Petrol Gauge Issue

[RichCliff]

Hi,

 

I am having intermittent problems with the petrol gauge.

This has been going on for a number of years now but it's got worse so would like to know if anyone has the same problems.

 

Example:-

• I have 1/4 tank showing, i go to fill up and put in £20 and the gauge when i got back in the car went up 3/4 tank full. My tank takes 66 litres, around £90 worth so that obviously wasn't correct.

• Another time, i am on the fuel light so put in £10. The gauge needle moves to just under 1/2 tank which is impossible as that would take £45 to do so.

• I was on the warning light, put in £10 and the needle didn't even move. So i put in another £10 down the road and the needle didn't move. I now have (i think) £20 + reserve in the tank but the needle still shows 0 and the light is still "on" saying i have no fuel.

• Kept putting in £10 whenever i went to the next city for shopping (only 20 miles away). Needle fluctuated every time or didn't move at all and I had no idea how much fuel i had in this car.

 

Now again, it's showing warning light on, needle to near zero and since it came on, i've put in £30 worth of petrol and it hasn't budged, light still on, needle still zero. I'm expecting to put in another £10 soon and it will zoom up to 3/4 tank or something.

 

I've seen reports of disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes. Does anyone have the same issues as it's getting rather annoying.

Edited June 13, 2014 by RichCliff

[coastline taxis]

What  model and year is it.  Would it not be better to fill the tank and see how the gauge goes

[paul.h]

Copied from a previous post - Citroen C5 1.8LX (2004).

 

Possibly the fuel gauge may be worn and need replacing but worth checking the wiring connector is ok first. Access should be under the rear seat by removing a round plastic panel. On the petrol model the gauge also includes a fuel pump so a new one may be around £150. Haynes manual gives the level sensor resistance as 360 ohms for an empty tank and 51 ohms for a full tank so this is something you could check but it is not specific on which pins in the electrical connector to check.

[RichCliff]

Thanks for the replies.

I just fuel in it yesterday, the needle was on 0 and the light was as indicated in the first post but I put in £20 this time and the needle shot up to just under half a tank!

I have no idea how much fuel i have in it at the moment as obviously £20 wouldn't fill half the tank up.

 

I shall go down the route you suggest. Thanks

[RichCliff]

I found out my problem, instead of just putting the cap back on and turning the key to lock it, i used to tighten the cap by hand then lock it. This somehow peed off the sensor and ever since just locking it and not hand tightening, its been okay!

[paul.h]

A free fix, I bet you were pleased to sort it out.