Stuck Fuel Gauge

[BomberMan]

So I've been absent for awhile (owing to relocating from Japan to the USA, and bringing the Beat too!), and now come here after reaching my wits end in regards to my fuel gauge which has recently begun to malfunction.

After replacing the cam timing belt I noticed that my fuel gauge was not functioning properly. Essentially it's simply stuck at 3/4 and won't budge. First I tried to find any wiring or connectors that may have been disturbed during the timing belt job, but to no avail. Next I tested the fuel pump/sender unit with what still appeared to be no luck. Finally I disassembled the clock cluster to clean all the screws and oil any rusty bits. While doing this I set the fuel gauge to full for diagnostic purposes. After this it seemed as if the gauge was functioning properly, but it now seems (with ~100km from full) to be stuck in the same location again. Should I try pulling the fuel unit and testing it? I don't fancy running out of gas on the side of the road.

Thanks!

[stu g]

You seem to have tested the right things, and I've no idea why the cam timing belt change would have impacted this. If the wiring was disturbed I can't envisage why the gauge would get stuck at 3/4. I reckon this is either the gauge sticking, or the sender unit in the fuel tank sticking.

If you can, try running a variable voltage through the gauge to see that the needle swings up and down smoothly. If this doesn't work then check the changing resistance of the sender unit in the tank by connecting a resistance meter across the electrical connectors whilst moving the sender unit arm up and down. Unfortunately you might need to remove the unit to test this.

BTW where were you in Japan? I was in Oita for a number of years, and brought my first Beat back with me too (to the UK).

Stu

[BomberMan]

Thanks for the reply!

I was located in Shiga. About an hour north of Kyoto, and not too far from the factory in Mie where all the Beats rolled out from! After the teaching contracts were up, the wife and I moved stateside.

As for the car I imagined I would have to do the latter part. It seemed easy enough to remove the sending unit and test it for resistance in different positions to see if it was sticking for some unknown reason or was otherwise damaged. (I just have to find my 12 point sockets... :/). Interesting idea to test the gauges with some power to see if I can get it to move. I'm not sure I have a good power source for that one, and the gauge seemed to work properly since the fuel level dropped from full where I set it. So I think I'll try that one after if checking the sending unit doesn't pan out...