My fuel gage went from Intermittently working to not working at all. Any ideas on troubleshooting root cause of issue. Meter? Sender?
Thanks
Thanks
Fuel gage malfunction
- Thread starter Birchy
- Start date
Same problem here. I am guessing it's the sender. Which doesn't seem like an easy fix.
funny, I just noticed that I have only used 1/4 tank of full all season......which seems really odd to me. Mine might be on the way out aswell.
Yeah I took out my sender not long ago. I moved the arm on it up and down manually and checked it against the fuel gauge and it seemed to be working fine. I put the thing back in the tank and it tells me nothing. Go figure.
For me, not *too* terrible. But, I don't have a water heater in the way right now. I took mine out many months ago.
Aside from that there is a small circular access port on the left side of the tank looking aft. This is the port for the sender. It is held on by say 5 or 6 screws? The problem is there is little space between the screws and the fiberglass above it. You will need a super stubby screwdriver or a wrench of some kind.
Once the screws are off the sender comes out pretty easy. I couldnt imagine doing this with the water heater in.
Go to the IC-27 website. http://www.catalina27.org/
Click on "manuals". Click on Marine Fuel Systems. Gives you a troubleshooting guide that should help you.
Click on "manuals". Click on Marine Fuel Systems. Gives you a troubleshooting guide that should help you.
New Gauge
I checked out my sender last year when it was getting intermittent. I finally replaced the gauge and all is well. Below is the procedure I used.
Teleflex Fuel Gauges
The fuel gauges are Teleflex; in the West Marine Catalog is a "Teleflex" 'Universal electric fuel gage and sending unit", sending unit Model #547406 TELEF#90424P which costs $29.99. To order a new gauge, contact Lonnie at Seaward (562-699-7997 x213),
Lonnie believes there are far too many change-outs that are simply the result of faulty wiring. There are only three parts for the fuel gauge system.
1. The gauge itself (less likely to fail)
2. The wiring between the gauge and fuel tank (more likely to fail)
3. The tank sender/float assembly (more likely to fail)
To access the fuel tank sending unit you need to remove it from the top of the tank where there is a round plate with 5 screws. Sender is attached to the bottom side of this plate. You need a stubby Phillips screwdriver as there is not much clearance above the tank. The gauge is a volt/ohm meter and the sender/float assembly is a variable resistor on a pivot style float. If it is reading full continuously the gauge is bad or, most probably, there is a short in the wire from tank to gauge.
• When tank is empty, float arm hangs almost straight down
• When tank is full, float arm is floating horizontally and touches the top of the tank
• The arm must have nearly a full 90 degree unobstructed swing
• You can loosen the set screw(s) on the sender and rotate the sender 90°
• Ensure sending unit is oriented correctly as the float rotates and may hit the side of the tank and not read correctly
I checked out my sender last year when it was getting intermittent. I finally replaced the gauge and all is well. Below is the procedure I used.
Teleflex Fuel Gauges
The fuel gauges are Teleflex; in the West Marine Catalog is a "Teleflex" 'Universal electric fuel gage and sending unit", sending unit Model #547406 TELEF#90424P which costs $29.99. To order a new gauge, contact Lonnie at Seaward (562-699-7997 x213),
Lonnie believes there are far too many change-outs that are simply the result of faulty wiring. There are only three parts for the fuel gauge system.
1. The gauge itself (less likely to fail)
2. The wiring between the gauge and fuel tank (more likely to fail)
3. The tank sender/float assembly (more likely to fail)
To access the fuel tank sending unit you need to remove it from the top of the tank where there is a round plate with 5 screws. Sender is attached to the bottom side of this plate. You need a stubby Phillips screwdriver as there is not much clearance above the tank. The gauge is a volt/ohm meter and the sender/float assembly is a variable resistor on a pivot style float. If it is reading full continuously the gauge is bad or, most probably, there is a short in the wire from tank to gauge.
• When tank is empty, float arm hangs almost straight down
• When tank is full, float arm is floating horizontally and touches the top of the tank
• The arm must have nearly a full 90 degree unobstructed swing
• You can loosen the set screw(s) on the sender and rotate the sender 90°
• Ensure sending unit is oriented correctly as the float rotates and may hit the side of the tank and not read correctly
Someone told me that if you ground the wire - that goes to the fuel
guage - then watch the gauge. It will either go to full or to empty.
That indicates gauge is good and need to replace sending (float) unit.
EE on the list might confirm.
Clyde Thorington
C310 # 245
ILEAN TOO
San Jose, CA
I've been through three senders (one only lasted 4 months but was replace under warranty). Keep the screws you remove from your tank until you verify the replacements are the same size (mine weren't, but the old ones hold the sender).
Fuel gauge troubleshooting info here http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/document.do?docId=833
Fuel gauge troubleshooting info here http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/document.do?docId=833
I suspected water in my tank due to a bit of water in the bottom of the Racor bowl. I fly r/c model airplanes and used a hand crank pump, and Tygon flexible tubing, normally used for putting gas into the aircraft's tank, to pump diesel out of the boat tank. The pump, tubing, and 1 foot long aluminum tube connected to the Tygon cost $20. I filed the pick-up end of the aluminum at a 45 degree angle. The five bolts on my fuel tank sending unit are star-drive bolts. Getting to them is a real chore. I used a 3/8 socket handle with an adaptor to hold a star-drive bit. The came out easy. The hard part was the lack of room to move the handle and supporting myself in the tiny space.
I pushed the aluminum tube through the hole and down by the pick-up tube and started cranking. I got 3/4 gallon of fuel out, no visible water, and some bits of green algae. I will replace the filters and see if water returns.
