Fuel guage problem

I have the Van's fuel gauges and when I power up the panel one gauge reads where you would expect the tank to be at and the other one pegs out as showing full. Any ideas..we have jiggled the wing thinking a stuck float already.

What makes the fuel gauge work or move is a ground signal. As you said it's possible the float is stuck. The higher the float is the less resistance the sender will provide to make the gauge read fuller. Disconnect the sender wire at the sender. The gauge should read empty, if not, the wire is grounded in between the sender and the gauge. If the gauge reads empty with the wire disconnected the sender is the problem.

It might also be a good check to make sure that the float sender isn't mounted upside down, and that it is the correct one. Left and right senders are different!

Thanks for the post, it remided me to check my level senders with a multimeter before closing up the tanks. There is always a chance of having one DOA out of the box.

check that your floats can't rotate

I had same fuel level indication with my right tank fuel sender when I put my wings on for "final" time and after pulling the sender I found that I had not put the 90 degree bend in the last half inch or so of the pin that goes into the center of the rheostat to prevent the float assembly from being able to spin in the holder. Moving the tank and wings around prior to installation had let the sender rotate into a position that locked the sender in a "full" position.
I pulled the other sender since turns out I did them both the same. I made new pins to hold the float out of some extra ss hinge pin wire I had and they work fine.

Take a look at the diagram that came with the sender and you'll see the bend at the end that I'm talking about. I missed it the first time I installed the senders and a search of the archives shows I'm not alone....that's how I figured out where to look.

Your problem could be something else, but I'd check this if you're not positive you did it right the first time. Lots of suggestions on other possible solutions if you do a search on "fuel sender".

Some threads covering the problem I had are:

post #12 and on of this thread: http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=47139&highlight=fuel+sender&page=2

or:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=21746&highlight=fuel+sender

or:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=22950&highlight=fuel+sender

or:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=8531&highlight=fuel+sender

fuel guage

Try swapping fuel guages.
Might be a bad fuel gauge.
Double check wiring at fuel guage.

self grounded

I think the unit is self grounded. If you attached a ground wire it will cause the problem you describe. It only requires a power wire. I think I have heard that putting too much tank sealant around the mounting screw heads will also affect the grounding.

a variation on this old problem

hi gang,
went flying yesterday with nearly full tanks. Fuel gauges read about right.
did a few 30 degree banking turns, rolling left to right ( aerobatics for me!).
the next time I looked, the left gauge was pegged at 120%!

sounds like this is often a wiring issue, but can the float stick beyond vertical?

been fine for 10 years, seems odd now.

( note; did NOT install optional in-flight refueling probe, so I did not gain 5 gallons while in flight!) ;-)

removing sender from tank??????

So my gauge is still a 'bit' off, so a few questions come to mind.

can I drain the tank, and look in with a mirror, and see what the float is doing?

could I stick my LED lit borescope in there, without igniting the fumes?

If I need to, seems Van's thinks I can pull the sender out, without removing the tank from the wing! In that 2" space???????
Is this really possible by a full-sized human? ( not ant-Man?)

comments from the collective needed!!!

Fuel gauges read empty then ok sometimes

In my RV6 I have vans fuel gauges. Have 200 hrs on plane. Went flying yesterday and gauges read empty. Landed and then left tank read normal. Turned of master switch and back on. Both read normal. This has happened to me the last two times I went flying. I built the RV in 2005 and this just started happening. What I don't get is why both and then just on tank reads empty.?? Any ideas email me. [email protected] After much trouble shooting, concluded by left tank gauge is the problem.

erratic fuel gauge

I had one gauge that was erratic, sometimes showing much more or less than what was in the tank. I changed out the gauge and the new one has been nice and steady and accurate since. So at least in my case the senders were fine. If you can swap the gauges first you can see if it follows the gauge.

Fuel Gauge wanted Vans IE VFL-15 Analog Type

I have isolated my fuel gauge problem to the gauge and Vans no longer supplies it. Please cal 831-801-3468 or email me at [email protected] if you have one to sell or know of someone who does.

May have a couple of Van's gauges soon. I have a -6 in the shop that hasn't flown in a long time, and gauges are unreliable, but I haven't diagnosed the problem yet. Probably going to go with engine analyzer, and then the gauges will be available, if they check good, and the problem is elsewhere...