E36 Fuel gauge not working
Discussion
My E36 323 had 1/4 tank of petrol in and suddenly the guage just dropped to complete empty and the obc was showing zero miles. When I stopped I switched off and back on again and it showed the correct reading for around 5 seconds and then dropped again. Now it just sits showing complete empty. I havent tried putting more petrol in yet but has anyone got any ideas whats wrong.
alan36 said:
How do I get to look at the top of the tank mate.
From a previous thread ( http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=106... ):TheEnd said:
Pull up the rear seat by grabbing the front edge and yanking hard, and then get it out of the car.
Under, you'll see 2 flaps in the soundproofing and a black metal cover plate with 4 screws.
Undo the one behind the driver's seat, and you'll see the pump / sender with 2 electrical plugs, and either one or two hoses.
If you have just one plug, you are on the wrong one.
Pull off both plugs (bigger wires is the pump, thin wires are for the sender) and start the car and run it til it stalls. This will depressurise the fuel system, and cut down on leaks, but still have a rag handy as there were be some petrol squirting about.
Undo the hose clips, and use a screwdriver like a chisel and unscrew the locking ring thingy.
Once done, you can pull out the complete sender and pump, and just underneath, you'll see the loose wire.
Whilst you are digging in, you might as well just check the wires from the pump before disconnecting anything, as they can sometimes chafe or crack under the seat base.
When I did mine I didn't bother running the car till it stalled, but I would note the part about the hose clips:Under, you'll see 2 flaps in the soundproofing and a black metal cover plate with 4 screws.
Undo the one behind the driver's seat, and you'll see the pump / sender with 2 electrical plugs, and either one or two hoses.
If you have just one plug, you are on the wrong one.
Pull off both plugs (bigger wires is the pump, thin wires are for the sender) and start the car and run it til it stalls. This will depressurise the fuel system, and cut down on leaks, but still have a rag handy as there were be some petrol squirting about.
Undo the hose clips, and use a screwdriver like a chisel and unscrew the locking ring thingy.
Once done, you can pull out the complete sender and pump, and just underneath, you'll see the loose wire.
Whilst you are digging in, you might as well just check the wires from the pump before disconnecting anything, as they can sometimes chafe or crack under the seat base.
4rephill said:
TheEnd said:
Undo the hose clips
This is the hardest part of the whole job! Mine now has a jubilee clip on it supplied to Me by BMW (note that I didn't have to buy it so I don't have a part number but it's just a standard small jubilee clip).Make sure you don't bend the float arm as this will give a false reading of the fuel level in the tank (and the float takes a bit of jiggling to get it out of the tank!)
One other thing to note is that the interior of the car will stink of petrol for a couple of weeks but it will eventually disappear.
4rephill said:
It's not so much reusing them, it's getting the bloody things off in the first place!.
The problem is that the factory crimps do their job a bit too well! (I nearly pushed a screwdriver through My hand trying to get the bloody thing loose so I went to BMW and asked what they do. Result?: They came back to Me saying: "Carefully cut it off and replace it with this"
, at which point they handed Me the jubilee clip 
)
Also, have a look here: http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/s/view.pl?2/06/93The problem is that the factory crimps do their job a bit too well! (I nearly pushed a screwdriver through My hand trying to get the bloody thing loose so I went to BMW and asked what they do. Result?: They came back to Me saying: "Carefully cut it off and replace it with this"
, at which point they handed Me the jubilee clip )And here: http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/s/view.pl?2/06/94
Edited by 4rephill on Wednesday 22 August 23:54
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