ml30306 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Purchased a 2000 Lexus ES300 2 days ago, 125,000 miles. The seller sold me tha car with a "full gas tank". After driving it now for about 30 miles now though the needle did not move. This is what I have done thus far: 1. Removed plastic instrument cluster cover and moved the needle manually to E. After turning on the car the needle slowly returns to beyond the FULL point. Did that twice, same result. 3. While driving today slightly downhill the needle moved to 1/2 full. It hovered around 1/2 full, went up a bit, down a bit, then slowly returned to past the FULL point after a few minutes. 3. Went to the gas station to see if the tank was actually full. The car took $36.00 in gas. Needle never changed. Any ideas, suggestions? I have of course researched the topic - causes could be bad gauge, stuck float, wire dislocated/torn/disconnected, bad sending unit. I am thinking that perhaps No. 2 here may give some more insight into the problem, have not seen it posted before. I would greatly appreciate any ideas, diagnostic test ideas, etc. before bringing the car I just purchased into the shop for this problem. THANK YOU! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ml30306 Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Issue has NOT been resolved, see below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ml30306 Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 The issue has NOT been resolved. Whenever I fill up the tank the needle still goes beyond full. This is what I have done thus far: - I have removed the backseat, removed the fuel assembly from the tank. With the key turned to the ON position, I pressed the floater to full and the needle slowly creeps to the beyond full point. - Then I pressed the floater to empty. The needle slwoly goes to EMPTY with the warning light coming on before reaching empty. - I noticed when I removed the fuel assembly that a wire that was attached to the metal rim was very loose. So here my questions: 1. What happens when you disconnect this wire (I assume it is the ground wire from the unit)? Would this cause the needle to move beyond full? 2. I have had 2 mechanics look into the problem, not sure how thorough they were. One says I have a bad fuel gauge, the other says it is the fuel sending unit. I guess it could also be a faulty wire, any other ideas? 3. I read that the floater actually bounces around inside the tank while driving, hence the delay in showing the actual fuel level. Before examining the electrical parts I usually look at the mechanical one's. Is it possible the the connectors of the floater have been worn down? Also, is it possible that the floater has been bent so that the gauge reads beyond full? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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