Gas Guage Problem

[John L.]

I have just bought my daughter a 00 Eclipse GT and the gas gauge doesn't work. It shows empty no matter how much gas it has. Also the rear windsheid wiper stops in the vertical position. It will eventually go to the home position, but it doesn't work right eather. Could both problems be related? I have checked the fuses and didn't find anything wrong. I work out of town and don't have a lot of time to trace the problem out. Where should I start? Thanks in advance.

[Nexagen]

Hey John I noticed you have a problem with your Gauges. I had the same problem with mine except it was my Temperature Gauge.

If the car your daughter has is an Eclipse 2000 GT odds are however owned it before your daughter fiddled with the Gauges and Speedometer. Probably put an aftermarket Indiglow Gauge and messed around with it.

Anyway I had the same problem and there's actually several ways to fix this.

The easiest and possibly most expensive way would be to take it to a Mitsubishi Dealer and have the car serviced. This would work great if you have a warranty.

Or you could take it to a Car Stereo/Audio shop, they are pretty good with electrical.

If you dont have a warranty and are pretty good with mechanical stuff, Here's what you could do.

Get a flat screwdriver and pry it inside the instrument cluster so taht it will come off. There's about 4-5 clips that you need to unclip so that it will come off. The panel you want to remove is right on behind the steering wheel and on top of the speedometer. It is sorta oval shaped on top. Pry it off and move on to the gauge.

Check the electrical wire for the Fuel Gauge Meter. If it's disconnected some electrical tape could be used to twist the wires back so that they connect.

Second disconnect your battery, but dont put the Instrument Cluster back yet. Re-connect the battery, start up the car and let it idle for 2 mins.

If you dont see the needle move up or down, the problem could be elsewhere. Check the connection and repeat if neccessary. If it fixes itself then prop the cluster back in.

Otherwise take it to a dealer and have it serviced, warranty or no warranty.

[Rulez]

The two problems aren't related.

The sensor for the gas gauge is in the tank. It could be a problem with that as well.

I dont recommend taking a screwdriver and prying shit off like Nexagen says. You may fuck it up worse. Take it somewhere and have someone look at it.

[John L.]

I'll take it some where to get if fixed. This maybe more than I want to handle.