Fuel gauge not accurate

[desencadenador]

What i got:
2001 s10 2.2L

Problem:

The needle on the fuel gauge doesnt move when i drive, short and long distances. when the car is turned off , the needle will rise a few ticks, but not to what the actuall fuel level is. I can judge the fuel level from years of keeping track of the mileage per tank. when the tank is toped off, the needle returns to FULL, but it stays there, even after driving 70 miles. from past experience, the gauge indicates Empty around 320-340 miles, depending on the driving. Now when it gets to that mileage, the gauge indicates a little less than half tank.

Recent Work:

Recently involved in a front end collision, the shop replaced the front end. The gauge problem has existed since then. I had the shops mechanic look at it, but he said that he couldnt see anything,(he did this with out looking at the actual wireing because the labor would be too much.)

What im asking:

What could this be? (fuel level sensor?, wireing?, my OCD ???)
will this problem reset on its own over time?
COuld this have happened as result of the collision/ collision shop(knocking around the wires???)


Thank you - Paul

[Blue Bowtie]

My initial guess is that the gauge sender circuit is open (no connection). You can remove the electrical connector near the tank and test the resistance of the level sensor.

There is the possibility that the kinetics of the crash caused the level sensor some damage, in either the float becoming disconnected or the level sensor being distorted, or that the impact merely created a poor connection. Newer generation (about 1994 and later) level sensors operate differently than the older 0-90 ohm GM systems, in that an open circuit will show an empty tank instead of a full level.

[Mango™]

I have an issue with my 91 s-10 4.3 v6 gas guage, once I get to a 1/4 of a tank I need to stop immediatly or I will stall.

[DavidPT40]

My 96 S-10 wouldn't start today. Fuel gauge read 1/4th tank of gas. I finally got it started, and headed to the gas station. I put 14.4 gallons in my 15 gallon tank!