thanks for helping out.
Staff and wire reports
Published by news-press.com on May 30, 2004
Shell Oil interrupted or stopped the sale of gasoline at more than 500 stations in the South because of <font color="red"> high levels of sulfur that can damage vehicle fuel gauges and make an empty tank appear full </font> .
The damage done by the bad gasoline could cause some drivers to run out of gas unexpectedly. Also, car owners may have to replace their fuel gauges — a repair job that easily can cost $400 to $600.
The tainted gasoline originated at the Motiva Enterprises refinery in Norco, La., according to Shell. Motiva is the refining arm of Shell in the East and South, including Florida.
Employees at several Fort Myers stations said their gasoline was tested early Friday and was fine.
Scott Newhouse, assistant service manager at Sam Galloway Ford in Fort Myers, and John Marazzi, general manager of Fort Myers Toyota, said they haven’t seen an increase of faulty tank sensors.
Whether a particular station was affected depended on when, and how often, the station has been resupplied with fuel, Shell spokesman Johan Zaayman said.
All Florida stations needing gasoline were resupplied Friday, Zaayman said. “All grades of gasoline now meet our quality standards,” he said.
The problem came to light this week after drivers began complaining about inaccurate fuel gauge readings.
Gas tanks have a float ball that rises and falls with the fuel level. An electrical system reads the float ball’s level and transmits the information to the dashboard fuel gauge. The system uses silver electrical contacts, which can be corroded by sulfur.
The company said it is investigating how the high sulfur levels occurred.
— The News-Press staff writers Tim Engstrom and Laura Ruane and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
[/ QUOTE ]
Gasoline not diesel but Shell wasn't specific tho [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]
The possibilities are there maybe.
__________________ 2002 Ford Excursion 7.3L 4x4 XLT 9th Annual Powerstroke Rally this Oct 3-5 2008 in Caddo Mills,Texas CLICK HERE for more Information & Register Here
Well, you're dealilng with the slowest guy on the planet. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] I finally got around to dropping the tank on our diesel 4x4 Excursion earlier today, and now I have more questions than answers. Weird stuff first - After making the initial post I noticed if I top off my tank there is a steady stream of fuel from the front of the tank that will run out onto the ground. When we bought this thing the salesman told us to make sure and kill the engine prior to fueling as the fuel system is pressurized. If fuel is being vented onto the ground when I overfill, doesn't that indicate a leak in this supposedly pressurized system? Could that have any bearing on our fuel quantity always reading full?
Now that I have the tank down:
1 - Its not clear to me how I'm to disconnect what I suppose are two high-pressure lines from the top of the fuel pump. Any suggestions, or do I have to clean the tank adequately where I can unscrew the pump and pull it to complete tank removal?
2 - There is a gray device installed at the top, right rear of the tank. It has a barbed output as though for a hose of some type, but it is capped off - what the heck is that?
3 - The only, I repeat, only, apparent electrical connection is to the fuel pump. I disconnected it, but for the life of me I see nothing that looks like a fuel quantity sending unit. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Now that I've gone through this whole excercise to trouble-shoot/replace the fuel quantity sending unit - Where is it? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]
4 - The tank is poly and it is strapped to the skid-plate and the whole assembly was held up with just four mounting bolts... If any recommendation include the need to seperate the tank from the skid plate does anyone have a suggestion for how to resecure the items?
Thanks in advance for any follow up,
Phil [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/warmsmile.gif[/img]
OK, I owe a big thank you to Bill (CHPMustang) for calling me earlier. I was under several mis-impressions. I thought the entire fuel system, tank and all, was positively pressurized somehow. I also thought the fuel pump was in the tank, not so.
With Bill's explanation for how to disconnect the feed and return lines connected to the top of the...mixing chamber I think he called it, and how to remove that unit, which also holds the fuel sending unit; I'm optimistic I'll get the tank drop and sender removal completed tomorrow.
I halfway expect that after I clean things up I'll find a piece of road debris has made a small cut in the overflow hose and that is where the fuel is coming from when I overfill. I will give everyone a status report once the job is completed. Oh yeah, I'm also going to cut that hose inside the tank in order to cut down on the foaming and all when filling up. ;-)
I filled up with shell the same weekend they had their gasoline problem. This was the ONLY time I ever had water in the fuel problems and had to drain the filters 6 times that weekend before I got enough of the fuel out to make a difference.
A couple days later I heard about the sulfer problem in my area but there was NO hint that there was any connection to my water in the fuel problem and the bad gas problems.
I have not had any other problems since then which leads me to believe that the Shell problem was gasoline only and not diesel.
Mesu
__________________
Excursion 2004 4X4 Limited - PUEBLO GOLD - 6.0L T-C Diesel - 5-Spd Auto Trans -AM/FM Sterio In-Dash 6-CD - Rear Seat Entertainment - DVD - 2nd Row -Dual Bucket Seats - PWR HTD T-T Mirrors - 3.73LS Axle - T-Case Skid Plate - Thule Top Rack - SC Tuner
Veh. Built 7/16/03 Eng. Build date 6/27/03 by International - Purchase Date 9/1/03 Milage on date 6/9/04 = 15,000 11/15/04 = 26,890 4/19/05 = 35,639 12/12/05 = 49,810 8/29/06 = 63,750 3/27/08= 100,003 Rancho 9000 shocks F & R.
