[matt_s]

So i pulled apart my dash and i took the gauge cluster cover off to clean it and i accidentally moved the fuel gauge and now I'm not sure how accurate it is (not sure if i put it back were it was b4) now. How can i re-calibrate the gauge so that it is 99% Correct?

 

[integrajerzey]

Go to a gas station. Fill it up, move the hand to full, problem solved.

 

[drcheap]

Actually I would drive until the low fuel light comes on then move it to the E.

That way it's accurate at the E, not the F, which IMO is more useful.

 

[matt_s]

so the light isn't tide into the gauge? I always thought that the light came on because the gauge got to close to the E, guess i was wrong.

thanks for the info

 

[integrajerzey]

Actually I would drive until the low fuel light comes on then move it to the E.

That way it's accurate at the E, not the F, which IMO is more useful.

I wouldn't do that for 2 reasons.
1) You want to avoid sucking in gas from the bottom of the tank.
2) I believe the light comes on when you hit your reserve, not when hit "E" persay.

If the tank is full, then it should point to full simple as that.

 

[blazinearth]

That should not matter. I did the same to my gauge. I pushed it to E. But when i turned on my car i saw the meter move back to where it should be. Assuming that you did not damage your gauge. I tried this a couple of times to make sure the reading was correct. I also Fulled up my tank and the meter moved. All you have to do is hook it back up and turn on your car and the meter should start moving to the correct posiotion.

 

[matt_s]

I have never noticed my gauge moving when i turn the car oN/OFF it has always stayed at the amount of gas that i have left. I have also noticed that the gauge is REALLY slow at updating when i fill up with gas, is this normal?

 

[greenDB7]

That is normal,well at least mine does that too.
But I actually did the exact same thing you did last week,took the clear lense off to clean the inside and accidently hit the needle and moved it.
I sorta freaked and called a bunch of dealerships around me and none of them could have helped in any way so I went out and did some tests and found out that....
the gas gauge actually re-calibrates itself.
I filled up,moved the needle with my finger to half empty and turned the car on,and after a few minutes it would set itself back to how much ever gas there actually is.I did that at many locations on the gauge and it always went back to the amount that was in the tank.Later that week I was half empty so I tried the same experiment and it always went back to where the gas was.

 

[805dan]

Quote: drcheap on Sep/12/07Actually I would drive until the low fuel light comes on then move it to the E.
That way it's accurate at the E, not the F, which IMO is more useful.



I wouldn't do that for 2 reasons.
1) You want to avoid sucking in gas from the bottom of the tank.
2) I believe the light comes on when you hit your reserve, not when hit "E" persay.

If the tank is full, then it should point to full simple as that.

someone correct me if im wrong but i believe that the there isnt an actual reserve tank in modern cars, but rather just certain level that the gas light comes on. it just seems mechanically this would be a lot more complex than it would have to be to use a separate tank

 

[bubsie007]

umm actually u dont have to do anything,,, just turn on your car and it'll automatically go back to where it was ASSUMING that you didnt remove the needle, u just accidently pushed it to the left and right is what i understand from what ur saying..

 

[bubsie007]

I have never noticed my gauge moving when i turn the car oN/OFF it has always stayed at the amount of gas that i have left. I have also noticed that the gauge is REALLY slow at updating when i fill up with gas, is this normal?

no your gas gauge doesn't move when u turn on or off your car, but if you open ur cluster up and tamper with the needle without physically removing it, so by that i mean if u move it left or right, then u put the key back in the ignition it'll automatically set to where it should be.

 

[supersilverteg]

matt_s- My gas guage moves pretty slowly when i put gas in it but its no big deal.

I may not be correct but there is a sensor in your gastank that sends a signal to tell ur gas guage how much u have. If you just turn the car on and let it run for a few then the guage should get the correct signal and go to the right place.

 

[FlatRate]

Quote: drcheap on Sep/12/07Actually I would drive until the low fuel light comes on then move it to the E.
That way it's accurate at the E, not the F, which IMO is more useful.



I wouldn't do that for 2 reasons.
1) You want to avoid sucking in gas from the bottom of the tank.
2) I believe the light comes on when you hit your reserve, not when hit "E" persay.

If the tank is full, then it should point to full simple as that.

Well if the fuel pump wasn't sucking from the bottom of the tank, then it would run out of gas when it was half way empty right?

 

[bubsie007]

yep dr.cheap is right b/c when u fill up ur car to the max it'll go up further than the F. usually when my E light comes on i give myself 20 miles in city or 30 miles in highway, have never run out of gas in my 4 years of owning my teg.

 

[matt_s]

thanks for the info guys, time to go and see if my does reset its self

 

[chrsmrly]

My fuel gauge won't go past 3/4 of a tank, not matter how much I fill up. After driving 200 or so miles it will move down to E, but the light won't come on for at least 50-60 miles so I know I still have more gas. If I go fill all the way up and manually move the needle to Full, will this solve my problem?

 

[jjkz24]

If you read back to the first page of this 2 year old post, you'll see where it is recommend to do that procedure when the tank is empty, rather than full. This way, it's calibrated to "E". Don't worry about the low fuel light, as it's connected directly to the fuel sending unit, and not the gauge.