[delei1212]

put about $20 bucks in the tank and the gas Gage staed under empty, any suggestions

 

[caddyfat2]

put about $20 bucks in the tank and the gas Gage staed under empty, any suggestions

yeah, dump another twenty in:histeric:

 

[ddalder]

Many GM gas gauges are notorious for this, especially if the owner(s) have used lesser grade fuels. The windings on the sensor will often corrode and as a result, there will be no contact with the wiper. Not sure about the STS but often this requires replacing the entire fuel pump as they are part of a single assembly. There are some additives (available from GM) that will sometimes correct this but they are usually a limited time cure.

There are of course other possibilities for this problem as well.

 

[ECha3]

The system is designed to provide a stable reading. When it's near empty, fill it up and see if it works properly.

If so, just don't get freaked-out when a small purchase doesn't register right away. It will in a while.

 

[ddalder]

The system is designed to provide a stable reading. When it's near empty, fill it up and see if it works properly.

If so, just don't get freaked-out when a small purchase doesn't register right away. It will in a while.

This should not be the case if you turn off the vehicle during the fill. This doesn't apply once the ignition is cycled. The PCM will perform a new assessment on every ignition cycle.

 

[delei1212]

i have let the car sit for a hour restarted fine, but the gas level was still under empty

 

[ECha3]

Doesn't sound fun. Does it ever work?

 

[delei1212]

this just happened today

 

[ddalder]

Is it safe to assume the gas gauge sweeps the same as the others on the cluster when you first start your car?

 

[delei1212]

yes it does sweep

 

[z06bigbird]

If none of the above work, simply turn car upside down and shake vigorously. Problem solved.

 

[ddalder]

The problem then will be either with the sender (most likely) or one of the following:

Wiring/connector from the fuel tank to the PCM.
The PCM itself (least likely).

The fuel level is sent as a serial data message from the PCM to the cluster. If there was a data bus problem to your cluster, you would notice virtually every other gauge/function would not work either.

$20.00 is a fair amount of fuel. Here, that will buy me about 1/3 tank (of premium) so there should be no problem generating gauge deflection under normal circumstances.

 

[Greg00coupe]

AW as stated a GM problem. Corvettes are notorious for this. On the Corvette forum folks get pretty good results pouring a product called Textron into the gasoline. I'd look over at corvetteforum.com under the C5 technical area for more details.

On my C5 I only had the problem a couple of times and switching to a high tier gasoline cured it. High tier is hard to come by in my area so whenever I get out to an area with better gas I always stop to get some.

 

[dkozloski]

The additive is called Techron and the gasoline is "Top Tier".

 

[Guest]

Trechron will sometimes work to free up a sticking sending unit. You can buy it at any auto parts store. Worked on my wifes oldsmobile. Worth a try.