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Vanagon Gas Gauge ?
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DubNuts
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Joined: January 06, 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:43 am    Post subject: Vanagon Gas Gauge ? Reply with quote

Anyone have any knowledge about Vangaons gas gauges? Mine dropped to empty and does not respond regaudless how much fuel I have in the tank? I've been driving by mileage but it would be nice to have a fuel gauge that worked to tell me that I was running low on fuel. 1987 Westy..

What can I check or might need to be replaced? Rolling Eyes
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insyncro
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

2wd vans are a straight forward fix.
Drain tank completely.
Drop tank.
Replace sender with new.
Hook back up.
Reinstall tank.

Syncros are a bit more complicated.

I would also highly recommend replacing the breather tubes and rubber grommets that hold them in place while the tank is out of the van.

The sender and breather kits are readily available at most vendors....Van Cafe, Bus depot, Van Again....
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tencentlife
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You might want to do the basic gauge and wiring check before jumping right into dropping the tank. You just ground out the sender wire, and switch on the ignition. If the gauge needle pegs to the high end of the scale, that proves the gauge is powered, working, and the sender circuit is complete. When you open-circuit the sender wire the gauge should settle at the bottom end of the scale. Only then do you go in and change out the sender. This is true of both fuel and temp gauges (pretty much any analog gauge, actually).

It's a little premature to jump into a mechanical job when the greater likelihood is a problem with wiring or connections. The 14-pin connector on the back of the instrument cluster is notorious for loosening and making some connections flaky, and people have had all kinds of trouble with the circuit foil. The voltage stabiliser chip that regulates power for the fuel and temp gauges is also known to cause problems; the telltale then is that both fuel and temp gauges show the same erratic tendencies, either both not registering anything, or both reading higher than they should. These things are very easy to test. Finally, interruptions in the sender circuit are very very common, due to wire damage, loose or corroded connections enroute.
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hiram6
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

as tencent said, check for connection problems etc before dropping the tank. Do a little deductive reasoning, and you may find the answer.

My example of this was when MY fuel gauge stopped working. My first thought was "great, another gremlin to chase" but then I remembered that I had been poking around in the wiring behind the dash the day before, installing headlight relays. Sure enough, in all of my jostling of wires, I had knocked the connector to the dash foil circuit slightly askew. Snugged it up, and all worked again.

Be Sherlock Holmes for a few minutes and think what may have happened right before your gas gauge stopped working, and you'll likely figure it out. It's been my experience that often a gas gauge sender will fail over time, not all at once. Something like it stops registering below 1/4 tank or similar behavior.
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Last edited by hiram6 on Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:26 am; edited 1 time in total
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tschroeder0
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

AND, if you're going to drop the tank and have never replaced all the seals get it done when you have the tank down, cause after you disrupt everything it'll most likely leak.
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rockfish
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

tschroeder0 wrote:
AND, if you're going to drop the tank and have never replaced all the seals get it done when you have the tank down, cause after you disrupt everything it'll most likely leak.


Yes - an important task. You can get the kit from VC

http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_493_743/fuel_tank_reseal_kit_a.html

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