Aftermarket Fuel Gauge

[YodasYota]

So I have a 99 runner, and my gas gauge is dead. It reads as if there is no gas in the tank at all and the low fuel light flashes. I know its the combination plate/sender problem, there is a TSB out on it, but dont want to have to pay the ridiculous price for the repair. So.... I was thinking of trying to (1)wire up an aftermarket fuel gauge to the sender that is in the truck now and seeing if the aftermarket gauge works, and if it doesnt then I will (2)get a new sender and suction tube, etc that is required for that part of the fix, and install it myself, then if it still doesnt work then (3)I will have Toyota fix my combination plate and then it will all be fixed according to the TSB and I would lose the aftermarket gauge. So this will be a 3 step plan(assuming the 1st or 2nd steps dont work) to correct my fuel gauge problem, ending at the way Toyota says you should fix it.

Any ideas or somments? Has anyone done this before? BTW, how many ohms is the stock fuel sender? I need to know so I can get the correct gauge. If this works I will post a writeup.

Thanks in advance.

 

[corax]

Any ideas or somments?

Fix it right the first time and save some cash? Diagnose it per the TSB and if you really want to save a bit, try to modify you repair. My first step would be to try simply unplugging and reconnecting the sending unit - to see if you can get a better connection . . .

 

[YodasYota]

Anyone know how many ohms the fuel sender is?