Fuel Gauge Problems?

[jonwalden68]

My fuel gauge has not moved and i have drove 90 miles since the last fill up? Also the door ajar light stays on at all times what can i do to fix thoughs?? I dont know why but all my other diesel ever quarter tank would be around 100 miles so i think it should of moved!

[bdlight4]

I have noticed with my truck the gauge is slow for the first 1/4 tank. It will catch up and flow smooth. Someone else could offer a fix, I don't worry about it. Still have many miles left in the tank. Also had the door ajar problem. Spray in the lock mechinism with a lot of carb cleaner. Let it dry then lube it up with WD-40. Should solve your problem.

[bdlight4]

Did some more looking. Looks like you told me how to fix the problem with my door ajar light. So, I guess you have a larger problem than my suggestion. Which was your suggestion. And on it goes....

[99Smokin73Stroker]

Originally Posted by jonwalden68

My fuel gauge has not moved and i have drove 90 miles since the last fill up? Also the door ajar light stays on at all times what can i do to fix thoughs?? I dont know why but all my other diesel ever quarter tank would be around 100 miles so i think it should of moved!

I had intermittent problems with my fuel gauge giving a false reading just before I sold my PSD. It would sometimes slowly go all the way to full, then back down to the actual volume that I was sure was in the tank. Most likely the sending unit going out.

As for the door ajar light, mine did the same thing. Get yourself a couple of cans of brake parts cleaner and shoot about a half can each right into the latches on the door....it'll clean a lot of the gunk that gets built up on the latch.....the excess cleaner will run out the bottom of the door out of a hole so you might want to protect the surface you're parked on like asphalt or something unless it's concrete then it won't really hurt. You may just need one can since you don't have a crew cab. But spray that thing down real good, and it should do the trick. It solved my door ajar light problem, let me know if it works for you as well.

[250Diesel]

My 86 has problems no one has figured out and I have had it to 4 specialists. The front tank was fine after I had the fuel system entirely re-done but the rear tank has issues! It drops well past empty shortly after fuel-up (about 30 miles down the road) and stays there until the tank is really at a 1/2 to 1/4. Then it reads. I just keep a log of my miles and know how many miles I can get to a tank. Oh, the other thing. When it does come back up to 1/2 - 1/4 and I refuel, my 20gal tanks (yes, front and rear, only take 9-10gals at most??? What is up with that???

[johnsps250]

I found it much more effective to take off the door panel and remove the the door ajar switch from the bottom of the latch assembly. That way you can spray the cleaner and lube directly on it. A couple squirts should do it.

It is VERY common for the switch to go bad in a SD. They don't cost much. Just put a new one in.