gas guage on my 1999 silverado been acting weird...

[lilyorkie]

it will show empty and light will come on when it has over 1/2 a tank then all of a sudden work properly, doesnt do it all the time, it will sometimes show empty all the way then VERY slowly go back to full tank, or I can turn ign off for a second and back on and it will register correctly, any ideas????

[KRAZYMATT36]

i have a 99 and mine also does the same crap. if you leave it in parked it also goes to low fuel after like 2 minutes its nuts. plus it says i got like a quater of a tank left sometimes and i fill it up to be safe and the fucker takes like 18 gallons (2 gallons is not a quater of a tank) somthing is screwy and i wish i knew what it was.

-krazymatt

[FOX ROCKS LIXDIX]

it needs a new fuel gauge sending unit.
gm has a few problems with them they probably wont admit it but they do.

[lilyorkie]

over time?

[KRAZYMATT36]

how much?

[lilyorkie]

to registering the correct amount. So the sending unit is bad... Remove bed? Is the fuel pump part of the sending unit?

[dogdrake]

u have to drop the tank from the bottom . i have cleaned a few of these with a contact cleaner and a erasor and it fixed it . not that it will help you. u could try it before u bought a new one . just test it out of the tank.

[illco99]

I have the same truck and same problem. Can you reply if you fix it?

[stevekarns]

I've got a 99 Z71 3 door with same issues. I will try the contact cleaner and eraser trick and post reply upon completion.

STEVE

[barrow6]

I called my local dealer and made a service report on this problem. Please let me know the cost if someone buys one? Thanks

[kellyfolse]

I have the exact same problem with the fuel gauge on my 99 Silverado. I was told my a friend who is a GM technician that this is a common problem seen on these trucks/SUV's. The fuel gauge sending unit is the culprit. He claims that cleaning the contacts won't help, but I may try that first. I'll post my results ASAP.

[slacker_53]

Cleaning the contacts probably WON'T HELP. The sender is mounted in the tank (part of the fuel pump assembly) some have, I'm told, plastic teeth that get stripped causing the malfunction.

The easiest way to replace the sender is pull the bed (my opinion) and while your there, you might as well replace the pump also.

This is definately a weak spot in these trucks, I have put in three of these in the last two months.

I had my dealer do the last one, his shop is warmer than mine, I think the whole job was $400.00, almost half of which was labor.

-slacker

[stevekarns]

I've got to dis-agree with you slacker_53. There are no gears to be stripped out on the sending unit that is in my truck. There are 2 small tabs that slide on a circuit card with 2 wires coming off it and then to the connectors of the truck wiring. Today I got my truck back together and filled it up. I used contact cleaner and a q-tip to clean the sending unit. So far so good. I've gone about 20 miles and the guage hasn't droped off like it would have before cleaning the sending unit. I had about 1/8 of a tank left when I dropped the tank and there wasn't any trouble is dropping the tank. Now that I've done it I think that it would only take about 2 hours to drop the tank and pull the pump/sending unit again. Heck I even found a spare set of keys on the frame!! Good luck to you all.
STEVE

[stevekarns]

Well just over 60 miles on the "re-built" sending unit and no problems yet. Good luck to the rest of you who are willing to try the task!!

[markiv396]

All,

It has been interesting reading your posts about the fuel gauge issue. I recently had my 2001 Silverado at the dealership for this problem. They gave me a bulletin that GM released and "line" about how this was "normal" and not a problem. I am gathering information to present my case that this is a problem and needs to be addressed in the form of a recall. For starters I still have warranty left on it and if your dealers have replaced the units or in some cases repaired them then it obviously is a "problem" with the units. My comment to this group is even if your trucks are out of warranty you still may qualify for a replacement or reimbursement. Even if GM does not release a recall emission and fuel systems were suppose to be covered longer than the orginally warranty. Hope it helps!