Gas gauge issue?

[philbee]

I have a 99 4x4 Supercab with the V6 3.0L engine. It has been running like a dream and I have been very happy with it.

Quite suddenly about a week ago, I tanked up with gas and the gauge needle went past the "F" as it always does - but it then stayed there for about three days before I suddenly realized I don't have magic gas!

I took it into a reasonably reliable independant shop (my local Goodyear service center) they spent about 2 hours checking the system out electrically and found nothing. They did not charge me as they could not find the problem - I was impressed by that alone!

They suggested a trip to Mr Ford would be the only answer.

I scheduled an appointment this very morning, but yesterday on the way home suddenly I noticed that the gauge was reading accurately.

Does anyone have even the vaguest idea what caused this 'blip'?

As it started to function normally and as I am not 'made of money' I did not take it into the Ford shop today.

I am just a little bit concerned that it still isn't working properly even though it appears to be doing so, and I'll run out of gas on some dark, cold lonely road......

[chrisgrayjr]

I have the same truck minus the 4X4, and i have the same problem. It tends to only do it during the winter time. The first time it happened, I had parked with a 1/4 of a tank, turned it on, and magically had a full tank. Once it started doing that, I just reset the trip odometer every time I fill up and don't run it over 300 miles. It hasn't failed me yet. The only downfall is taht I have to put in a full tank every time. Pretty much a gas guage is a rough estimate of the fuel in the tank anyway, so I never really trusted it. It's not costing me anything to fix either.

[bmlkidd]

Have you been able to figure this out?

I have a 1993 with the opposite problem - the gage reads EMPTY all the time. When the truck is off, it goes to about 1/4 tank, but when the ignition is on, it reads below E, regardless of amount of fuel in tank.

Thanks,

[odb93]

Originally Posted by bmlkidd

Have you been able to figure this out?

I have a 1993 with the opposite problem - the gage reads EMPTY all the time. When the truck is off, it goes to about 1/4 tank, but when the ignition is on, it reads below E, regardless of amount of fuel in tank.

Thanks,

Short out your sending unit in the tank.....If the gauge reads full then the sending unit needs to be replaced.

If it does not move then the gauge is the problem.

[Farm_Boy]

For the first problem about the gauge staying on full for a while. It happened after you filled up right? It could have been the float in the gas tank. When you filled up the float went all the way up and could have got stuck in this position. After using some gas for a few days and bouncing around down the road, it could have shock lose and fell down to the normal position. Maybe when you fill up stop after the gas pump shuts off the first time. Try not to squeeze every drop of fuel you can into the tank. Good luck.