Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New possible problem)

eric-holmes · Aug 13, 2009

Today my boat said it had 3/4 of a tank and the tank ran bone dry. I thought the gauge worked because when I fill it up it moves up to the full and the as I would boat it would get lower. Any ideas on how to fix a gas gauge? Next time I don't care if it says full, I am filling up everytime before I go out.

Bifflefan · Aug 13, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

first check the wiring, if good then,
remove the sender and test, if thats good and in proper perameters, then replace the gauge.
Or just keep it full and judge how much you use vs how long your out, then you wont run out.

Good rule of thumb, If it seems to be getting really good mileage today, is not, the gauge is broke.

indy440 · Aug 13, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

the sending unit is probably bad. It should be mounted right on the top of the tank and held in with six 8mm or 10mm bolts. Pull it out and hook your multimeter to it, im not sure what the resistance range should be but by moving the float and reading the resistance you will probably be able to see where something went wrong...

I had a boat that sat for a long time with gallons of water in the tank. I cleaned the tank and my gauge did something similar. However, it magically fixed itself after a while...

204 Escape · Aug 13, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

I don't trust the fuel guage in our LARSON either. First of all while setting on the trailer, if ou turn the key on, it will give you "whatever reading" that it wants to I guess, BECAUSE it is a 50 gallon tank, it showed 3/4 of a tank, and I put 35 gallons in it.

Sunday, we started out with 3/4 of a tank, and didn't run the boat that much, and it says empty. I had put $25.00 worth of gas, (10.17 gallons more), in BEFORE I went to the lake, and it shows less than 1/4 tank.

Is there a way when setting on the trailer to get an accurate reading on the amount of fuel in the tank ?? I don't know.

AZSenza · Aug 13, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Check to make sure the float is correct for the tank, its possible that as it goes down from full its hitting a baffle or the side. Thats why my last boat was off, I rebent the rod the float is mounted to and it worked great. Also if its the wrong "Rod" (there are different lengths) it might not ever get below say, 1/2 or conversly, could show empty when you still have 1/4 tank. Its a much better strategy to not depend on it, just use it as a guide. We always go out with a full tank, It holds 42 gallons and I know from experience about how long I can go before I run out.

eric-holmes · Aug 13, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

I will have to get in there and see what I can do.

Chinewalker · Aug 13, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

I don't think I've ever seen a gas gauge in any boat that was accurate enough to swear by. Someone simply getting up and moving fore or aft can change the reading significantly. It can be quite different on the trailer than in the water. It's best to keep track of how much you've used the boat and how much gas you've put in.

Now that I think of it, the best gauge I've ever seen was a stick we would dip into the tank on our old inboard. If it came out wet, we knew we had enough gas for a boat ride...

eric-holmes · Aug 13, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

How would I get to the gas tank?

indy440 · Aug 13, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

can you see it in the bilge area? You might have to pull up some floor board to get to the sending unit...

eric-holmes · Aug 13, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off.

Yeah, I will have to pull up a floor board. I couldnt pry it up. Looks like I will just be doing the old trusty "fill it up everytime before you go out" move.

eric-holmes · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

So I filled up my boat with 17 gallons yesterday. I backed it into the river and it started up and ran. Only problem is that Larson said it has a 31 gallon tank. The boat just quit running and wouldn't start like it was out of gas.

QC · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Does not mean it ran out of gas ^^^^^^ Also, how do you know you're getting it full? Is gas running out of the filler?

ezez · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

My gauge in my tank isn't accurate at all and bounces around with a 1/2 tank range in other words it'll read 1/4 - 3/4 full or 1/2-Full.
I have learned to just keep track of run times and be overly cautious about levels. In fact this week I pulled the boat out of the water when camping to fill up. I figured I had about 8-10 gallons left and it turned out I had about 12.

I still say boat manufacturers need to put a reserve petcock on the tank just like motorcycles have. It would be nice to have the reserve at about 6-10 gallons in my 30 gallon as a gauge of how much run time I had left.

QC · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Sounds good until you have to get fuel prime on an MPI engine . . . Trust me, you want no part of that

eric-holmes · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

QC said:
Does not mean it ran out of gas ^^^^^^ Also, how do you know you're getting it full? Is gas running out of the filler?

Yes, gas ran out of the filler, accidentally lol

QC · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Well, then I don't think you ran out of gas unless there is a 2nd tank . . . or that one was replaced.

eric-holmes · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New Problem)

I am pretty sure I just have one tank. I am going to be checking the fuel filter this week.

_chris_ · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New possible problem)

I had a similar problem years ago and it ended up the fuel pick up line kinda curved and floated to the top (just a rubber fuel line) I would run out of fuel and only be able to put a couple of gallons in.

eric-holmes · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New possible problem)

_chris_ said:
I had a similar problem years ago and it ended up the fuel pick up line kinda curved and floated to the top (just a rubber fuel line) I would run out of fuel and only be able to put a couple of gallons in.

How did you fix it?

WAVENBYE2 · Aug 14, 2009

Re: Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New possible problem)

Do you have an Electric fuel pump??

Ran out of gas today, fuel gauge is way off. (Update! New possible problem)

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