Facts:

Car (2006 GT ragtop, stock except for FRPP Stingers) was parked on flat ground, in a semi enclosed parking garage, with 1/2 tank of fuel, 50 degree weather, for 10 hours.

I started the car, started driving, and I get a "Low Fuel Level; 10 miles" warning. I look, and the gauge is sitting on Empty. WTF?!?! I know I left it with fuel....so I assume (being the trusting soul that I am) that I got siphoned. I know there was no leak, I wouldn't have missed 8 gallons of gas sitting on the ground.

As I immediately pull into the gas station after driving about a mile, I hit a bump; then the gauge starts to move to the half tank mark.

FYI I have had the "fuel delivery" TSB performed last year, relating to hesitation after long cruises. I think that results in a new fuel pump and sender(?).

So, my question is, has anyone else experienced this, and/or, how could this happen. I don't know if fuel level is detected by float or by capacitance (or other) on these cars, but on flat ground, nothing is going to move dramatically that might get stuck except for the fuel gauge itself...but why would that cause a low fuel warning when there is 7 or 8 gallons of fuel in the tank?

It has only happened once, and I have a few more months of warranty, but I am a bit confused as to, from a technical perspective, how this could happen......

 

i suppose the parts switched out from the TSB could have failed. i've had this happen to me once before, and when i did some research, i found one of the most common reasons why this happens is because an air bubble or something messes with the gauge and usually a 'jolt' to the car fixes it

 

i don't trust the stock gauge i reset the trip meter and can tell how much i have left by how many miles i have driven

 

i suspect it is the fuel sender on the fuel
pump (drivers side), since that sender
is for empty to 1/2 and the other side is
for 1/2 to full.....

 

Try a bottle of Techron, could be sulfur on the sensors.

 

^ excellent call Lifter583! i had
forgotten about the techron fix

 

My gauge started acting wacked at about 5000 miles, saw someone discussing Techron and gave it a shot. Now I run it at least every 1500 miles. Never had a problem since.

 

I haven't had the exact same thing happen but the last time that I filled up at first it only showed 3/4 of a tank even though I knew that it was full by the amount of gas that I put in. After I drove it for a few minutes the gauge climbed to full. Maybe I'll try some Techron too.

 

I've had this problem start after installing dual GT500 fuel pumps. I assumed it was the voltage tables my tuner used, but I'm gonna try the Techron thing first. Thanks for the suggestion.

Question: where is the sender located? Is it in the fuel pump cage?