Tag Archives: Fuel gauge

I haven’t done much writing about my C6 Corvette, mainly because it has really been a great car (still is) even with the technology glitches.

However, as you might have gathered from the title there is an issue that I thought I’d jot down along with some possible causes and some preventive measures.

I recently had the problem with my gas gauge flopping round and kicking off the low fuel warning.  Interesting enough it only happened immediately after filling up.  It is an immediate reaction when I turn the car on.  During this most recent incident the gauge remained flat-lined for what seemed a bit longer then it has in the past. I’m talking 20 miles or more with 3 stops full and shut down.  It was accompanied by the engine light, which remained on after the gauge went back to normal and the low fuel warning stopped.

The Vette ran perfectly  during the event so I’m not too worried , but still you don’t want to have to call the flatbed.

So I dropped a note on my corvette clubs site ACE (Arizona Corvette Enthusiasts) http://www.arizonacorvetteenthusiasts.net and to see what they thought.

Most swear by Chevron gas with its Techron cleaning agent and some were thinking it might be a sending unit and some said it is a common problem with C5 ( the previous generation of Corvettes).

Here are some comments:
—“Use some Seafoam (Autozone, Checker etc.) per directions on the bottle.  Techron works also.”  My NOTE:  Seafoam is tough stuff, you have to be sure to change your fuel filter shortly there after.

—“Same thing would happen to me with Roxxane II (c5).  It would show empty when I filled her up. I would use 2 bottles of Techron and then one bottle at every fill up for the next 4 tanks.   Problem went away for a while. Then I would use one bottle every 2 tanks and that kept the demon away.”

This one was exteremly helpful……”Well, stop putting gas in it, maybe the problem goes away.”

—“It’s a level sender issue for sure.  If Techron doesn’t solve it, you’ll either have to learn to live with it, or replace the faulty sensor.  Do you have any way to check the codes to see which sensor is unhappy?”  ( I don’t so if it acts up again, I’ll have to take it in.)

—“Two possibilities…. sulphur build up on the sending unit or the sending unit going out.  I understand they are a biotch to change.”

—“My C5 had the problem unless I ran Chevron gas in it.  About the second tank of non Chevron the gauge would go crazy.  I would switch back and the problem went away.”

—“This was a common occurrence on the ‘early’ C5’s. It usually happened when high sulphur content fuel was put in. Some of the fixes were switching gas to adding a bottle of Techron every once in a while.  The real ‘fix’ was a reflash at the dealer.   Apparently the sender was a bit too sensitive, so they slowed it down.

I had the issue occasionally on my 99, but when I put a 2002 Z06 operating system into the computer, it went away.

Since you have a C6, I would expect that the issue isn’t a reflash. My guess would be that maybe you got some high sulphur content fuel or your sender is acting up in some way,     maybe a poor or intermittent connection somewhere along the line.

—“You could try a treatment with Techron and see if that ‘cleans’ it up. ”

—“I was using the Techron trick in my C5. I switched to Gumout Regane Fuel System Cleaner. I t seems to help, although my gauge still jumps to E at times when below 1/3 of a tank. Good luck. It sucks to not really know how much fuel is in your tank. Although a Vette is light in comparison to other cars, I just can’t see myself pushing it into the gas station.”

So there you have a round of discussion on the topic.

Now the fuel leveling sensor is used because the C6 had two tanks and this keeps the tanks level.  Which is important especially if you are running auto cross.  Here is area a couple of graphics from http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com:

So you can see that it would a chore to replace.  So I’m going to try the Techron and hope  it works.  I’ve been cautioned that I need the  Fuel System Cleaner – not the injector cleaner.  Here’s a pic:

Get the Fuel System Cleaner.

I’ve used my first 12 oz can and I’m currently at half a tank.  I’ll fill it up again in a couple of days (Yes..when you normally drive it like you just stole it you tend to have to fill up – now and again..mostly..again!) and I’ll try to capture the event on my trusty Android.

Stay tuned (up).  {someone please say they get that}

Thanks for reading

Tim