I think I might have knocked a wire loose or blown a fuse to my gas gauge. It'* reading full and not dropping as I use gas. I was working fine until I was messing around with an after-market alarm system that'* located behind the knee panel under the steering wheel . Anybody have any idea of what wire/color and or connections I may have messed up? I need to open 'er up and try to see what l did. I think I read once that the way these fuel level circuits work is that the lower the fuel level is the higher the voltage is to the gauge and it acutally pulls the needle down. I am assuming I knocked a wire loose or broke a connection..but I might be all wet.

Spit

What were you working on that makes you think you may have knocked something loose? The sender is in the tank and the connector is right next to the rear of the tank.

Moving to Everything Electrical.

Spit, It may be coincidence. You may not have knocked anything loose. Your fuel level sensor may be showing signs of failing. Fuel sender failures are common in these cars. Fill the tank, run the car for 300 miles or so, check fuel gage for movement & proper tracking.

I was messing with a previously installed after-market remote keyless entry/alarm. Which is wired in below the steering column. I was thinking that I might have knocked a ground loose, near the dashboard/gauges?

I looked at it last night and I didn't see anything that I messed up, where do I go from here. Is this something that I will have to pull the fuel tank ti replace?


Spit

I ran my tank down about 7 gallons (it'* a 18 gallon tank) the gauge for the most part stayed at full or very near to full the whole time.

Observations:

When filled the tankon Saturday, the gauge went way past the full line well into the F

After running it down the 7 gallons Sunday Monday Tuesday the gauge never went lower than 7/8ths mark.

When I shut the car off the gauge will drop to a lower level than when the car is running ...about 7/8ths of a tank, when I would start if up it would go way past the full line all the way over to the F

When i refilled the tank agin it went way up over the full mark into the F

I can keep a closer watch on it...now that I know I have aprox 300 miles of gas in the car..and see waht it does.

From reading other posts it sounds like I may have fuel sending unit problem...does anyone have any good ideas of what I should do to verify/confirm that this is the problem. I'll need to ask for good directions..not really sure where to unplug the sending unit at the tank etc.

Spit

It very much sounds like your fuel level sensor is bad. Mine failed a couple years ago at about 115,000 miles.

To fix yours, you need to drop the tank to get access to the pump/sender assembly, then follow this thread for the fix:

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=71718

I looked at this again last night and I disconnected the pump/sending unit block and I grounded the purple wire on the harness side (back to the gauge) and the gauge did fall to empty. From what I read that seems to indicate that I need a new sending unit?
Do you agree ? Is there another test I should try first

2nd ...I can get a sending unit for around $250 bucks from GMpartsdirect.com or Autozone has an aftermarket available for $199...or I can get one from a local salvage yard for $25 to $45.

What do you think....of the diagnosis and opinions on using a "used; sending unit.

Spit

I would say the fuel level sensor is the fault. You may want to look into a rebuild kit (from a GM dealer) for about $43. Did you look at the link above for information. The only component needed is the new wiper assembly. You may also want to consider installing a new fuel pump & strainer while you're in there as preventive maintenance. There is some risk in not replacing the pump, it is not absolute. The pump may never fail while you own the car. That is a judgement call you will have to make. You will have to weigh the cost of the individual parts against that of a complete fuel sender assembly if you decide to replace the pump.

Mike,
I don't think there is a wiper kit for the 1996. I had a dealership pull a new unit out of stock and looked at it, and it'* an older style than the one shown in the posts you refer to. The bracket for the resistor & wiper seems to be welded to the fuel pipes and I didn't see a way to get it apart. The dealer parts guy top me that there wasn't a replacement wiper only for this model of sending unit. If anyone knows different let me know, I'm going to drop the tank and pull the sender this weekend... I think.

Spit