faulty fuel gauge/sender

[daveabra]

Hello

I have a 2001 HDI 406 saloon which i have had for almost a month. About a week into owning it i noticed the fuel gauge go from showing about one quarter to showing just over half a tank. This happened a few seconds after start up. At firth i thought the gauge was stuck but it slowly dropped, just as you would expect.

Because the car came with half a tank of fuel and i only used a quarter before the gauge went up. I don't know if the fuel warning light will still come on when i have no fuel, or even how many miles i can do on say £20.

I read somewhere that the fuel gauge/sender unit could be faulty so i purchased one. It also described that this was an easy job for an amature which i would describe myself as. But once the back seat was out and the black cap was removed i descovered the the unit is held in place with a black plastic lip which appears to have no way of being removed.

where am i going wrong. Can i not ever describe myself as an amature.

Any thoughts on whether the sender unit is even faulty of on how to confirm it is faulty would be great.

thanks.

[lozz]

My fuel guage acts weird too at times,

one day the fuel light was on when iwent to the fuel station on the way there it went up to a Quarter,

sometimes if theyve not been parked level it can throw out the fuel reading being acurate,

as on mileage on £20 mine will do a good 230 miles sometimes more depending how idrive it
they are good on the Mpg

ithink other members on here have noticed weird fuel guage readings too so your not alone on that one

[lozz]

edit double post

internet lag

[DiscoPol]

I wouldnt worry about it too much, they are famous or is it infamous for dodgy fuel gauges my advice would be fill it and carry a tank in the boot for a while till you know you can trust the low fuel light,

as for removing the sender unit, its attached to the pump i believe, when i changed my pump i also did the sender by default as it all one piece,

the large black plastic ring that locks it into place can be released by either using a special tool from pug or battered round with a bit of wood or such like used as a drift to loosen it.

its a PITA to do if you dont really have to, not difficult as such just long winded and a bit of a faff. if it aint really broke then dont fix it ....... yet

top the car up and carry a can till you know you either can or cant trust it, thats my advice and im sticking by it.


good luck



Disco

[daveabra]

Hi

thanks for advice.

Do you know what the special tool is called from pug.

[omega]

Hi

thanks for advice.

Do you know what the special tool is called from pug.

yes





expensive!

[DiscoPol]

[daveabra]

Do you or anyone looking at this know someone near buckingham who would have one i could borrow.

Cheers for help

[DiscoPol]

here is the tool thanks to Welly for the link.

As for somebody having one locally, sorry Im really not the man to ask, I live in Poland

[daveabra]

great.
£12

thanks.

[andymccabe13]

I also experience this problem. Today i put £10 in 10 miles later the fuel light goes on i got out and 10 mins later fuel light went off and hasnt been on 50 miles since??? do i need a new sensor and how much? xud 1.9td