95 fuel gauge bounces around

[ricksza]

The fuel gauge on my 1995 Blazer will sweep up and down as I'm driving. Accelerate and the gauge will go up. Brake and the gauge goes down. Now I understand that this sweeping is normally controled with a buffer. Does anyone know where the buffer is located in my 95 Blazer? I checked the wiring diagram and it's not shown. Of course, it could be one of GM's secrets.

Thanks

[Blue Bowtie]

The '95 models have a direct connection to the instrument panel. Later models routed the fuel gauge signal through the VCM and logic within the I/P.

I'd verify good connections and a good ground at the tank. Of course, there is always the common problem of the sensor itself becoming intermittent. I've had a few of those:

[ricksza]

I'm familar with the problems at the sensor, it's just reading the sloshing in the tank. I think all fuel gauges have some kind of buffer to prevent this. My guess is that the buffer went bad and I figure that it's in the cluster, maybe in the gauge itself.

[Blue Bowtie]

The older style gauges relied upon the gauge itself for buffering. Has the condition changed or are you just now more aware of it? My '96 has done the same thing forever.

[ricksza]

It just started doing it about a month ago, before that it worked normal. Could I replace the gauge itself, or do I need to replace the whole cluster? Are you aware of the GM fix for C/K trucks that involved installing an inline buffer for the same concern? Wonder if it would work for the Blazer too?

[rhinton]

I'm having a similar situation with my 2001 Blazer.

I have recently replaced the fuel pump about 4 weeks ago, and now my fuel gauge is bouncing around the same way.
When braking it tends to drop to "E" and give me the Low Fuel light.
When accelerating it'll bounce back to Full.

At times when cruising on the highway it'll stay on Empty and the Low Fuel light will stay on, this is when tank is completely full.

Do the 2001's have a "cluster" as well? And where would one find this "cluster"?

[ricksza]

Originally Posted by rhinton

Do the 2001's have a "cluster" as well? And where would one find this "cluster"?

When I say "cluster" I mean "instrument cluster" as in gauges. The gauges in the Blazer are replaced as a one piece unit. In some vehicles, they may be serviced separately.

[rhinton]

Did you get around to replacing the instrument of gauges?
And if so, did it solve your problem?

I'm just thinking that it might solve mine as well.
Seems like it's part changing time again until the problem is solved.

[ricksza]

Originally Posted by rhinton

Did you get around to replacing the instrument of gauges?
And if so, did it solve your problem?

I'm just thinking that it might solve mine as well.
Seems like it's part changing time again until the problem is solved.

Haven't replaced any parts yet, so still have the same problem. With almost 200k on it, I'm not going to just throw parts at it without knowing if it will fix it.

[mikepieronek]

I think most GM cars use a similar fuel level sensor. My fuel gauge went crazy a few months ago on my 1999 Buick Regal. I picked up a new fuel level sensor off of ebay for $20. It wasn't a perfect fit, but good enough. My fuel gauge is back to normal and has been working fine for a couple of months.

Some people say this repair is easy. I disagree. It took 2 tries and several hours. I call my self repair "The Minimum Wage Garage" because that's about all I'd make if I did it for a living.

I put together a web page on my site detailing the repair. Maybe this will help you out.

http://www.redhouseon7th.com/redhous...sor/index.html

[ricksza]

Originally Posted by mikepieronek

I think most GM cars use a similar fuel level sensor. My fuel gauge went crazy a few months ago on my 1999 Buick Regal. I picked up a new fuel level sensor off of ebay for $20. It wasn't a perfect fit, but good enough. My fuel gauge is back to normal and has been working fine for a couple of months.

Some people say this repair is easy. I disagree. It took 2 tries and several hours. I call my self repair "The Minimum Wage Garage" because that's about all I'd make if I did it for a living.

I put together a web page on my site detailing the repair. Maybe this will help you out.

http://www.redhouseon7th.com/redhous...sor/index.html

The problem with your old sensor was the contacts are a very light gage metal that are eaten away by the new composition gasolines (at least that's what GM says). If you look very closely at it, you can see what I'm talking about.
Unfortunately, the sensor in my 95 Blazer is not replaceable except as the complete unit to the tune of about $400 which I already did a couple of years ago. If mine was $20, I would try it again, but mine is acting more like a buffer problem.

[534BC]

Mine did the same thing right after someone replaced the pump/gauge w/ another. I've lived w/ it for years (I thought it was just because of the cheap/generic gauge).

[mikepieronek]

Originally Posted by ricksza

The problem with your old sensor was the contacts are a very light gage metal that are eaten away by the new composition gasolines (at least that's what GM says). If you look very closely at it, you can see what I'm talking about.
Unfortunately, the sensor in my 95 Blazer is not replaceable except as the complete unit to the tune of about $400 which I already did a couple of years ago. If mine was $20, I would try it again, but mine is acting more like a buffer problem.

I didn't realize they were different.

My sensor did have worn contacts as you said. The bigger problem was lots of play in the pivot. The contacts on the swing arm wouldn't touch the contacts because of all the slop in the joint.

My new sender/sensor pivot was so tight I had to add weight to the swing arm. It would read full all the time because the float wouldn't fall and contact the gasoline.