Fuel Gauge not working

[Tatty Chap]

Hi
2.0l 1983 petrol
The fuel gauge began to intermittently work, now it seems it has given up the ghost entirely.
Tried sticking half a tank in to get it shifting...nowt
Looked up some general VW tips on it, but the pictures etc only seem to apply to bays or bugs. I lifted up the dash unit and the connections there seem ok (and all other instrumentation and lights etc seem to work fine)

Is there something else i can try (do i need to open up the unit inside the dash, fuses ? etc) or is the only answer getting the damn tank out and looking at the sender ?

Help !!!

[kevtherev]

yes that is quite a possibility if all the connections are good and the earths (by the tank ) are good to

the intermittent nature would suggest a loose connection ...

[Tatty Chap]

Cheers Kev

I checked all the dash and fuse elements and they seem fine.
Im really reluctant to drain and drop the tank, is it possible to check connectors by getting underneath ?

[kevtherev]

Not sure
I think it best to wait till somebody can answer that better than me

[Plasticman]

Think you'll have to drop the tank out, my senders knacked only reads 1/2 full but I'll live with it for now, good excuse to check the brake pipes etc whist its out
mike

[volksingmatilda]

We lost our fuel gauge at the same time that our temp gauge stopped working. So look out for that fault. Check the diode on the dash thats what we are replacing.

[Mocki]

it may well be the sender in the tank.... its basically a wirewound resistor, with the "sweeper" moving with the float arm, so if the tank has been kept mostly empty for ages the upper part could be rusted , and will show no reading even when the "sweeper" arm travels over it.

iirc, you can just get to the connections on the sender without dropping the tank, but dont be taking them off, as putting them back maybe impossible without dropping the tank.

[Redmaine]

Not sure if its the same problem i had, but i would loose the right side (fuel gauge, oil and rev counter). was a loose connection, but also had the electrical connections on the strip repainted. the connector was also a little tempermental.