gas gauge broke

[nastylt1]

ok my gas gauge goes all the way past full and stays there for a while the dropes like a rock from a tower... but when itis on e it is on e.. what is this and how do i fix it....

[Paulster2]

Two things I can think of: 1) the sending unit inside the tank is bad, or 2) the signal wire has an intermittent interruption.

For the first one, I believe only replacement will fix it.
For the second, you'll have to chase it down, but it could be where the plug connects at the body just in front of the rear axle.

[Shoebox]

Sounds a lot like a normal 4th gen fuel gauge to me.

4th Gen LT1 F-body Tech Articles

[erniez28]

Pauls assessment is correct. I would also check to see if the guage is grounding out somewhere as well. When the guage pegs itself take a meter and measure the both terminals against a body ground, if you don't read any resistance your gauge is grounding itself out somewhere. Then you just have to track it donw, does it make any difference if you ride over bumps or anything?

[Paulster2]

Originally Posted by erniez28

Pauls assessment is correct. I would also check to see if the guage is grounding out somewhere as well. When the guage pegs itself take a meter and measure the both terminals against a body ground, if you don't read any resistance your gauge is grounding itself out somewhere. Then you just have to track it donw, does it make any difference if you ride over bumps or anything?

Rob could be right. I reread what the OP wrote and Rob's assessment could be the answer. If it pegs and stays, it means there is a fault. If it pegs when you fill it up, then after it starts going down (during normal driving), then Rob is on the money. This is a normal reaction and the guage is behaving normally for a 4th gen Camaro, as sucky as that is, lol! You can figure if your gauge says 1/2 tank, you need to get some gas pronto. In my 93 (before I understood how the guage worked) I had a 1/4 tank showing and thought I was good. I drove it up the freeway less than 10 miles and had to stop and get gas because the needle was on E (well, past E to be more realistic). I'm surprised I didn't run out of gas, lol! Guess I got lucky.

[Shoebox]

Originally Posted by erniez28

Pauls assessment is correct. I would also check to see if the guage is grounding out somewhere as well. When the guage pegs itself take a meter and measure the both terminals against a body ground, if you don't read any resistance your gauge is grounding itself out somewhere. Then you just have to track it donw, does it make any difference if you ride over bumps or anything?

When the tank is full the gauge is going to virtually peg. Don't all 4th gens do this? He said it eventually goes down, which from my own experience and reading posts for the last 10 years is pretty normal.

[brianswimmer23]

yea i would say at about half i have less than 5 gallons left and at a 1/4 tank i have about 2 and a half gallons give or take. so from passed full(filled to top off) to half way i use about 10 gallons. doesnt make sense but thats just how 4th gens are . im sure everyone has known this or my gauge is broke. haha.

[UKRob]

Boy have I had fun with this problem myself!!!

In the first month, I ran out of fuel 3 times! - As said the fuel gauge operation on these cars is very wierd. 10 gallons puts mine up almost full, and full throws the needle hard over beyond full lol There it stays but once it starts falling it does so rapidly and if I let it get much below 1/4 I'm on a wing and a prayer. E doesn't mean empty, it means you ran out long ago lol

I read somewhere that the reason the level appears to fall off rapidly is because of the shape of the tank. It gets narrower toward the bottom. Haven't looked yet though

[JMann94z28]

Originally Posted by UKRob

Boy have I had fun with this problem myself!!!

In the first month, I ran out of fuel 3 times! - As said the fuel gauge operation on these cars is very wierd. 10 gallons puts mine up almost full, and full throws the needle hard over beyond full lol There it stays but once it starts falling it does so rapidly and if I let it get much below 1/4 I'm on a wing and a prayer. E doesn't mean empty, it means you ran out long ago lol

I read somewhere that the reason the level appears to fall off rapidly is because of the shape of the tank. It gets narrower toward the bottom. Haven't looked yet though

dont feel bad, when I first got my car I ran out of the gas the next day, and thats a nice car you have, yea these needles can be tricky and drop pretty quick between 1/2 and E

[erniez28]

Yea its because of the tank design, you hit that nail on the head.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by brianswimmer23

yea i would say at about half i have less than 5 gallons left and at a 1/4 tank i have about 2 and a half gallons give or take. so from passed full(filled to top off) to half way i use about 10 gallons. doesnt make sense but thats just how 4th gens are . im sure everyone has known this or my gauge is broke. haha.

If I remember right, these are about 14.5 gallon tanks, and if I fill up on a 1/4 tank, I can get 14.2 gallons in there. Granted that some of that is the neck, but it's no more than 1/4-1/2 gallon when you are on 1/4 tank. Welcome to the world of the Chevy lol. I have lived with this for years. I can fill it up, and I won't hit the FULL mark till I drive 100 miles, almost exactly.

[Shoebox]

The tanks are 15.5 gal capacity.

[camarokid323]

im having the same problem my gas gauge is way past the full level but doesnt cut on, ive change the fuel pump and still have the same problem, i can here the fuel pump on so what can it be

[camarokid323]

im thinking its my opti but but when i spray the throtle body with some cold start it turns on for about a second and cuts right back off

[z28_kidd08]

Man I thought I was the only one but I guess not ....... I remember the first week I got my Z I was driving my fiancee to her doctors and she said shouldnt you get gas its was right under 1/4 of a tank and I said no were good lmao was I wrong not even two minutes after she said that the car shut off she said " wow you traded your other car off for a POS " LMAO I told her women shhhhh she will hear you she said so and I replied "DO YOU WANT TO GET HOME ! " LMAO now when I fill her up it goes way past the F but moves slowly down So now I dont let her go below the half tank without putting gas in her !

Edit : I always have now a gas tank in the trunk filled up with half a gallon just in case lol