fuel gauge not gauging well. ran out of fuel.
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From: waterport ny
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You were lucky to have a mechanic that knew what he was doing. It cost me $ 800.00 before they figured that out. They assumed it was the lift pump or injector pump.
jefe here.
The fuel gauge on my '01.5 started to not drop as fast on a recent vacation trip. Up till then, it read very accurately, me thinks. It read an eight of a tank, and the digital readout DTE said I had 77 miles to empty when we went DEAD PEDAL going south on I-5 in WA. My low fuel pressure idiot light came on when we ran out of #2, but it was too late. It was a long day having the 10,000 pound truck and camper towed to a nearby dealer and waiting for the diagnosis. That was kind of fun. A mechanic just knocked on the plastic fuel tank and announced that we had no fuel. He then poured in 10 gallons, bled the system and it started right up. We then filled the tank at a station down the street and it took 24 gallons. Hm? Let's see. 10 gallons, plus 24 gallons equals the capacity of the tank. Yep, we were out of fuel.
Since the gauge and readout said we had fuel, I believed them. What a sucker!
So, has anyone else had this problem and what did you do about it? Also, are those two gauges in cahoots? Does one read off the other?
I'm hoping it's just a matter of replacing Dodge's $2.00 fuel gauge.
What say Ye? A recent camping trip to the Eastern Sierra.
regards, as always, jefe
The fuel gauge on my '01.5 started to not drop as fast on a recent vacation trip. Up till then, it read very accurately, me thinks. It read an eight of a tank, and the digital readout DTE said I had 77 miles to empty when we went DEAD PEDAL going south on I-5 in WA. My low fuel pressure idiot light came on when we ran out of #2, but it was too late. It was a long day having the 10,000 pound truck and camper towed to a nearby dealer and waiting for the diagnosis. That was kind of fun. A mechanic just knocked on the plastic fuel tank and announced that we had no fuel. He then poured in 10 gallons, bled the system and it started right up. We then filled the tank at a station down the street and it took 24 gallons. Hm? Let's see. 10 gallons, plus 24 gallons equals the capacity of the tank. Yep, we were out of fuel.
Since the gauge and readout said we had fuel, I believed them. What a sucker!
So, has anyone else had this problem and what did you do about it? Also, are those two gauges in cahoots? Does one read off the other?
I'm hoping it's just a matter of replacing Dodge's $2.00 fuel gauge.
What say Ye? A recent camping trip to the Eastern Sierra.
regards, as always, jefe
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Va. and n.j.
yup mine was assumed lft pump then vp44 then computer on engine then timing set truck was in the shop forever before they realized the gauge said just slightly below half tank and it was empty, i was searching here and found it to be a pretty common problem, most expensive fuel sender i ever bought 
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From: waterport ny
It actually stopped working again after i did all the grounds, but this time i connected a ground directly from the fuel sender wire to the frame of the truck... will see how long it lasts now..
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Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Near Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee
Fuel sending unit, I agree. You can take a volt/ohm meter and check them out. When I worked at the caddy dealer I would take the old one and slowly move the arm up and down watching the meter. You could see big jumps on the readings, see wear in the contactor. Then I'd check a new one and the readings were always more consistant, smooth and the arm felt tighter(side to side). Ahhh, the good ol' days as a mechanic......yeah, right.
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Joined: May 2007
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Fuel sending unit inside the tank - this is pretty common and I am sure ULSD fuel and the EPA are to blame like most problems fuel related. It happened to me, same thing but mine died right as I was pulling into my driveway. I replaced the fuel sending unit with a used one I found on ebay. I also installed a Draw straw at the same time.
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