924Board.org

[stexch]

Are there any simple things to try to get the gas gauge working before pulling the gas tank?

[Mike924]

Loads.

Clean up the earths/grounds next to the relay board.
Check the connections to the fuel gauge sender.
Check the ground at the sender end.
Ground the G wire at the sender end (gauge should read full) to see if it's a sender problem or a wiring problem.
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1985 Porsche 924 'Lux', Kalahari Beige (my ex)
1993 Porsche 968 Coupe, Midnight Blue, 6 spd

'There is no substitute for a little grease under your fingernails.' - Chrenan, 924board.org

[doomer77]

i have a smiliar problem, i suspect that the gauge grounding is lose as it will jump from 'real' position to half full now and then whenever going over a rocky road.
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Why drink and drive when you can smoke and fly?
Carpe diem. and if that doesnt work; get drunk!

1980 924 n/a - engine swap begun
1989 Volvo 480ES

[stexch]

Mine just says half-full all the time.

[doomer77]

very much like a grouding trouble, try pulling the gauge and trace the ground wires and see if theres a brake anywhere, do you have the haynes manual (good wiring schematics)?
_________________
Why drink and drive when you can smoke and fly?
Carpe diem. and if that doesnt work; get drunk!

1980 924 n/a - engine swap begun
1989 Volvo 480ES

[stexch]

Yes, I have the Haynes manual, but wiring intimidates me. I'll pass these ideas on to my mechanic. Thanks!

[doomer77]

dont do that! that whats they want you to do..

wiring is very simple, its the ultimate of logic, just find the source of electricity and you can follow it through a strait line, no hazzles. so at least give it a try
_________________
Why drink and drive when you can smoke and fly?
Carpe diem. and if that doesnt work; get drunk!

1980 924 n/a - engine swap begun
1989 Volvo 480ES

[924er]

mines was borken for about 5 months, suddenly i hit a really big jump and after that its worked again, so hit a mean bump!
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80' Porsche 924 NA - Slower then a S L O W
86' Porsche 951- New toy

[numbbers]

Well, you all seem to have the common fuel sender problem, and the fix is easy. The sender varnishes up from these cars being left sitting for long periods of time. All you have to do, is remove your hatch carpet, and sound deading material. You will find an access bung to your fuel tank, with a couple of wires on it. Use a hammer and screwdriver to remove the bung. I unscrews CCW. The fuel sender comes out with the bung. Please, no smoking. You will see that the sender is composed of a tapered wrapped wire, and a slider connected to the float. Just clean the wrapped wire and the slider with very fine sandpaper (1000 grit), and bend the slider so that it makes good tight contact with the wrapped wire, and put it back together. Your guage will work fine.
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1980 924 Turbo

[tj924]

[Joes924Racer]

BE CAREFUL treat the thin wires with caution not that theyll break easy though if your rough with them they will.

I know what its like to not have a fuel guage I pulled my sender and cleaned the wires and made a fresh ground wire to the sender
and it worked.
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1979 porsche 924 Na
1980 porsche Turbo 931GT Replica
Have u ever driven a turbo.

[ATL_racer]

The sending unit inside the gas tanks on our cars is a poor design and can easily get stuck/ read the wrong amount of gas. Older ones can often get gunked up and just stop working. You dont have to pull to tank to replace it. Best bet is the ground or wiring if not your sender is probably broken.
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late 1979 porche 924, red 2.0l NA 5speed snailshell
Plans: Restore exterior, revitalize interior, install killer sound system, run engine in stock form and have fun.(+ a short throw shifter if i can find one)

[Matt Norton]

I don't see any wires back there under my carpet. Are we talking about the column that houses the filler spout? I have a white piece of cloth over a spot just to the right of center is that where the sender is. My gauge works but it jumps around a bit and moves to the beat of my stereo when I turn it up. I was thinking about regroundiing the fuse box and was looking for the thread but haven't found it yet.

What causes the box to go up in smoke? is it poor grounding or what?
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Red 1987 924S with plans for D Productions Kit
From American International Racing.

[Brockoli]

stexch - i agree wiring is intimedating, but the Haynes manul makes it very easy, even tho it doesnt look like it. Take a look at the wiring schematics in Haynes manual, each colored plug has numbers on it 1-20 i think. The haynes manual has the corresponding number and color of the plug on the schematics, it took me awhile to realize it, the numer and color are about 1/4 the way down the page, if that made any sense.

Anyways, i just had my fuel sending unit out this weekend. It absolutely did not work. I tried the haynes manaul procedure for checking and nothing! So i put it in CLR for a while and let it soak, gave it a good rinse with water and now it works The 15 year old gas must of clogged it (and everything else in my fuel system). I would also try replacing/cleaning the grounds. And CLR is $7 at Home Depot. I also used it on my intank pump and it works again too!!!
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'80 924 M471,Wideband O2, Full coilover susp,23/19 sways,Bilstiens,KLA Strut Brace,Roll Bar,Test Pipe,BBS RS, Willwood BBK

25% of a '87 944 Chumpcar http://straightpipe.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=2454

'79 924 Sebring Edition(Sitting)

[D Hook]

The BEST thing about all the excellent advice given up to this point is that you do NOT have to pull the tank to work on the sender! Even if you have to buy a new sender, don't let the mechanic tell you he needs to pull the tank out to replace it. It's all accessible from the top.

Senders sometime pop up on ebay from time to time.
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'80 924 n/a SOLD