Fuel Gauge / Float not correct

[JIM SHINN]

I need some help w/ something that has bothered me since I bought my Tracker Avalanche. I noticed that my fuel gauge is way off. Last night before I went out I noticed that my fuel was reading about a 1/3 of a tank. So I filled up and it only took 13 gallons to fill up. I have a 41 gallon fuel tank and it should be reading over 1/2 to 3/4 of fuel. What can I do to fix this problem? Anybody else have this problem before and was able to fix it? It's nice to know what you are truely running while out on the water. Last night I ran a little over 20 miles round trip and it now reads a little over 1/2 and I know I won't be putting in close to 20 gallons...probably less than the 13 that I put in last night before the trip.....thanks for anybody that can help out.



Jim

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[Rocky Lohman2]

I have the same situation with my PT185, I have thought of taking out the fuel gauge (not much use anyway) and replacing it with a water pressure gauge. I too would like to make mine more accurate. I wonder if it can be removed and adjusted:unsure:?

 

[Major Mark]

My new Targa has a 30 gal tank. The day I picked it up from the dealer, I went straight to the gas station & only got 22 gals in it. The dealer test ran the motor on an outside fuel source so the tank was totally empty. What I found I have to do to get the tank full is...unhook the trailer & lower the nose as far as the trailer leg will go. Then I can get the tank full. When on the hitch the trailer is just slightly higher at the hitch, not drasticly higher. It is a pain in the arsh to get full........



Mark

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Marine fuel gauge are not that accurate to start with, what I did the first time I put gas in my Champion (It had a little in the tank but not much) was put in 10 gal at a time and marked the tank with a line so I can open the back hatch and know at a glanec how much fuel is in the boat.

BF

 

[JIM SHINN]

The problem w/ the Avs is you can't see the fuel cell....you have to lift the seat and you can only see the top of the tank.

 

[CJ Extrom]

Jim, I don't know of a fuel gauge in a boat that is correct. What I did on our avalanche is installed a smartcraft monitor. Now I can keep track of fuel burned.

 

[mike chip]

even the smartcraft is not accurate, it will always be off alittle bit. hopefully it is off on the side or err. meaning when it says empty you still have a few gallons left, that way you never run out

mike

 

[Larry Harp]

My fuel guage is extremely accurate...when the tank is full and when it's empty...at anytime inbetween it's a crap shoot at best.



Harpo

 

[Texas Transplant]

I just changed out both my guage and the sending unit. I learned quite a bit doing that installation. The sending unit and 'swing arm' have to be carefully put together to make the unit work well, and be accurate. I needed to do measurements to ensure that the down arm that the sending unit attached to was at the proper depth, and then I needed to install the float at the right distance out. Anything else, and I would have had an extremely inaccurate reading.



Mine now reads correctly, and I feel gives me fairly accurate readings. I'm still double checking before and after trips, since I don't have much running time on the new guages as yet.



Tex

 

[Mark Hofman]

When my gauge starts bouncing on "E", I know I've got a half-tank left and I think about filling up (20 gallons will put me back at full). I will also monitor the level in my oil tank. When it's drawn down 1/4 of a tank, I know I've used 1/2 a tank of gas. If it looks like it's getting close to being 1/2 drawn down, I'd better be at a gas dock filling up my tank or putting it back on the trailer.



My opinion is that the weight of the outboard causes the tank to ride at an angle, not level. The sensor/float is designed to read accurately when the tank is level (which it will do when the boat is on the trailer). I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to adjust it to read accurately all the way down to empty.