dodgethis Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 Hey I wanted to ask all of yall about your gas mileage and how it is shown on the gas guage. I wanted to know when ya'll get new gas into the car does the gauge stay right on F? I ask this because when my trip odometer hits around "0320", the needle is between F and 3 quarters of a tank. I didn't know if that means a bad gauge or does the car have poor gas mileage. I also ask that when the needle gets to 3 quarters of tank what is yall's number on your trip? What do yall think? I will post a pic of what im talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldscsc Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 Mine pegs on full and stays there longer than it should, but nowhere that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteCarloChick Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 The gauges on these cars are not accurate at all.. I can have no gas at all and it'll tell me I'm at a quarter or vice versa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake91 Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 mine will go 100 miles on the first 1/4, then drop quickly and at half it will be 160, and at 230 i fill it and it will say around 1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted December 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 hmm, I just find it funny that when i had my '95 cutlass ciera i could always hit 3100 on the trip and then i needed to get more fuel. The fuel gauge was smaller and when i did fill it all the way up the needle would go past the F. I dunno i just loved to hear what everyone elses opinion on this. I kept wondering since the ciera has the same block "3100 sfi" that i would get close to the same miles per gallon to the lumina. Heh i do need to change the fuel filter, i never tried but will soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 Possible you have some corrosion in one of the harness connectors which is skewing the resistance readings fro mthe fuel tank float. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 The fuel gauge in my new car is depressingly accurate... I miss having the needle hover above F for 200 miles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3pt1lumina Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 On my 96, it will sit past the F until about 75 miles, then it will stay below the half way mark until 230, then will drop like a rock from there until 400 miles. When I hit 400 miles, I need gas! Another thing it does, is once it hits half a tank, if you turn a corner, it will move erratically from half to empty, then back. It's probably a float issue but all of my old cars do it and I'm used to it. On my 97 LS, it will stay above 3/4 of a tank until 200 miles, then drop like a rock. On my other 97 it is unseemingly accurate and whatever the gauge reads, it is correct. So no three cars are the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjoeford Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 Mine is similar to yours 96 3.1 lumina.but i can go about 200miles until i get to a half tank then the needle moves a little like it's bouncing on half way mark. then when it gets below half it goes crazy. but when it's does get to half i figure i got another 175 miles before it's time to fill up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted December 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 So all of you will admit that your gas gauge actually does "float" whether small amount or big. I have a 2000 chrysler sebring and I swear that gauge is accurate becuase it doesnt float plus the gauge is built horizontal. The guage reads full when all the up and is empty when the needle is all the way down. This is different from my chevy lumina where the needle is full to the right and empty to the left. So while the gauge produces an accurate reading on the chrysler it also has to overcome forces of gravity while its producing an accurate reading. I am talking 9.81 kN/m3 of gravity pushing on that needle when its up to the full mark. The amazing fact is IT DOES NOT FLOAT!!!! Sorry if it was too technical, too many engineering classes for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 The float in the gas tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89SupremeCutty Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 i have a 98 lumina and i had filled it up on wednesday. the needle sat just past the f mark and didn't move to the 'f' till i hit about 80 miles. i was at around 120miles when the needle was at the 3/4 mark. and at the 1/2 mark which it's at now i think im sitting around 200 miles. depending on my driving im getting around 380-400 miles per tank. the needle is so innacurate when i park my car after driving. if i start my day with a 1/2 tank, it will be sitting near 1/4 tank untill i start driving, then it moves back to where it's supposed to be. and my driveway is level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminaPower92 Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 There was a GM Bullentin, to replace the Fuel Level Sensor and reprogram the pcm. I knew somebody with a 97 LQ1 Z34 and his gauge was reading inaccuately. He ended up trading it for a 08 Xterra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 On my 96, it will sit past the F until about 75 miles, then it will stay below the half way mark until 230, then will drop like a rock from there until 400 miles. When I hit 400 miles, I need gas! Another thing it does, is once it hits half a tank, if you turn a corner, it will move erratically from half to empty, then back. It's probably a float issue but all of my old cars do it and I'm used to it. On my 97 LS, it will stay above 3/4 of a tank until 200 miles, then drop like a rock. On my other 97 it is unseemingly accurate and whatever the gauge reads, it is correct. So no three cars are the same. That's exactly what my 95 does... My 99 LTZ is actually fairly accurate for the most part... When you fill it, it goes to the full line exactly, and when it gets down near the E, it's actually almost empty... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediabandit Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 On my 96, it will sit past the F until about 75 miles, then it will stay below the half way mark until 230, then will drop like a rock from there until 400 miles. When I hit 400 miles, I need gas! Another thing it does, is once it hits half a tank, if you turn a corner, it will move erratically from half to empty, then back. It's probably a float issue but all of my old cars do it and I'm used to it. This is exactly how my winter beater works ('98 LS) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 So all of you will admit that your gas gauge actually does "float" whether small amount or big. I have a 2000 chrysler sebring and I swear that gauge is accurate becuase it doesnt float plus the gauge is built horizontal. The guage reads full when all the up and is empty when the needle is all the way down. This is different from my chevy lumina where the needle is full to the right and empty to the left. So while the gauge produces an accurate reading on the chrysler it also has to overcome forces of gravity while its producing an accurate reading. I am talking 9.81 kN/m3 of gravity pushing on that needle when its up to the full mark. The amazing fact is IT DOES NOT FLOAT!!!! Sorry if it was too technical, too many engineering classes for me. Gravity is not causing your gauge to read inaccurately. The gauge receives a signal from the sending unit/float assembly in the gas tank. I assume the signal is like 0 to 5 V, but the perceived problem with your gauge is coming from the assembly in the tank. Like someone said, corrosion, dirt, old age, etc will cause the gauge to not read correctly. If the signal is a 0-5V signal anything that changes the resistance in the circuit will change the reading of the gauge. This is a common "problem" with these and most cars. I know when my gauge gets to 1/4 tank, it's pretty much empty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted January 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 hmmn, good to know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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