fuel gauge accuracy

[footdoc]

My gauge will stay above F for about 200+ miles and then will drop controllably but the problem is that when it shows just under 1/2 there is only about 1/4 left..is there a calibration or would I need a new sender that is likely tuff to access...

[Lug_Nut]

That's not so far from being normal. Fuel gauges are not instruments per say, more just indicators. Mine works fair similiar to what you described. I always set a trip odometer when filling. That gives a more realistic estimate for when fuel will be needed.

Peter

["007"]

Peter hit it right and might add when it hits the red mark I have about 10 gal before empty, thats a gas coach 75 gal tank.

[Not a Clue]

Mine does the same thing. I asked Ford about it and they said the because of the tank being altered, made longer, the gage will do that.
Don't know if I buy that but......That's what the Ford dealer said.

[mercerc44]

I would second the notion to go by the mileage. The odometer is probably more accurate a guage of fuel consumption. Mine uses half the tank way before it reads 1/2.

[GaryKD]

Hi footdoc,
I too use the odometer to determine my next fuel stop. My gage stays at the full mark for a little over 100 miles. Descends normally to 3/4. Drops like a rock to 1/2. Descends normally to 1/4. I've never been below 1/4. The gage is pretty accurate at 1/2 and 1/4 readings. Above 1/2, there is no way to tell even approximately how much fuel is in the tank.

[Lug_Nut]

In addition to the mileage, I also have a resettable fuel consumed which I reset at each fueling. Now it is not really that accurate. One day it's dead on, the next it takes 5 or 6 gallons more than the reading indicates. It is a TripTek.

Peter

[mercerc44]

Isn't it amazing what with all the high tech electronic equipment we have today, that the fuel gauge works like it is from a Model T. Everyone has a different story. Tere are a lot of smart people out there you would think one could come up with something that was accurate. Must be style over substance.

[DandS]

Based on the comments, guess I'm lucky. Mine takes a while to move off full but from then on is fairly accurate........75 gal tank - reads 1/4 - takes about 55 gal. Never run past the 1/4 mark as this leaves about 20 gal. cushion.

[MickBrennan]

We took off from Tennessee around noon heading north east. Every surface inside the camper is sticky and the potty needs a break from all the work it got from the little grand kids. We bypassed Nashville and got on the Western Kentucky Parkway. Now, I kept on saying that we should refuel. P was saying stuff like, "Don't be such a [moderator edit]." "We still have a hundred miles left in that tank." And "We can get much better prices a little farther down the road." So I kept going. The Low Fuel light was blinking intermittently but the gage read almost a quarter tank. We turned off the W.K. toward a big diesel sign. At the top of the exit ramp the steering suddenly required a great deal of effort and the coach was not responding to desperate, repeated jabs of very firm pressure on the accelerator pedal. Luckily the fuel station was all downhill. We coasted about two thousand feet, right to the one diesel pump and rolled to a stop without applying the brakes. We filled the tank. It took 86 gallons to top off our supposed 100 gallon fuel tank. But the engine would not restart. We read the manual and re-primed the fuel pump but to no avail. Calling several road service guys yielded advice to use ether to start the engine. The Quickee Mart sold starting fluid. Stuck at the pumps in Central City Kentucky would be a bad place for a Yankee to start huffing my way an Ether Binge. We also have ice, lime twists, vermouth, Ketel One and a cocktail shaker. But I resisted the urge to shake up a Bone Dry martini.


So we waited for road service because I couldn't find the air intake into which I would squirt the starting fluid. When the guy did show up he lifted the bed to examine the Cummins diesel and began to slightly dismantle the fuel pump. He kind of resembled Jed Clampet's poorer, less sophisticated, relative. The road service vehicle was a 18 year old dark blue Lincoln Town Car with black interior. They had all the windows open despite the brutal heat and 100% humidity. His bride/cousin waited in the passenger seat while we searched for the air filter. There was fuel at the pump evidenced by the copious amount of liquid released when he twisted a bolt on the fuel pump. Proof that our priming efforts were successful. This dude pressed his greasy fuel soaked hand under his nose and sniffed his fingers like an eighth grader after his first make out trip to home base. He took another big whiff then waved his hand at me, "This kerosene?" I turned my head and assured him that the pump said diesel fuel and had a gigantic nozzle, way too huge to fit in a car tank. After he looked carefully at the pump he muttered something about "ult tra looow sul fur smells fun knee." This guy was like a Wine Expert only for Diesel fuel! We began our collective search for the air filter anew. We discovered it under a screwed on panel and saw the air intake is up on the roof at the back of the coach. "Thars where I haf ta go." He instantly scampered up the ladder to the roof, squirted the starting fluid down the air scoop (who knew) and the thing roared to life. His picket fence grin flashed broadly "Thar she goes. Runnin' now." We were quickly on the road again. This guy was that good!

Trying to make up for the 4 hours we lost in the fuel station we pressed on into the night. Kentucky and West Virginia had lousy road marking and visibility was greatly diminished by sheets of driving rain and huge, blinding lightning flashes. We drove on to about 1:30 or 2:30 am depending on which time zone's jurisdiction we were. We slept at a truck stop just south of Cincinnati among 200 big rigs. P said she would never be able to get to sleep because they ran their engines all night. She was unconscious in 4 seconds!