Fuel gauge constantly showing full

[Tiger Cam]

I have a 4.5m Stacer runabout which is showing a full tank all the time. I took off the floor to access the fuel tank and removed the sender unit. I am not familiar with these units but it seemed to be missing either a float or a "spiral". I prodded the inside of the fuel tank with coat hanger wire to try and "feel" if there was something at the bottom. Could someone please confirm that the sender unit below is incomplete? My fear is that there is something in the tank that shouldn't be!

Cheers,

Cam

[prawn*]

I have a 4.5m Stacer runabout which is showing a full tank all the time. I took off the floor to access the fuel tank and removed the sender unit. I am not familiar with these units but it seemed to be missing either a float or a “spiral”. I prodded the inside of the fuel tank with coat hanger wire to try and “feel” if there was something at the bottom. Could someone please confirm that the sender unit below is incomplete? My fear is that there is something in the tank that shouldn’t be!

Cheers,

Cam

hay cam the sender unit is broken u should have a black plastic float on the shaft id say the screw came loose over time and its droped off, u can buy replacment sender units on the net good quality to. id drain the tank and try and get the rest of the bit out before installing new unit,

good luck!

[davegroves68]

All i can say is.... lucky you!

In the 3 years that i have had my bertie 25, i have NEVER seen the fuel gauge show full.

Maybe its because its a 300 litre tank and at marina prices with a V8 i need a 2nd mortgage

[Tiger Cam]

hay cam the sender unit is broken u should have a black plastic float on the shaft id say the screw came loose over time and its droped off, u can buy replacment sender units on the net good quality to. id drain the tank and try and get the rest of the bit out before installing new unit,

good luck!

Thanks mc fishin... that was my fear .. looks like I've a got a job to do tomorrow!

All i can say is.... lucky you!

In the 3 years that i have had my bertie 25, i have NEVER seen the fuel gauge show full.

Maybe its because its a 300 litre tank and at marina prices with a V8 i need a 2nd mortgage

Love it! mate if you like we can swap... no need to buy fuel with mine

[Geoff]

Cam Is there a brand name on the gauge ?? Perhaps a phone call to the supplier will tell you what bits are missing & availability of replacements.

Out of interest , how long has it been since it last worked

Geoff

[Fester]

sender units are cheap, spare parts places for cars sell them, need to check the ohm rating of sender to match the gauge, even take sender to auto electrician and they will help you with what you need. without the float, gauge should be reading empty, disconnect wires and see if gauge moves, maybe a gauge fault as well as sender.

[Tiger Cam]

Cam Is there a brand name on the gauge ?? Perhaps a phone call to the supplier will tell you what bits are missing & availability of replacements.

Out of interest , how long has it been since it last worked

Geoff

G’day Geoff,

No brand name – just the logo that you can see on the photo. No part number either!

I rang Telwater (boat manufacturer) whom said they don’t use them anymore. I need a replacement sender that is flat on the top (no protrusions) as the floor of the boat sits virtually on top of the sender. I have had a pretty good look around the web and am not able to find one like it.

It hasn’t worked for about two months now.

sender units are cheap, spare parts places for cars sell them, need to check the ohm rating of sender to match the gauge, even take sender to auto electrician and they will help you with what you need. without the float, gauge should be reading empty, disconnect wires and see if gauge moves, maybe a gauge fault as well as sender.

Fester,

Thanks for your suggestions. Telwater said the ohm rating is 30 – 204? Could be the gauge …..but more likely the sender. The light still works on the gauge….?

I think my biggest issue is getting a sender that will fit under the floor without having to do any other major modifications. Even this sort of sender will be affected by the floor sitting on top - http://www.wema.com/publish_files/S5_-_323100-323150.pdf

[Fester]

Vdo would do a sender to suit, thers is a lot of senders that are low profile like that, easy to take it to auto elec or local spare parts place to match it up, Stacer would not have paid for a custom one off desiogn sender for your boat.did you disconnect gauge and see if needle moved? most gauges are set up so when you earth out the sender wire it reads full, its a way of checking the gauge, without power should go empty.

[macmac]

Hi Tiger cam.

Just want to follow up your fuel gauge issue. I asked bcoz i got the same problem as yours. But you r luckier than me coz my fuel gauge always empty instead of full.

is the problem fixed up?

i have a stacer 525 year 2003.

regards, Phil

Gday Geoff,

No brand name just the logo that you can see on the photo. No part number either!

I rang Telwater (boat manufacturer) whom said they dont use them anymore. I need a replacement sender that is flat on the top (no protrusions) as the floor of the boat sits virtually on top of the sender. I have had a pretty good look around the web and am not able to find one like it.

It hasnt worked for about two months now.

Fester,

Thanks for your suggestions. Telwater said the ohm rating is 30 204? Could be the gauge …..but more likely the sender. The light still works on the gauge….?

I think my biggest issue is getting a sender that will fit under the floor without having to do any other major modifications. Even this sort of sender will be affected by the floor sitting on top - http://www.wema.com/publish_files/S5_-_323100-323150.pdf

Edited July 9, 2011 by macmac

[Tiger Cam]

Hi Tiger cam.

Just want to follow up your fuel gauge issue. I asked bcoz i got the same problem as yours. But you r luckier than me coz my fuel gauge always empty instead of full.

is the problem fixed up?

i have a stacer 525 year 2003.

regards, Phil

G'day Phil,

Yes mate fixed - purchased a new Wema fuel sender. If you have the same issue, make sure you get the right sender:

With float at the bottom it should read 240 ohm and at the top 30 ohm, or

With float at the bottom it should read 0 ohm and at the top 180 ohm.

Here is the one I bought: http://www.wema.com/publish_files/S3_-_326000-326080.pdf . Fortunately it comes with the standard 5 hole configuration as the original.

I purchased the wrong one to start with and when I connected it, it showed full when empty and empty when full

Cheers,

Cam

[macmac]

G'day Phil,

Yes mate fixed - purchased a new Wema fuel sender. If you have the same issue, make sure you get the right sender:

With float at the bottom it should read 240 ohm and at the top 30 ohm, or

With float at the bottom it should read 0 ohm and at the top 180 ohm.

Here is the one I bought: http://www.wema.com/publish_files/S3_-_326000-326080.pdf . Fortunately it comes with the standard 5 hole configuration as the original.

I purchased the wrong one to start with and when I connected it, it showed full when empty and empty when full

Cheers,

Cam

Hi Tiger Cam,

Thanx for info and I fixed it already. Everything works perfectly. I didn't empty the tank and took out what left behind coz don't have big container to transfer the petrol and also don't know how to take out the shits. Does it really matter to have the old float left behind the tank? If yes, how will u do that?

Cheers, Phil