incorrect fuel gauge reading help!

[incoming]

hey guys
the fuel reading in my accord (cd5) is always showing 3/4 of a tank when i fill it up

is there something i can do (backyard job ahahha) to fix this??

farken pissing me off for like a year now!!

[Dominik]

What fuel do you use? When i picked my car up it had the same problem, but after 10 months of premium fuel (vortex/optimax) it reads true again. Its something to do with a dirty fuel level sensor, prob not very good to try to clean yourself...

[bennjamin]

all fluids as far as i know , are measured by PRESSURE , not actual "level" - so , due to blockages or dirty sensors this may be getting you an incorrect reading.

Try replacing your fuel fitler first , then possibly try some fuel system cleaner to remove gunk from inside the lines somewhere.

BTW my honda civic does the same - seriously , my gauge is all over the place...not accurate at all. I rely on litres / kms' to tell me how far i got to go :)

[crxzzR]

Check ur fuel senders..
they got sensors which sense the LEVEL of fuel..
they are simply a lever with a float.. thus moving up and down according to level..
try cleaning up the contact points, if not may have to replace it...
also a bit like ben mentioned.. may be ur fuel filter.. if u know how to disconnect it without accidently igniting the fuel that may leak out! if u can do that.. then simply blow into the fuel filter inlet.. if it's blocked.. it'll be really hard to blow any fuel out..
if it's not blocked then u should be able to blow easily and have a constant stream of fuel coming out..

[Dominik]

Yeah, its not a pressure sensor for fuel. If you had fuel filter problems or blockages, you would have more problems than just a faulty fuel reading (such as loss of power)

[crxzzR]

thats true.. u'd just have laggy power...
last time i worked on a car with similar problems.. it turned out to be the fuel sender..
so check that out..

[ECU-MAN]

sounds like what everyone is telling you. the corrdct way to test is to use a resister block and dial up the resistances simulating the sender, see if the guage reads correcly. if you cant find a resistor block just buy some 1/2 watt resisters tot he min half and max values of the sender. ( consult the manual ) and bypass the sender to test the guage. you will soon know if its the sender after this test.

[incoming]

thanks ECU
u just reminded me that i got the haynes manual in the car!!!! LOL

[crxzzR]

or
with the ignition on [dont start the engine],
if u can take out the sensor levers.. push it to max position
allow for a couple of seconds for the guage needle to move..
keep on doing this but keep decreasing the lever position..
if it is working properly the gauge needle should be moving down gradually..
i think u might have 2 fuel senders tho.. i'm not too sure..
but if there are 2 tanks there should be 2 fuel senders with a sensor in each