The fuel gauge on my 92 SC has not been working for a while. I think i may have broken it the last time i took the instrument cluster apart. The needle doesn't show the true amount of fuel the car has, but stays in the Full position. The lights on it work, etc. it just doesn't move. The Lexus dealership, after looking at it, told me that I would have to buy a whole new fuel gauge (Big surprise ). At parts.com, they have a fuel gauge listed for $175.00. The dealer quoted me like $420 (or something close to that). Below is a pic of what parts.com is selling. Do u guys think that the part at parts.com is what Lexus is talking about and if so, hsould i buy it from parts.com or from the Lexus dealership? Also, how hard would it be to install?

By the way, the part at parts.com is new and is #4 in the pic.

 

bringing back an old thread since i'm facing the same situation sorta and no one responded to this one.
my problem is that when i start the car, the needle starts to go down all the way to E... sometimes it'll go back up to where it should be or just half way then starts going back down again.... do you think it's the motor? the #4 in the pic that needs to be replaced?

 

You can try cleaning the guage sensor.

 

I have a spare motor if you want to try it and see what happens.

majority of the time it is the screws contacts on the back of the motor. they have to be in there just right to work. They barely make contact when they are screwed all the way down.

 

I have the exact same problem. My mechanic said that my fuel sensor is the problem so I got a new one from TurboSC. The car is at the shop right now getting it installed.. i'll post results

 

I'm back Ok, the total procedure cost me $75. $25 for the used fuel sensor from TurboSC and $50 for installation. I left the car for about 2 hours, and when I got back and turned on the car the gauge was at 1/4 full. So I decided to go to a Cheveron station next to me and after I filled up the gauge started moveing slowly up. it didn't get full because the station is only .3 miles away from me, so I do hope it goes up all the way.

Notes:
When you go do the sensor swap make sure you don't have a lot of gas in the tank.
This is not what the fuel sensor looks like in the SC300, and that is not the correct cleaning procedure for the SC300 one.

 

If you are having problems with your fuel gauge you might want to read this.

http://soarer.ace.net.au/v8_fuel_guage.html

No costs involved and it seems to be a problem that can easily be fixed just follow the directions,
Rob

 

LOL I posted saying that the fuel gauge is totally different, and there is no way of cleaning it. The one in the SC300 does not have those cylindrical pipes.

 

well i know it's not the gauge in the gas tank because i was able to try out another cluster and it worked fine on the other cluster, just not on mines... so i'm thinkin either the motor is out or iono, the weight of the needle is bringing it down.... this weekend i'm gonna pull off the needle and see if the pins move up... letcha guys know then.

 

damn it The gauge does not go up all the way :'( I have a full tank of gas and it is saying I have 1/2 Looks like it wasn't the fuel sensor

 

<--- has spare motors. at least 3 of them

 

I'm not an expert, but I think that the motor works because the needle does move. I'm thinking maybe the controller?

 

weak motor assembly most likely. the controller is the fuel sensor. (primarily)

i'm not saying give me $2,000000000000 and i'll send ya a motor,

just throw me a bone..... $20

if you want ME to do the install, i can also fix it when i am in there if anything else.

 

I was thinking the same thing Having 1 faulty sensors isn't a very high probability, and having 2 is even less. I'll talk it over with my parents

 

here's a lil update to my situation.... this'll be a brain teaser for you guys
when i start the car up, the needle will slowly go down all the way to E... then after driving for a while, mainly above 20mph, the needle will start to creep up all the way to F. However, this happens even when i'm not on a full tank. At this point, the needle just stays at F, never moving up or down. Then after i shut off the car and just leave it for a while, the cycle begins all again.

I also checked the needles... took off the needle to see how the three prongs/connectors reacted, same habit, it'll go down to E.

Brain Teaser start................. now!