crazyman03 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 So I was having a problem with my fuel gauge dipping low while at idle. Someone told me to just tighten up the screws on the back and it should be good. Not so much. First attempt, it Spiked to full tank. Second attempt, it dropped to empty. While i was doing this, i did notice that the "-" just kept spinning. it wasnt until I took the gauge off that i realized that i likely spun the coil wire off the end cap. has anyone tried repairing a fuel gauge? I tried to go to the JY and find a cluster that i could just swap out but, at least the one near my house, didnt have any Imprezas. I did manage to take one out of a similar year Legacy. Could I just put some wires on the terminals and just run it to the new gauge? will that work? Also, If i were to just buy a aftermarket fuel gauge, would it work? or is there anything special that I would need to do to make it work? -Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyman03 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Well, i tried the additional fuel gauge to see if that'll work. at first I wasn't sure if it did because it also read "E". I filled my tank up this morning and it did spike up to near Full. I'm assuming because the sending wire is, attempting at least, to power 2 gauges that it wont give a full reading? better than nothing! Until i get one to replace the one in the dash! -Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 SUbaru gauges are refernces and not bible, however they read empty early so they wont strand you, and for the most part the low fuel light means low fuel. They use two senders oner right (with the fuel pump) and one left. Usually putting in a can of texron is the first attempt to a repair. Second is to take the senders out and clean them with a #2 pencil eraser gently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPX Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Here is what the sender looks like on the right side (fuel pump + sender) side. The left side (sender only) looks similar.....but *ah-ha!* without a fuel pump on that side. The grey curvy part in the Fuel sender picture is the contact surface nipper is referring to. You could also check solder connections at the sender block if you believe a solder joint cracked or a wire is damaged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 This is a common problem and why I have a few used "sets"(both sides) of these on the shelf. Often it seems that only one side will give areading and they must kind of get added together to show on the gauge. Maybe someone can tell us how they work and how to test. No sense in me keeping any bad ones. But the real reason for my post is that if you mess with these I've always had to replace the rubber gasket. So you may want to order those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyman03 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Well, the new gauge works, and I don't have the same problem with it as I did with the one that is in the dash currently. I was mostly interested on how to repair my screw up with the instrument gauge in the dash. Initially, it worked just fine just would dip low after a while. (the new one does not) But after i mucked with it it doesn't work. Not to turn away the information with the sending unit. Good information to have, and I'll probably try it just to get it out of the way. edit: and by new gauge, i mean the one I swiped out of another subaru and have the leads ran to behind the existing gauge in the dash. Pictured above. -Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 They operate in series, a very primative variable resistor. I will tyr to find the specs but usually they just get a layer of sulphur on them and they loose accuratcy (such as it is to begin with). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Then lets back up to what the initial error was, what did you do or try to do? to the dash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyman03 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 ok, Initially, My fuel gauge would dip slowly while i was sitting at a light. Once i applied any power to the engine, either by driving or "N" revving it would climb once again, this would happen sometimes once a week. In another thread, I was having a problem that lead to my MAP sensor (P0107), i asked if it could be related to my fuel gauge, someone suggested tightening the terminals behind the gauge. After doing so, my gauge climbed to full.. but before i did it, it was working fine and was showing 1/2 tank. I looked at the terminals again and it went to empty. I took the gauge out and looked at the coil and maybe on tightening i broke a coil wire? now it just sits at past empty. It pushes itself there if you turn the needle, it'll push itself back to past empty. The new gauge works, at the moment at least. Even though the one on the dash shows past empty. edit: the new gauge is attached with 3 wires attached to the terminals behind the existing fuel gauge in the dash. -Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 oOuld be a bad gauge or cluster or voltage issue. Keep this set up for a month and lets see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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