99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died.

   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died. #1  

Soundguy

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this week both the 2000 yukon (gas) fuel gauge died as well as my diesel 99 f350.

different death.

int he yukon, the gauge satys on e.., doesn't reset key off / on.. and the 1/8 tank warning light ont he message center comes on.

ont he power stroke.. it's still moving.. but uncalibrated. for instance. i near ran out of fuel last wek showing 1/4 tank.. at 20080m on this new tank I'm showing above half tank.

if I look at the gauge just using the top 3 quarters.. it's probably near correct.

ideas?
 
   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died. #2  
What little experience I've had with mine, seems grounding was the biggest problem, at the tank. Corrosion from salt seems to be the culprit up here. I suppose a lot of moisture could do the same, over a period of time.
 
   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died.
  • Thread Starter
#3  
i'll assume the grounding for the tank is actually the band holding the tank as I'm thinking the 350 has a poly tank?
 
   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died. #4  
could be the sending unit itself on the diesel by rust or dirt buildup. Problem is you need to take it out of the tank, which can be a real pain. If I remember correctly the sending unit should show nearly a short on a full tank and some higher resistance on an empty tank (or was it vice versa?).

On the gasser, since the gauge isn't working at all, I think there is no power some were (cable rotted or fell of, etc.)
 
   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died. #5  
Did a little surfing on Google on the Yukon, and found a couple interesting tidbits. One item had to do with inside the tank, the other in dash. I copied and am pasting this from a GM forum.

**This guy (Texas Car Doctor Radio Show - AM700 KSEV - Houston, Texas) has a radio show on Saturdays where folks call in and ask questions. He has 50 years experience, and one of the most successful auto shops around for 25 years.

Anyway, I called in yesterday and he said that the problem was very common on GMC vehicles. It seems that some sulfur compounds build up on the contacts of the sensor and they will not make contact. The problem is exacerbated with the presence of methanol in the fuel. His recommendation was to go to an auto parts, buy two bottles of Techron, and double treat a tank of fuel. In most cases that solves the problem. The Techron bottle even states that it helps alleviate fuel gauge problems. **

The other problem has to do with what they call a "stepper motor". Each gauge with a needle has one. Some replace them themself, and some take them to a dealer. And after some reading, seems the Yukon's
and Suburbans are notorious for having this problem. Found one thread, where a fellow gives a real nice pictorial description of replacing the stepper motors in his, although a newer model. He also mentions, when replacing one, replace them all...

Some were saying if you have a code reader, it will let you know if it is the sending unit. Other's have said it may be a warning that the fuel pump is about to go kaput...


Just thought I'd pass this on...
 
   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died. #6  
The GM could either be the stepper motor for the gauge or the sending unit on the fuel pump assembly has the "fingers" worn off. The ethanol fuel can also speed all this up for some reason. I would find a shop that can use a scan tool to sweep the gauge instruments and see how the fuel gauge reacts, and if any others are looking choppy in their movement. You can send your cluster out to GM which is pretty expensive or there have been many small businesses brought up doing it and can be found on the internet. All they do is take your cluster apart and replace the motor thats gone bad. If you were good with electronics you could probably do it yourself but if not dont bother.

Most vehicle dont run a ground to the frame anymore, they run a dedicated ground so this stuff doenst happen. On the ford you're best bet to check the fuel gauge is pull the wires off the top of the sending unit and jump the two sending unit wires together and the gauge should read full or empty, and when you take the jumper out it should go 100% the other direction, if that proves out you again likely have a sender issue.





Ps- There is no code i've ever seen for fuel level sensor unless its open or shorted, you'll likely not get this if the gauge is reading something and it really doesnt matter as you know there already is an issue with the fuel gauge, still doesnt tell you whats wrong. It also has nothing to do with the fuel pump, however if you are up in mileage (like 100k+) and you need to replace the fuel sender (which is replaceable seperatly) just suck it up and put a whole fuel pump assembly in and save yourself some headache down the road. Also replace fuel filter with new pump! I think the sender is like 70$ and the pump assembly is closer to 450$ but again its saved labor and possibly a wrecker call so by the time you figure your worst case scenario out its cheaper to just put a pump in it if you have the tank down already.
 
   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died. #7  
I had one that failed. Changed the sending unit...no joy. A mouse had gotten into the bottom of the main engine fuse box and made a nest of wire insolation. real hard to fix when the wires are chomped off short.

Reason #856 on why i hates meeces to pieces!
 
   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died. #8  
On my 1999 F-250 Triton V-8 gasser the fuel pump went bad over a couple months. But sometimes it would start and run okay, and other times it just wouldn't start. I didn't want to do the fix myself since it had a full tank of gas and I'm too old to fool with it. There was no code, so the diagnosis wasn't as obvious as other possible issues. Motorcraft fuel pump $496...Fuel filter $17 ...labor about $250....tow charge $95.

What idiot decided to put the fuel pump inside the gas tank..........so says I.:shocked:
 
   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died.
  • Thread Starter
#9  
i'm thinking sending unit on the yukon, not stepper motor, as the 1/8 tank warning lamp also comes on, menaing the cpu thinks it really is out of gas.

on the diesel.. dunno. I have 300m ont he tank right now from full.. and it shows just under half. should be showing more like 1/4 or a hair lower.. it is at least working some.. though I think it has lost abbout 1/4% of it's total range capability.. IE.. looking at 1/4 as 'empty' it would almost be registering correctly.

odd.. very odd...
 
   / 99 f350 fuel gauge died, 00 yukon fuel gauge died. #10  
Well, the sending units rely on resistance, the yukon yea, the fingers wear out from the sloshing fuel running the float up and down over time, you'll see what I mean if you take the unit out, very thin metal that they've upgraded by putting more material in the wear area. The diesel, any resistance in the line thats not suppose to be there can skew the gauge reading, a rubbed wire thats corroding is a good example, they can be the start of a large headache if you dont know what to really look for, especially when they are just inaccurate instead of it doesnt work all together.
 
 
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