bmw e30 325i erratic erratic guage
Discussion
hello, i have just bought a very nice and very fast standard e30 325i coupe, everything on the car works as it should except for the fuel guage. i have an e30 320i cabrio' and the fuel guage is very accurate on that, and i can tell exactly when i need to get to a petrol station and how far down the reserve bit i can risk going so i know the 325i one ought to be better than it is! the 325i's guage hops all over the place, yesterday bombing down the m1 at a speed i won't admit to in wring (just incase) i noticed the guage needle was at the bottom of the reserve bit, worried i would run out of fuel on the motorway i got off at the next exit and cruised calmly down an a road looking for somewhere to fill up, but then f it's own accord the needle went back up to nearly quarter of a tank!!! i was tempted to turn around and get back on the motorway but decided to keepgoing and eventually found somewhere where i could put £20 of juice in. the needle then went up to half way, but all the way home was hopping around from quarter to half to reserve!
question; is this likely to be the guage itself or something at the tank end, either crap in the tank or the sender or what? down't want to start pulling the dash apart to replace the guage if it's more likely to be something at the back of the car. thanks.
question; is this likely to be the guage itself or something at the tank end, either crap in the tank or the sender or what? down't want to start pulling the dash apart to replace the guage if it's more likely to be something at the back of the car. thanks.
drak ula said:
hello, i have just bought a very nice and very fast standard e30 325i coupe, everything on the car works as it should except for the fuel guage. i have an e30 320i cabrio' and the fuel guage is very accurate on that, and i can tell exactly when i need to get to a petrol station and how far down the reserve bit i can risk going so i know the 325i one ought to be better than it is! the 325i's guage hops all over the place, yesterday bombing down the m1 at a speed i won't admit to in wring (just incase) i noticed the guage needle was at the bottom of the reserve bit, worried i would run out of fuel on the motorway i got off at the next exit and cruised calmly down an a road looking for somewhere to fill up, but then f it's own accord the needle went back up to nearly quarter of a tank!!! i was tempted to turn around and get back on the motorway but decided to keepgoing and eventually found somewhere where i could put £20 of juice in. the needle then went up to half way, but all the way home was hopping around from quarter to half to reserve!
question; is this likely to be the guage itself or something at the tank end, either crap in the tank or the sender or what? down't want to start pulling the dash apart to replace the guage if it's more likely to be something at the back of the car. thanks.
I'd check the sender unit before anything else (should be pretty easy to get to if I remember rightly).question; is this likely to be the guage itself or something at the tank end, either crap in the tank or the sender or what? down't want to start pulling the dash apart to replace the guage if it's more likely to be something at the back of the car. thanks.
Edited by 4rephill on Saturday 24th October 11:38
Presumably that's under one of the little hatches under the back seat?
Might be worth checking the nut on the back of the gauge - loose nuts cause erratic behaviour of the temp gauge. Not sure they do the same for the fuel gauge but if the sender is ok, try the nut on the back (clocks out job - pretty easy).
Might be worth checking the nut on the back of the gauge - loose nuts cause erratic behaviour of the temp gauge. Not sure they do the same for the fuel gauge but if the sender is ok, try the nut on the back (clocks out job - pretty easy).
As above, check the sender and wire on the gauge. Both common faults I believe and mine is the same. On the plus side, the low fuel warning light is on a different sender so at least you know when you are really low and don't have to rely on the gauge. I never bother using my gauge and just fill up whenever the light comes on.
thanks that's all really helpfull, especially knowing the warning light is on a seperate sender, i assumed it just came on when the needle passed a certain point. will have a go at lifting the back seat and trying to figure out where the sender is and checking it out before pulling the clicks out, if my old mk1 golf was anything to go by, pulling clocks out is quite a hassle! cheers
am not so sure you are right benny, last evening coming home i started the coupe and the needle was on empty and the reserve light on, even though when i'd parked the car earlier that afternoon, the needle was at nearly a quarter full. thinking of what you had said about the light, i was concerned and though i beeter try and drive slowly to the nearest fuel station, but a mile or so down the road the needle bounced back up to nearly a quarter and the light went out!
does anyone else out there know for sure if the light is linked to the needle or if they are on seperate circuits from seperate senders? seems unlikely to me now, thanks
does anyone else out there know for sure if the light is linked to the needle or if they are on seperate circuits from seperate senders? seems unlikely to me now, thanks
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