jpcdmd

The fuel gauge on my 93 ls won't accurately display the correct amount of fuel in the tank. I'll fill the tank all the way up and it only reads 3/4 tank. The needle will fall below the E line before the yellow warning light comes on. I first started noticing this problem a while ago, the needle would only rise to just under the full line on a full tank. Now yesterday it only went to the 3/4 line. Anybody know if this is a problem with the gauge cluster or the fuel pump or sensor in the tank? Is the sensor part of the pump?

Rice

It sounds like the sensor inside the tank to me.
It operates by having a floater attached to the arm. When gas enters the tank, floater rises and the arm angle is measured and shown as fuel level on the gage.
Sometimes, (very rarely) and mostly on Fords, the floater springs a leak and does not rise all the way up.

Jmai22

actually michievious(sp?) on this board said there is a way to adjust the needle behind the cluster

Rice

I don't think that adjusting the needle of the gage is a good idea. The gage is calibrated at the factory to reflact the reading of the sensor. Once you touch the needle, you will never know the actual reading.
Even if it is possible to adjust the needle on the gage, the problem will remain. Assuming that the problem is with the sensor, once you replace or fix the sensor, you will now have to re-adjust the needle to where it was before, and that will be very hard to do.
My advice: start with the sensor.

tn52

I got this same problem six or seven months ago. Your problem will get worse over time... Eventually, it will show just above the empty mark even with a full tank! I replaced my fuel level sensor a couple weeks ago ($96.00 + shipping from Bell Lexus) without resolving the problem. I did some research and found out that this is a quite common problem with Lexus/Toyota. On cars with warranty, the dealer will have to replace a module in the dash to fix this problem. I heard that this module is quite/very $$$$ so I don't know what to do next yet. Don't bother to manually adjust the needle because it is not the problem. You will mess it up more. I also found out just now that the fuel sender unit will send a small different voltage according to the float position in the tank. It's very easy to test this out and I felt bad that I did not do this before I bought the fuel sender...

Jmai22

so now do you pump every other day just incase?

tn52

No. For the last few months, I have to rely on the trip meter. On a full tank, I can travel around 380 miles (city) or 425 miles (hwy). Once I get up to these miles, I will fill my tank and reset the meter again.

rybikowsky

You can find out if it is the sender,that is in the fuel tank.Find out the color of the wires that go to the sender.Find the routeing for those wires.Jump the wires together with the key on.If you have a bad sender this test will tell you.It will make the gas gauge go to the full side.

damon

Tuan,

You are kicking my *** ! You go 380 miles city on a tank??

I by the way am in the same "shoes" my fuel gauge is useless so I monitor the trip meter. 320 miles is my sign to head to the station.

damon
94 LS

Rice

I only get about 250 miles per tankful of super in the city.
When I saw 380, I said to myself "No F!@#n Way!"
But then I looked at his location and realised that in TX, city driving is not much different from highway.
I live in NYC and here, city driving is a different story.