Hey all -
I've got a problem with my fuel gauge. A short while ago, I struck something on the highway that punctured my fuel tank. I took it to the nearest shop (Midas) and subsequently had the fuel tank replaced. The tank itself was replaced with a used tank from another 99 Taurus, although the shop said that they put my original fuel-sending internals back inside the used tank. The car is a 99 SE w/6Cyl DOHC (Duratec).
Now, however, the fuel gauge is off. When I fill it up at the gas station, I fill it until the pump shuts off as I normally would. The fuel gauge generally only reads about 7/8 full now (instead of totally full). In fact, the only way to make it read full is to top off the tank to the point of having fuel spilling back out. Then, the gauge level seems to drop quickly to the 3/4 mark. Next, it then proceeds normally down to about 1/4. However, the 'low fuel' light now comes on when I've used about 10 gallons (used to come on after 13 gallons used).
In summary, the gauge is weird at the top, normal in the middle, and weird at the bottom.
Does anyone have any idea why the gauge is acting like this? Could it have been damaged by a pressure imbalance when the tank was punctured? Could the shop have de-calibrated it when they removed and reinstalled the tank internals?
Thanks in advance for any insight!
Bryan
I've got a problem with my fuel gauge. A short while ago, I struck something on the highway that punctured my fuel tank. I took it to the nearest shop (Midas) and subsequently had the fuel tank replaced. The tank itself was replaced with a used tank from another 99 Taurus, although the shop said that they put my original fuel-sending internals back inside the used tank. The car is a 99 SE w/6Cyl DOHC (Duratec).
Now, however, the fuel gauge is off. When I fill it up at the gas station, I fill it until the pump shuts off as I normally would. The fuel gauge generally only reads about 7/8 full now (instead of totally full). In fact, the only way to make it read full is to top off the tank to the point of having fuel spilling back out. Then, the gauge level seems to drop quickly to the 3/4 mark. Next, it then proceeds normally down to about 1/4. However, the 'low fuel' light now comes on when I've used about 10 gallons (used to come on after 13 gallons used).
In summary, the gauge is weird at the top, normal in the middle, and weird at the bottom.
Does anyone have any idea why the gauge is acting like this? Could it have been damaged by a pressure imbalance when the tank was punctured? Could the shop have de-calibrated it when they removed and reinstalled the tank internals?
Thanks in advance for any insight!
Bryan