I pushed the aluminum tube through the hole and down by the pick-up tube and started cranking. I got 3/4 gallon of fuel out, no visible water, and some bits of green algae. I will replace the filters and see if water returns.
Hello, everyone!
Apologies for a noob question, but how did you know the gauge was malfunctioning? Mine seems to be stuck near 3/4 full and I am slowly getting worried although we've not motored a lot (finally got the boat 3 weeks ago). Is there a way you guys can think of of checking the fuel level without having to go down that locker? I can hardly fit in there...
Apologies for a noob question, but how did you know the gauge was malfunctioning? Mine seems to be stuck near 3/4 full and I am slowly getting worried although we've not motored a lot (finally got the boat 3 weeks ago). Is there a way you guys can think of of checking the fuel level without having to go down that locker? I can hardly fit in there...
@MikeToronto You can do a couple of things.
If you have a small person that can crawl into the space for you, you can open up the tank (take the fuel sender out) and dip a stick into the tank. You can get a volume level that you can compare to the gauge.
Good luck
- Fill the tank. You now know that you have a certain number of gallons.
- Keep a log of the number of hours you use the engine. You can use between 0.5 to 1.0 gallons per hour as a gauge.
- When you guess you have used 50% of the tank, stop by the fuel dock and fill again. You know the number of hours you have used the engine and you now know the number of gallons you have just added. This will let you now calculate the number of gallons you reallly use in an hour. You can now compare your log of fuel used with the fuel gauge to see if it is working or needs to be fixed/replaced.
If you have a small person that can crawl into the space for you, you can open up the tank (take the fuel sender out) and dip a stick into the tank. You can get a volume level that you can compare to the gauge.
Good luck
@jssailem - thanks a lot!
To be clear - I've considered the "non-invasive" testing approach you've suggested. Issues - the PO has hardly used the boat and so the diesel fuel in the tank is quite old, by his own admission. He has heartily recommended that I burn as much of it as possible before re-fueling, which makes sense except that now I am worried about running it all out and having to bleed the engine of air.
But assuming I'd want to try this approach - I've never fueled at a fuel dock before. How would I know when the tank is full? Does it work as the regular gas station where the fuel stops coming once some sort of a sensor is tripped thus signifying that the tank is full? Or would I have to fuel from a jerry can and watch for the signs of a spill?
Finally, would I be correct in assuming that there is no way to get some sort of a probe down into the tank through the fueling hole?
To be clear - I've considered the "non-invasive" testing approach you've suggested. Issues - the PO has hardly used the boat and so the diesel fuel in the tank is quite old, by his own admission. He has heartily recommended that I burn as much of it as possible before re-fueling, which makes sense except that now I am worried about running it all out and having to bleed the engine of air.
But assuming I'd want to try this approach - I've never fueled at a fuel dock before. How would I know when the tank is full? Does it work as the regular gas station where the fuel stops coming once some sort of a sensor is tripped thus signifying that the tank is full? Or would I have to fuel from a jerry can and watch for the signs of a spill?
Finally, would I be correct in assuming that there is no way to get some sort of a probe down into the tank through the fueling hole?
Agree with js. I have given up on the fuel gauge because even when it functions it is extremely inaccurate. I had it repaired before taking possession of the boat 5 yrs ago and it functioned but was not accurate. I always instead used engine hours vs. amount of fuel to fill up again and this told me a couple things. Told me that the fuelmguage was not accurate and also told me that fuel usage was extremely consistent and rarely varied from 0.4 GPH. So my gauge broke again last spring but I have no intention to fix it.
bob
bob
Mike.
Diesel is pretty long lasting. I would worry more about it gettin water in the tank and then fuel becoming dirty (growing bugs). How big are your tanks. My boat came with 2 89 gallon tanks that were 2/3’s to 3/4 full and had not been used in 3 years. I added 20 gallons to one tank. Started using the fuel. I added diesel additives (Biobor JF and Star Tron combination) to kill the bugs make the fuel usable.
Took me a couple of years but I have finally used up the fuel. I had to do a bunch of fuel filter changes. I also filtered the fuel pumping it out of one tank and into the cleaner tank. The cost has been about $150. Quotes for having someone pump out the fuel or clean and polish all the fuel was $900 to $2800. The bonus is I got to use the boat and have some fun.
Diesel is pretty long lasting. I would worry more about it gettin water in the tank and then fuel becoming dirty (growing bugs). How big are your tanks. My boat came with 2 89 gallon tanks that were 2/3’s to 3/4 full and had not been used in 3 years. I added 20 gallons to one tank. Started using the fuel. I added diesel additives (Biobor JF and Star Tron combination) to kill the bugs make the fuel usable.
Took me a couple of years but I have finally used up the fuel. I had to do a bunch of fuel filter changes. I also filtered the fuel pumping it out of one tank and into the cleaner tank. The cost has been about $150. Quotes for having someone pump out the fuel or clean and polish all the fuel was $900 to $2800. The bonus is I got to use the boat and have some fun.
Mike. Go to the dock. Tell them your a beginner. Start fueling and fuel slowly you’ll see or hear the fuel in the hose.
Bleeding the lines is not a terrible problem. You can learn it.
The probe will not work in the fuel line. You need to be able to measure the top of the tank to the bottom and the level of fuel in the tank. That is through the sender unit or a hole in the top of the tank..
Bleeding the lines is not a terrible problem. You can learn it.
The probe will not work in the fuel line. You need to be able to measure the top of the tank to the bottom and the level of fuel in the tank. That is through the sender unit or a hole in the top of the tank..