I don't know exactly where the wire runs, however I have more than once seen situations where a pinched wire works fine for a while until the insulation deforms and flows enough allow the conductor to short out--might be worth checking to see if there's anything pinched at the steering column...

 

will certainly do. thanks so much cliffy. greatly appreciate all of your help.

 

Cliffy,

Didn't seem like anything was pinched or touching under the dash near the steering column... Any other thoughts? Any ideas on where I could find a wiring diagram? Should I check all my fuses? Just don't know where to look next....
Thanks

 

Did you even bother to check the sender itself for proper operation?

 

I have not cuz I haven't jacked the car up to drop the tank. I figured I'd try finding a wire first before dropping the tank...

 

whitefox - how would i test that sender once the tank is dropped?

 

You'll see the float once you pull it out. for the life of me I cannot find the resistance specs. I'll check into it later on today and get you the wire colors and specs

 

Thanks whitefox. appreciate it. hope to find the time to jack up the car and drop the tank this week/weekend

 

whitefox - i still have to do this project. did you ever come across the specs?

Thanks a ton.

 

Here are the instrument cluster diagnostic procedures.

Pinpoint test B, starting on page 413-01-14, is the procedure for tracking down fuel level gauge problems. Section B2 is a test of the sending unit accomplished by substituting resistance values of 160Ω (full tank) and 15Ω (empty) for the unit. You don't need the fancy test box, just go to Radio Shack--they have 'em in 5-packs for $1.19.

They will not have the 160Ω value, so either get 150Ω which will be close enough; or get the 150s and a pack of 10s and use one of each in series. For projects like this my fat old finger prefer the 1/2W components as their larger size makes them easier to handle--but the 1/4W devices will handle the very low electrical load if that's all you can get.