Gas guage is off

[CBaron]

My gas guage has been acting strange. According to the hash marks it is impossible to fill it to the top. I put the same amount of fuel in it bu the gauge will never get "pegged" like it used to. Sometimes a full tank reads higher than other times, and sometimes my guage goes completely dead then comes back after a few seconds. Frustrating.

Anyone else out there had this type of problem?
CBaron

94' Accord EX
160,000mi

[thomas crown]

i think i may have had exactly the same problem, when i got my '95 accord the gas guage wouldn't fill all the way up, sometimes it would go all the way down and come back up while i was driving, or it would go down fast and read empty when i still had 1/2 tank left. i had to get the sending unit replaced (i couldn't take it anymore) and it was about $175 at the honda dealership. i guess it is the part in the gas tank that tells the guage how full the tank is that goes bad or something, i really don't know but that was my problem. hope that helps.

t.c.

[CBaron]

Sounds like the same thing. I wonder how hard it is to fix on your own? I hate taking my car to the dealer. Anyone else had this problem or done the fix?
Thanks for the info,
CBaron

[ALCav6]

I've had a simular problem on my '98 v6 accord for years. I got it repaired once under warranty but the problem came back later. I didn't feel like wasteing any more time trying to get the dealer to repair it again so I've just ignored the problem. However, the reason I'm replying is that about 2 weeks ago I almost ran out of gas (surged into the station) and since then the fuel gauge has read correctly. I'm not sure if that's what fixed it but it might be worth a try. Hope this helps.

[dougthegreat]

If you search the forums, it sounds like the Achilles Heel of the fuel system is the Fuel Sender, a little doohickey that interprets the level of fuel in the tank and then passes it on to the gauge.

When I called the dealership, I told them "My fuel gauge only goes to half when it is MOST DEFINITELY FULL. I have an Accord.". They asked me what year it was (99), and he told me I probably had an EX-V6 because he fixes that so often.

What a retarded part to break down!!!

[F22b accord]

i beleive its a sending unit under the back seats which leaves into the fuel tank that reads how much gas you have

[tenguzero]

I have a minor form of this issue as well with my '94 EX. It doesn't quite "peg" when full, but once it reaches empty (the needle goes a good deal below the empty line,) it always still has a decent amount left. I always blamed this offset on when I did my indiglo gauge installation, I figured I might have recorded the level of the gas needle a smidge off before I did all the tinkering with the faces (since the gas needle doesn't auto- register every time the car is started like others, I figure this will hassle me until I decide to get in there and readjust it... blech!) However, I do notice my needle will dip ever so slightly, particularly when I'm coning to a stop after a high speed, like at the bottom of an offramp. Then, it'll slowly re-adjust itself (but I wasn't sure if this was just a result of the gas shifting around in the tank) Bottom line? I think the fuel sending unit stuff is just one more odd little quark that is a part of the Accord's personality.

[reezn]

I have a 94 Accord EX and I also experince the same thing. I didn't know the gas tank had a sender unit. I know old cars use a floater, I just figured my Accord had one too and when I filled up it would hit the top of the tank and the fuel would submerge it making it mark less gas than actual. My theory is it also hits the bottom of the tank and can't read the fuel level anymore. I guess what i'm tyring to say is that I thought my Accord had a floater and it was too big.

[002star]

Mine does the same thing. I fill it up and it doesn't go o the top. But i almost ran out of gas the other day and the damn needle was almost touching the bottom of the dash. I think the people at the dealer f***ed it up when I took it there. Assholes i hate dealers. But that is another story. Figure out what it was and tell me thanks

[rstein13]

Sure sounds like the sender. I hate messing with the fuel system myself. Things go "boom" way too easy. I never really pay attention to the fuel gauge anyway. I reset my trip odo after every fill-up. I know how many miles I can get out of a tank so I ignore my fuel gauge. Good luck if you decide to change it yourself (and don't smoke).

[thepig333]

I got an 89 accord, and I get no response out of the fuel guage. Do you think this could be the sender as well?

[94accordVTEC]

Originally Posted by tenguzero

I have a minor form of this issue as well with my '94 EX. It doesn't quite "peg" when full, but once it reaches empty (the needle goes a good deal below the empty line,) it always still has a decent amount left. I always blamed this offset on when I did my indiglo gauge installation, I figured I might have recorded the level of the gas needle a smidge off before I did all the tinkering with the faces (since the gas needle doesn't auto- register every time the car is started like others, I figure this will hassle me until I decide to get in there and readjust it... blech!) However, I do notice my needle will dip ever so slightly, particularly when I'm coning to a stop after a high speed, like at the bottom of an offramp. Then, it'll slowly re-adjust itself (but I wasn't sure if this was just a result of the gas shifting around in the tank) Bottom line? I think the fuel sending unit stuff is just one more odd little quark that is a part of the Accord's personality.

My 94 EX does this as well...I hardly ever is at the "full" line which i just assume is normal...also the reason it goes so far below "E" is just a built in idiot device...honda assumes if it is on E then people will say oh sh*t and put gas in it which keeps them from running out when you actually have plenty of gas left ...i think the low fuel light starts to come on when there is 3 gal. left, that's the only thing i pay attention to...

[AccordCodger]

C'mon guys - this is another way old post you're responding to.

Start a new thread!