Opinions on faulty fuel gauge

[jhill15]

I'm torn between my options on trying to get this fuel guage to work as it should.

option 1:
Fuel sending unit, around $90 with a new gasket, plus about 3-4 hours of tearing out the back seat, carpet etc... at the same time i'm not really sure that it is the sending unit causr the mileage "miles" on the compass seems to be dead on. The dealer says its the sending unit but I really don't think they know to much about the faulty temp gauge r10 resistor...which can uncommonly happen to the fuel gauge as well. Thant leads me to my 2nd option.

Option 2:
R10 resistor, pull the gauge cluster and look for any broken solder connections between resistors. The cheapest route by far, but i'm a little nervous to hit any connections with a soldering iron because it might stop working all together, I've seen it happen before to other members trying to fix their temp gauge. Which leads me to option 3.

Option 3: a new to me pick and pull gauge cluster. I found one from an 02 ltd for $55+shipping so roughly $70. But my concerns are will an 02 gauge cluster be plug and play im my 03. The only noticeable difference between the 2 is that c/d lock is written on the outside of the 4wd lights. So are the connections in the back identical. Also my luch would be that I would get it swap it in "if possible" then the temp gauge would be faulty, which would be my luck lol.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
-Jon

 

[nckwltn]

does the little computer in the center console read your miles to empty fairly accurately (you have to put in a certain amount of gas before it resets)

If so, then option 1 probably isn't the problem, because the car knows how much gas you have.

I've done option 2, it was pretty easy. It fixed my temp gauge, but I still have problems with fuel. I'm planning on pulling the cluster sometime in the next week and hitting things again with solder.


the problem is pretty common, so I think if you try option 3, you're going to end up with another cluster that is broken. Your miles would also be off, but I think you can take it to a dealer to have them adjust it.

 

[jhill15]

I'm pretty sure the compass gauge is on. Once I had 30 miles left and I was parked on a down slope and it wouldn't start so I put a gallon in from a gas can, I waited about 30 minutes and it fired right up. I don't know if thats happened to anyone else or not with that low of miles left.

Someone on the forum told me that you have to put in at least 8 gallons for the compass gauge to read. So ive done that since and its always worked. 8gallons is about 125 miles...roughly.

The temp gauge fix has worked for many and is the cheapest way to see if it fixes it.

That is a good point, I didn't think about the miles being wrong on a different cluster, and I probably would up getting one that has a faulty temp gauge.

 

[nckwltn]

That is a good point, I didn't think about the miles being wrong on a different cluster, and I probably would up getting one that has a faulty temp gauge.

usually the clusters are yanked from the cars I see at the parts yards... but if you find one you could give it a go and see if it works... if it doesn't, well now you have a board you can experiment with.


you can buy a new circuit board thing that goes onto the back of the cluster, but you'll need to get the miles updated from your old cluster at the dealer.


If I can get to it this week (working on cracked exhaust manifold right now), the fuel gauge is on my list of things to dig into.... probably just through adding extra solder to the components near the thing that fixed the temp gauge.

 

[jhill15]

I found one from an 02 parts truck and the guy is willing to ship it for $55+shipping so I may do it. Like you said it would give me something to practice on.

I need to get a new soldering iron with finer tip so. Harbour freight here I come lol.

 

[ifixpc]

I found one from an 02 parts truck and the guy is willing to ship it for $55+shipping so I may do it. Like you said it would give me something to practice on.

I need to get a new soldering iron with finer tip so. Harbour freight here I come lol.

I'd skip the regular solder iron.
Cover all area with thick layer of aluminum foil or copper foil, leaving the cut out only for the resistor.
Use fine tip hot air gun to remove the component. Then clean the SMT pads.
Once done apply solder paste and place the resistor on the pads and heat it up with heat gun.
It's a nice and simple solution to soldering SMT components.
If done properly with some patience, nothing will get burned.

Give it a try.

 

[jhill15]

I'd skip the regular solder iron.
Cover all area with thick layer of aluminum foil or copper foil, leaving the cut out only for the resistor.
Use fine tip hot air gun to remove the component. Then clean the SMT pads.
Once done apply solder paste and place the resistor on the pads and heat it up with heat gun.
It's a nice and simple solution to soldering SMT components.
If done properly with some patience, nothing will get burned.

Give it a try.

Ifixpc your knowledge of repairing circuit boards far surpasses mine lol. I have never done that method, however it does seems simple.

 

[ifixpc]

Perfect time to show off :victory:

I can help you with any electronics project if it's within my capacity.

Try this method. You'll never touch the soldering iron when working with SMT's.

 

[plh]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the ODO "Miles" are stored in the OBD2?? and the dash is essentially just a display.

 

[ifixpc]

Montero's miles are stored in the cluster.

 

[KgB]

any new info on this?
my 2001 occasionally had a temp gauge issue but never a fuel gauge issue and the temp gauge has now worked perfect for several years without doing anything
my 2003 always has a fuel gauge issue (either reading accurate or way below empty as if car was off) temperature gauge always works. the mileage on the LCD screen readout always shows accurate mileage so that should rule out sending unit in tank. and it seems to be a separate issue than the temp gauge.
there is a lot of info on the temp gauge but inconclusive on the fuel gauge fix .