Gas guage went to zero

[Leonardas]

On the way home today my gas guage suddenly went from half
full to totally empty and the low fule light came on. Then after a
couple of miles it shot up to full and after a few seconds back to empty.
Does this sound like a gas guage sender problem?

Thanks,
Leonard

[J!m]

I had the same problem. The fuel sender and fuel pump are aparently one assembly. I had one replaced under warranty soon after I got the car, and the second (there are two pumps) a few years later (also under warranty.

It seems this is a common problem with the ti's as well as the Z3's. If the fuel pump has not been replaced under warranty, this is most likely the solution.

By the way, when the first one went bad, it showed 1/4 tank of fuel as I ran out and was siting on the side of the road.... The second time, it went totally empty (and the light came on) right after I finished filling it and drove onto the highway.

So, it could fail both ways it seems...

[Leonardas]

Since seeing the gas guage go to zero I have since realized the temperature guage and cruise control were also no longer working. The service manager at my local dealer suggest I check the instrument cluster fuses. I discovered fuse #46 was blown and when I replaced it everything started working again. So far it hasn't blown again so I will keep an eye on it.

Leonard

[yeehawbob]

The most common problem with getting a fuse blown is doe to a very simple problem.

Often us non-smokers use the ashtray as a coin holder, or for other little items that could fit in. The ashtray as it is designed to do can come out of the holder so that you can clean it but what we do not realize is that the smal metal items like coins someties go under the ashtray. There you also have the exposed wires of the cigrette lighter and if the metal product shorts the two connectors it does blow your fuses OUT.
Typically the fuses effected are the gauges ones.

Just and fyi....

[yeehawbob]

Well it happened to me this morning too, but then I checked under the hood and it was my #48 fuse that had blown. I replaced it and all is well so far.
Another thing that a mechanic told me was that a faulty cell phone charger adapter can also trigger a series of blown fuse, so try to take the charger unit out of the cigrette lighter and check it.

[slacker]

Don't rule out dirty contacts on the sending unit portion of the tank unit. Mine acted up for a few months an then fixed itsself. But I was going to pull the tank unit and before I did...It's no longer a problem.
Incidentally, by the time I was down to 3/4 tank it read fine.

[CASTRO]

i had a something like that happen to me everything on the cluster would go crazy and if i shut the car off it wouldn't start until i replace the blown fuse (not sure witch # fuse). i have an auto so when i press the brake to shift into drive fuse would blow cluster going crazy. it took me sometime to figure out all it was one of my inside tail light covers would loosen up (base from speakers) and somehow make bad contact.

[tipsyaj]

I had a similar problem this week ... thought it was a blown fuse at #46, but it wasn't ... Whenever I'd be driving and brake suddenly, the therm and gas gauges would shoot to zero, and move around every sharp turn or bump ....

I took out the trunk panel that covers the speaker and brake wires (the plastic between the brake lights)... noticed the tape that surrounds the wires had loosened and the wire had an open spot that was exposed and could touch the body of the car whenever there were sudden stops or turns. Got some electrical tape and taped all the wires up ... then just to be sure it wasn't a part of the brake light touching the inside panel of the car, I put some tape around the lights and any metal I thought could possibly touch the body. Replaced the blown fuse, and for the past 4 days I haven't had a problem. I'd suggest everyone open that panel up and tape up all those wires, there's no doubt that over time the tape will loosen up and these wires will start moving around more than they should ... I don't know a lot of electrical, but I think taping everything up back there will prevent any future problems.

[mason247]

Im having trouble finding out which fuse is wht in my ti? is there somewhere or a picture that i can find these fuse to fix the same problem u guys are having.
Thanks ,
Marcuz

Originally Posted by Leonardas

On the way home today my gas guage suddenly went from half
full to totally empty and the low fule light came on. Then after a
couple of miles it shot up to full and after a few seconds back to empty.
Does this sound like a gas guage sender problem?

Thanks,
Leonard

[pdxmotorhead]

My 4 year old decided the cig lighter was perfect for holding change.

Caused issues rofl.....

Dave

[KetteringTi]

Mine goes empty right after I fill it up. After driving for 50 or so miles, if I shut the car off, it reads correctly after restarting. If I don't shut the car off, however (i.e. long road trip) it stays on empty.

Tripodometer FTW.

[scabzzzz]

I hate this problem. I actually broke the sender unit chip on my pump. I pulled one from a 328 and soldered the wires on and the whole unit itself. Weird problems. BMW's love to start going haywire when it comes to fuel.

[aceyx]

Originally Posted by mason247

Im having trouble finding out which fuse is wht in my ti? is there somewhere or a picture that i can find these fuse to fix the same problem u guys are having.
Thanks ,
Marcuz

Marcuz;
When you lift the lid for the fuse box (driver's side near the firewall) there is a diagram on the underside of the lid for what fuse is which, like they do with boxes of chocolate.