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I have a 2002 Bonnville. The fuel gage stopped working. Lately its been reading the wrong levels. The car runs ok. Not sure where to start looking for the problem.
Country: United StatesMake: PontiacModel: BonnvilleYear: 2002
Welcome to JustAnswer.com! My name is DriveFast71(Ron) and I will do my best to answer all of your questions completely and accurately.
This is actually an extremely common GM problem. Most commonly, this is going to be a faulty Fuel Level Sensor. According to GM, the problem is that the addatives in the fuel are pre-maturely wearing away the "teeth" where there meet the striker plate. This sensor is mounted to the side of the fuel pump assembly, located inside the fuel tank. There is an "access door" inside the trunk.
What part do I buy? The pump? Boy that an expensive pump $275..
No. You can replace the sensor separately. They've even made an updated one now that is less resistant to the additives in the fuel and will last longer. At the part store, you'll need a "Fuel Level Sensor" (it'll look just like the above picture). Remove the fuel pump assembly. Disconnect the electrical connector, and the sensor is just "clipped" to the side. Squeeze the 2 sides and pull down to remove the sensor and attached float arm.
While you are at the top of the pump assembley, via the access door- make sure there are no broken or rubbed through wires as well.
Do you have a better picture. The one you sent is not clear when I make it bigger.
The level sensor by itself:
The level sensor as it will appear clipped to the fuel pump assembly:
Experience: 18+yrs experience. State Inspector and Pontiac Diagnostics
The fuel level sensor consists of a float, a wire float arm, and a ceramic resistor card. The position of the float arm indicates the fuel level. The fuel level sensor contains a variable resistor which changes resistance in correspondence with the amount of fuel in the fuel tank. The PCM sends the fuel level information via the class 2 circuit to the Instrument Panel (IP) cluster. This information is used for the IP fuel gauge and the low fuel warning indicator, if applicable. The PCM also monitors the fuel level input for various diagnostics.