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OT: Pickup fuel guage

T

Tim in OR

Member
I have an 02 GMC 2500hd w/duramax. The fuel gauge has stopped working. All the other gauges work fine. The general consensus seems to be - replace the fuel gauge sender. The sender comes only with the intank fuel pump. Being the cheapskate, frugal guy I am, I would like to troubleshoot the system before spending my kids inheritance. I am familiar with the old school systems, but have no schematic to chase this one out. Anyone out there have any tips as to the best way to proceed?
Thanks in advance.
Tim in OR
 
It"s not the sending unit. The stepper motors in those clusters are a known weak point. You can buy a new cluster, tear into it to replace the stepper motor yourself, or send it out for a complete rebuild with better components for around I want to say $225 or so.
 
IMHO, the problem is at least as likely to be a failed "stepper motor" in the gauge cluster.

The sender works just like they have since the dawn of the electric gas gauge... the resistance between it's terminal and chassis ground varies as the float rises and falls.

I do NOT have exact resistance values at hand, but if you can disconnect harness from the fuel module and figure out which is the sender wire, and turn the ign swiutch "ON", and look at the gauge, then GROUND the sensor wire at the body-to-fuelsender connector, "OPEN" the gauge should move to either "E" or "F" and when you ground it, go to the opposite extreme.

If it works like that, it's pretty likely the sender has failed.

If the gauge does NOT swing, there's a stepper motor, electronics, or wiring issue.
 
to get to the wiring harness w/o a schematic, as Bob says, you need to 1) drop the fuel tank or 2) raise the bed up or 3) cut a hole in the bed 18"x22" (easiest). Best would be to get a schematic & make the test at the other end of the wiring. Prolly better figure it's the stepper motor.
 
I have an 05 Duramax. About the only indicator that has not stopped working on mine is the fuel gage. I would check with a dealer, & find out if its in the dashboard first. My dashboard was completely rebuilt after the RPM, Odometer, & the Oil pressure went out over about a year period. If its in the dashboard; then about $100 -$150 probably. Entire dashboard rebuild was about $480 on mine + dealer install.
 
There is no intank fuel pump on a Duramax, pickup screen only. What the others have said tho, its your stepper motor.
 
Like any other fuel gauge set-up - I'd test the wires coming from the sender and see it it's working. If it's not - it can be fixed like anything else. All depends if you want to spend the time. GMs like yours have senders that run 39 ohms to 250 ohms. If you find the windings have worn through - it can be rewound with $10 worth of Nichrome 60 or 80 resistor wire. Basically you unwind it (if broken) and measure how long it was. I just fixed a Toyota truck that had 8 feet of wire. Toyota sender is supposed to run 2 ohms to 110 ohms. So -it uses 8 feet of wire that has 110 ohms resistance. I.e. it needed wire with 14 ohms per foot. There are also places you can send out to get repaired and/or rewound.
 
(quoted from post at 08:46:43 03/03/14) I have an 02 GMC 2500hd w/duramax. The fuel gauge has stopped working. All the other gauges work fine. The general consensus seems to be - replace the fuel gauge sender. The sender comes only with the intank fuel pump. Being the cheapskate, frugal guy I am, I would like to troubleshoot the system before spending my kids inheritance. I am familiar with the old school systems, but have no schematic to chase this one out. Anyone out there have any tips as to the best way to proceed?
Thanks in advance.
Tim in OR
Click to expand...

When you turn the ignition switch on does all the gauge needles do a sweep test...
 
I've changed quite a few of those fuel sending units for customers. The little wiper arms wear out or break off where they contact the resistor. Only fix is a new sender if this is what has happened to yours.
 
(quoted from post at 00:46:43 03/03/14) I have an 02 GMC 2500hd w/duramax. The fuel gauge has stopped working. All the other gauges work fine. The general consensus seems to be - replace the fuel gauge sender. The sender comes only with the intank fuel pump. Being the cheapskate, frugal guy I am, I would like to troubleshoot the system before spending my kids inheritance. I am familiar with the old school systems, but have no schematic to chase this one out. Anyone out there have any tips as to the best way to proceed?
Thanks in advance.
Tim in OR
Click to expand...
01 Chevy....that is what the trip odometer is for!
 
That is a very common problem in those vehicles, you can send your panel off and get step motors replaced for about $50.00 bucks plus shipping on ebay.
 
May NOT APPLY to your truck, but same happened on my Dodge diesel at 87kmi. Pulled bed and pump unit. Found float off wire arm that operates resistor for tank level. Reattached float, all is good. Believe I caused problem by filling up using high flow, large nozzle, "big truck pump" just prior to this problem. High force/turbulence knocked little "C" clip off that retains float? Use only "auto" style pumps now. Took maybe 3 hours and no parts as magnet found clip in tank.
 
High probability the gauge itself is bad. As someone else said, there is no pump in the fuel tank on a Duramax. If the sender was going open intermittently, there would be a P0463 in the ECM. If you have access to a scan tool look for the fuel level in the instrument cluster data. If the data figure and gauge don"t agree, you need a cluster.
 
(quoted from post at 20:32:23 03/04/14) No movement at all, The low fuel light comes on however
Click to expand...

Do the other gauges do a sweep test... You may need a scanner to perform a gauge sweep test but some will do it when you turn the ignition switch on....
 
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