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Part time fuel gauge

lxstuart

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Location
Hertfordshire
Car
6th gen 2.0 ES Exec
Since I've had the car, the fuel gauge has always been a little temperamental.
Most of the time it works fine, but sometimes it reads nothing, not pointing at the 0, but a bit below like it does when the ignition is off.
Now I had ***umed it was the fuel sender, which is supported by an invoice from Honda from its annual service, stating it requires a new "fuel tank sensor".
Now this didn't really bother me, as I know how far I can get on a tank of fuel.

However....

A few days ago, I was driving along and all the gauges in the instrument cluster stopped working. They all went to zero, save for the temperature gauge which went to the max mark. I think the fuel light also came on, when I still had ~half a tank of fuel.
After about 5 mins it came back to life, and so far hasn't done it again. I've also noticed I don't seem to have a seatbelt light. It never comes on, and if I drive without wearing it, I don't get an annoying beeping. I don't think the bulb has gone, it seems to think that the seatbelt is being worn.
Probably a separate issue, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

So does anyone know if there are any common faults that might explain this?
Failing that, peoples opinions on weather its the sender unit thats gone, or a dodgy connection of some sort, likely behind the instrument cluster.
 
the clusters, are very delicate, i lost my fuel needle last year, i have 6000 miles to cover before i can get a working fuel needle again, (swap cluster over from my other accord which has 6k more on clock currently). that day will be exciting lol.

If the cluster has been out for some reason, then theres a big chance the hair fine wires back there have bust.

Or you could be lucky and the connections have come loose. should be 2 socket style connectors either side of the cluster, but you have to take some dash trim off to get to it.

On mine (4th gen) theres screws behind the vents. so might be some there as well on your 6th gen, but cant be sure.
 
Or just check your ground connections, I have a friend with a prelude who had loads of sensor and cluster problems because of bad ground connections to the ecu.
 
Look at your fuel sender wires they tend to corrode a bit in had to replace the connections as they went green there should be 3 wires i have a green yellow wire which is the return wire ( sorry I have to think of electrics like a water system) or signal wire to the gauge
I have just fixed my gauge after a fuel pipe burst and sprayed at least a tenner out the back of the car
So I thought I'd fix the gauge while i were looking into the leak
Im not recommending this at all as it can further damage faulty systems but after I knew the earth was good I grounded the yellow wire and saw that the gauge worked so I knew it was the sender so after I had the tank out and sorted the burst pipe
it was a rusty pipe coming out of the pump so it had to come out ( good chance to look at the top of the tank and under the car and some rear brake lines) so the tank were a bit rusty looks like it's a little area where the air is stagnant
So the tank is now pink and the sender had a little break in the wire (if there is no break n the wire it should show a gradual resistance change if not it's goose'd
Off to the scrap yard I and the 6th gen and took the sender out and replaced mine and it works now cost £15 which I had to haggle

Remember safety and be careful with your fuel system as petrol is strange sometimes hard to ignite and sometimes too easy
I was removing a sender out of a polo once in a scrap yard (with a 8" nail and a brake disc as a hammer) and the nail slipped and the sparks that came off nearly made my hair fall out good job it didn't burst into flames
 
Marcus if you want I can take the clocks out of that 6th gen and take the fuel gauge out and send you it if you need
You sure it's your gauge mot the sender and they are useless
I love all these crossover parts on these cars means I reckon I can keep her sweet for a least 20 years
 
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