It is hard to take travel serious when every time you leave home you take an Excursion !
OK, problem solved. Dropping and reinstalling the tank by yourself is a bear, but after probably one man-day total I managed both and solved the problem. Anybody see the problem in the picture...
<font color="red">(I'm having some trouble getting the picture to post. I'm following the convention specified on the site...but if I don't get it right the URL for the picture is listed below.)</font>
I gently dislodged the float assembly from the sending unit wire, secured both with a black tie wrap, and reinstalled the unit. Prior to putting it back into the tank I took an ohm meter and connected to the two pins in the connector and confirmed resistance increased and decreased with float travel.
I suspect the fuel leak is from a vent ball-check valve I found at the top, right rear corner. I put a length of tubing on that and ran it out next to the filler neck in order to see if the leak persists when I overfill, which I'm about to do big time. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img] That check valve seemed to work OK when I moved it with my finger, but if fuel comes out now I always have the option to pinch the line off and solve the problem. For those not familiar with the procedure, the reason I say I am about to over-fill the tank is because I "harpooned" the tank, which consists of taking PVC cutters and cut the fill and return tubes essentially flush inside the tank. I'll report capacity increase once I have the amount calibrated.
Thanks for the PM's and replies. What a stupid design to leave enough slack in the wire that the float can get trapped like this...
The fuel gage works fine now, but when we gassed up the same fuel leak manifested itself just about the time the nozzle clicked off.
When the tank was down I did not see any obvious location for a leak, so unless someone has had a similar experience and can offer advice I guess I will wait until the tank is depleted and will drop it again and have another look. The vent/ball-check valve is not the culprit because the fuel was not coming from the hose I connected to it.
I would make sure that the overflow hose has no cuts in it and is connected properly to the top of the tank and to the filler assembly. You might even check for damage to the filler assembly. This can be removed by disconnecting the hoses and taking out three screws and pulling the filler assemblly out the fuel door opening.
I did this removal when I opened up my filler for the truck stop sized nozzle. If somebody did this carelessly they could have damaged the filler assembly.
Glad you fixed the fuel level sensor problem.
__________________
2000 Excursion Limited born 11/99 4x4 Toreador Red ext./gray int. 7.3PSD, 3.73LS, Skidplates, Pwr/Htd TeleMirrors, 6CDchanger, HtdBuckets, LT265/75R16E Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo, Ford Wraparound deflector, PSDV8 badging, RoofMarkerLights, Tekonsha Sentinel brake cntrlr, PCM=AXD0, Edge Evolution II, WalkerBigTruck Muffler, RS9000, RS5410, Performance Friction 2 piece rotors/pads, Sylvania SilverStars, Landyot Gen III, Air Lift rear air bag system, Amsoil from MAXoil.com in diffs/trans/transfer 251k miles.
Thanks for the input. The problem is I checked all of the obvious things, so to more thoroughly explain things here is what I've done related to this vexing leak:
1 - I removed much of the gunk caking the top of the tank and did a general visual inspection. Nothing abnormal was noted, but it was obvious that a small amount of diesel had been on top of the tank because quite a bit of dirt and debris was mudded up on top of it.
2 - I looked at each of the two hoses, fill and relief, and noted nothing abnormal.
3 - I looked at each of the fittings where those hoses attach to their tank fittings, as well as each of their respective tubes they are connected to; nothing abnormal was noted.
4 - I checked the function of the vent/ball-check valve and it seemed to work fine, so I put a piece of tubing onto the barbed fitting that is normally fitted with a small plastic cap that allows small fuel amounts to spill and evaporate. The tube was run over and down the side of the tank in the vicinity of where the filler tube goes in so when fueling I could look at whether the fuel leak was coming from there or not. The fuel leak does not come from that tube, so it is not a leaking ball-check valve.
5 - The retaining ring that holds the sending unit and mixing chamber in was a pain in the a$$ to reinstall. CHPMustang suggested heating it with a hair dryer and that helped, but it was still tough to get it tightened down. Still and all I'm confident any leak from that would be very small, not the steady stream we note when we top off.
It does seem the leak used to start only once you could actually see fuel in the filler neck when maxing out the tank. Having "harpooned" the tank, it may be my mistaken impression, but it seems it leaked "sooner" today. That kind of points me to one of the two assemblies, plastic threaded nipples, that each of the hoses are attached to. When I looked at them yesterday they seemed intact, they were tight as hell (I'm not sure they can be removed withing destroying them), the hose clamps were tight, no holes were noted in the hoses; I'm totally perplexed.
If anybody has ever experienced a fuel leak like this, from somewhere on top of the tank, I would greatly appreciate feedback.
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