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Fuel gauge unreliable ('86 eta)

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    Fuel gauge unreliable ('86 eta)

    My son ran out of gas 200 miles from home - managed to coast it off the highway and got to a station. Just shut off on the freeway - no stumble or bucking. Just spun the starter trying to start again, no kick, no sputtering.

    The gauge has always been so-so, inconsistent. Don't know if this is in the cluster or the sender in the tank.

    The 2 gal warning light never came on. Maybe the sender never told it it was low?

    He put 12.3 gal in it. It's supposed to hold 14.2 ('86 eta). Those 12.3 gallons got him 300 miles.

    We've replaced the full pump, fuel pressure regulator (eta), hoses, filter. It had good fuel pressure last we checked. We did not replace the float or sender.

    What should we check?

    #2
    Try to tighten the 7mm nut behind the gauge, its responsible for grounding the gauge. If the ground is weak, the gauge will read high.

    Also, its very common for previous owners to swap out the cluster or cluster parts. Its possible you have the incorrect fuel gauge for the car. You can open the cluster and look up the part number and cross reference with the correct gauge thats supposed to be in the car.

    Senders do fail too, its worth it to pull it out, clean it up or replace it. The light should have came on, if the bulb is good, so that may point to a failing sender.
    Owner - Bavarian Restoration
    BMW and European Electronics Repair and Restoration
    www.BavRest.com
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      #3
      Oh, the grounding nut, that's right. We'll check that, thanks.

      I believe we bought one of your rebuilt si boards a while back, and yes it's a replacement cluster because I shorted out his old one fussing with it. I found a good used one here.

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