e34 5 series temperamental fuel gauge....
Discussion
my e34 fuel gauge has started giving very iffy readings.... initially it was registering zero complete with reserve light even when fuelled up, now its the complete opposite, it shows as if theres far more fuel than there actually is and doesnt register below half way at all with no reserve light warning but still moves incrementally down, whats the most likely issue, the sender actually in the tank or the gauge itself?
Edited by hellrot_e34 on Saturday 20th June 12:47
It's more likely to be the sender, or maybe inside the cluster, but not the actual needle/dial.
If the needle showed empty, but no light, you know it's the dial that has gone wrong, but if the light and the needle is down, the it's showing an empty reading, either from the wiring breaking up (which from your sometimes max, sometimes min problem, suggests broken wires shorting against each other)
The e36 was well known for wires breaking off under the sender/pump from poor soldering at the factory, but i haven't heard of this on an e34.
E34's did have more temperamental clusters though, which means the circuit board could be damaged.
In most clusters, there is a rear half with the circuitry on, and the from dials, which come in separate sections, so if the needle itself was dead, it most likely would bo possible to swap just the actual dial front and leave the rest behind.
What I'd do here is get to the sender, and check the wiring as it just leaves the tank. look for any breaks, kinks of chafes, and if the cluster is reading wrong, try unplugging it at the sender. If the reading doesn't change, it's somewhere in the wiring. check the sender pins with a multimeter and see if the sender is giving a short or open circuit. This will tell you if the sender is OK
If the needle showed empty, but no light, you know it's the dial that has gone wrong, but if the light and the needle is down, the it's showing an empty reading, either from the wiring breaking up (which from your sometimes max, sometimes min problem, suggests broken wires shorting against each other)
The e36 was well known for wires breaking off under the sender/pump from poor soldering at the factory, but i haven't heard of this on an e34.
E34's did have more temperamental clusters though, which means the circuit board could be damaged.
In most clusters, there is a rear half with the circuitry on, and the from dials, which come in separate sections, so if the needle itself was dead, it most likely would bo possible to swap just the actual dial front and leave the rest behind.
What I'd do here is get to the sender, and check the wiring as it just leaves the tank. look for any breaks, kinks of chafes, and if the cluster is reading wrong, try unplugging it at the sender. If the reading doesn't change, it's somewhere in the wiring. check the sender pins with a multimeter and see if the sender is giving a short or open circuit. This will tell you if the sender is OK
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