Fuel gauge question

[00squirrel]

All,

I just filled my boat all the way up for the first time today in preparation for a big cruise this weekend and I noticed that my port-side fuel gauge is only reading 1/2 tank. I know it's full because I put equal (within two gallons) amounts of gas in each tank to top it off. Can the gauge be cleaned or repaired somehow or will I have to replace it?

Thanks in advance for your help. This is a great forum!

 

[Whitenights]

Just replaced both mine this past weekend, not hard but was difficult to reach the stbd side. A dock neighbor with the same model as yours said one of his was not working and he removed it and cleaned it up and has worked fine for a couple years. Might be worth a try.

Take it out, hook it back up and move it while watching the gauges to see if you can free it up.

 

[00squirrel]

Whitenights,

Thanks for the quick reply. Do you know how your dock neighbor cleaned the gauge? Did he take it apart somehow and clean the "guts" of the gauge?

Thanks.

 

[00squirrel]

Any advice on how to clean the fuel gauge?

 

[tbirdvet]

How do you know it is not the float?

 

[gwkiwi]

Mine was a loose ground that made the starboard gauge read either full or empty. The tech was at the boat fixing it today so not sure how detailed the fix was.

Gerald

 

[AnchorsAweigh]

I think Whitenights is referring to cleaning the sender and not the gauge. Typically the problem is electrical, as in loose or corroded connections, but the "float" or sender itself can fail as well. By taking it out of the fuel tank you can inspect its condition and try moving it up and down to see if the gauge responds accordingly.