Fuel Gauge

B

bobsboat

New member
Has anyone had problems with their fuel gauge on a Ranger 25? I have only about half a tank of fuel left but the gauge needle sits on the full mark all of the time. It would be nice if the boat was making fuel but that is wishful thinking. Bob
 
My R-21 EC fuel gage sits on empty no matter how much fuel is in the tank. I just sent an e-mail to the factory tonight to ask them if there is anything I can check. If anyone has any ideas, I am open to suggestions.
 
It sounds to me like a faulty or stuck fuel sending unit. How accessible are they on the Ranger's? Fuel sending unit's are notorious on every boat. I wish all boats were made to accept a wooden stick - that is the only reliable way I have ever known to keep track of fuel in a boat tank.
 
Mine sits past full for a long time. By the time it moves to "F", I've burned 15 gallons. When it is at 3/4, I have about a half a tank. I've thought about trying to recalibrate, but never got around to it.

Mac
 
It has seemed to me, over the years, that most fuel tanks (mainly on vehicles) tend to stay on or near Full until almost half the tank is gone. At that point they dive for Empty so fast it makes your head spin.

Could it be the arc traveled by the float is more elliptical than circular? ...i.e., the sender reads out less vertically and more horizontally?

Even my Honda fuel gauges show full until almost half the tank is gone. I just use the "fuel used" log to see how many gallons I've used.

I don't think the problem is limited to the tugs.

John
 
The gauges in our Tomcat are quite predictable. They read on the low side while running and higher when sitting flat, ie. empty while at cruise and 1/4 or about 20 gal. on each side at no wake speed and the same at the fuel dock.

Gary
 
Our Honda fuel gauge didn't work right from day one... read 3/4 when full. When I asked the factory about it, they said it needed a different sender. Shortly afterwards, it completely died. We ran for months with no fuel gauge, just relied on estimated fuel burn per hour. We found that we could hit it pretty close (but carried a 5 gallon gas can as our "reserve"). We later had a fuel flow meter installed at a Honda dealer and mentioned the dead fuel gauge. He replaced the gauge itself under warranty (not the sender), and it has worked fine since... and now we have the gauge, the fuel flow meter, and I still calculate estimated fuel burn per hour. BTW, the Navman fuel flow meter has been very accurate.

When cruising, we always top off when fueling. When in our local water, I usually fill between 1/4 and 1/2 for day-tripping to keep the weight down.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Funny short story on fuel gages and what we are use too. If any of you have ever had an American car you know that even if you drain the gage to E you still have a few miles to go and get to a fuel station. We all know this and are use to it. My ford ranger would go another 50 mile after it got to E. A good buddy of mine Rob Hardy was a mechanic for Kia when they first came out. He worked for a new dealer in Sacramento ca. In the first month of operations they had 9 new Kia's get towed in because they "Just stopped running" After the first two having no other problem then being out of gas the sells department was told to warn all buys about how accurate the gas gage is. You see when a Kia says E they dam well mean it. These complaints finally lead Kia to re-design the gas gage to have a reserve after the gage hit E. That way us Americans will have a chance to get to the gas station before it really runs dry.
 
I to have had problems with the fuel gauge on my R25 Tug for almost 2 seasons. Around a month ago I got the nomeclature of the sending unit from Andrew Custis and ordered a replacement. I checked the new unit with a ohm meter before I reinstalled it. After installation I still had the same problem. I checked the old sender out and it was fine also. Sitting in my recliner at home one evening I held the sender in my hand and look at its profile. The float at its max height (which should be full tank) was at least two inches too low. I bent the wire rod so the float would extend higher and everything seems to be working now. The sender is a Rochester 8341-A7000 model.
Ed Brady R25, Hull #4
 
Thanks all of you for the posts. I filled the tank and it took 30 gallons [in a 75 gallon tank] so the gauge is not accurate. I now carry a plastic tube with some markings on it to show approximate fuel level in the tank and will watch my running hours more closely. bob b
 
When my gauge shows 3/4 full the tank is actually about half full. It's consistent and not a problem as long as you remember to compensate.

So where is the sending unit and how does one access it? If you can pull the unit and bend the float arm to correct the problem, I might give it a try. ??
 
The fuel gauge sender is in the approximate centerline of the boat several inches forward of the engine room step. You can get the exact location from the factory. The two ways I have heard of to access the gauge sender are [1] cut a hole over the sender through the teak and holly sole and underlying fiberglass, then add an inspection plate or [2] cut a hole in the side of the cave at the fore / aft location of the sender [this does not leave much room above the tank to work with and I am told should not be done when the tank is full].
 
Not sure when they changed over but on the 09 Rangers with the Cummins engine, they installed a NMEA 0183 fuel pickup sender which registers the fuel levels and consumption on the Smartcraft display showing levels down to the gallon - when I wired the NMEA of my Garmin GPS to the Cummins Smartcraft it shows the range in miles depending on throttle position (consumption) and fule needed to each waypoint or route, plus total range at different throttle settings.

In addition, at the end of the day it shows MPG, fuel used, distance travel, average fuel consumption plus a host of other information.

Here's a link on Smartcraft and some displays:

http://www.cmdmarine.com/smartcraft/index.html
 
This reminds me of a similar situation on my Sea Ray. Since I've owned it, the fuel gauge has always been "stuck" in the bottom 1/4 tank range, and unable to move upward, so I've had to keep track of the approximate fuel remaining in the 120 gallon gas tank.

My marine repair shop tells me (and I can see) that the fuel gauge sender is right under the companionway steps, and the only way to replace it was to cut out the 6" hole and put in an inspection port, etc.....too much trouble to be worth it (?) (Meaning, I think, they didn't want to mess with it1)

So two weeks ago, before returning the boat to the water after the annual haul-out, I added a bunch of fuel additives and stabilizers in preparation for the trip back to the lake and the fill up at gas station prices ($1.50/gallon less than the marina.)

Then, to my surprise, after adding 80 gallons to top off the tank a day or two later, the gauge breaks loose and registers FULL!

The (apparent) magic formula: (RECIPE for STICKEY GAS FUEL GAUGES)

1 can Berryman B-12 carb/fuel injector cleaner

1 can SeaFoam Carbon/Fuel Injector/Carburetor cleaner

1 can Chevron Techron Fuel Additive (Carbon cleaner, mostly)

1 giant bottle of Stabil gas stabilizer

1 big bottle Marvel Mystery Oil

Add to tank and let stand overnight or for a couple of days before refilling tank.

Apparently eats through gunk and frees sticky do-dads. (Or the freed gas gauge sender unit may just be entirely coincidental.)

Fortunately/unfortunately, my twin V-6's are carbuerated, so some gunk passes through them that might escape through the fuel filters.

Finally, a success story worth mentioning!

YMMV (Your mileage may vary.)

Joe. :lol:
 
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