I have a 2001 Accord and the low fuel light stopped working. I worked intermittently for a while then quit altogether but the guage works fine. My dealer says it may be a sending unit and they want about $100 to check it out. Me being cheap and also liking to do-it-myself, I would like to know what the probable causes may be and to know what direction I may take to troubleshoot. I found a post on this forum on how to get the sending unit from the under the back seat and I am attempted to tear in to it and investigate. I was hoping someone out there may have ahad a similar problem or some insight that might help.

regards, Kenny

 

does it not come on, or not go off?

 

Trying to understand the problem.... The low-fuel light will not turn on when the fuel gage will show gas nearly empty?? is this the problem?

why was it working intermittenly?

 

It does not come on at all, no matter how empty the tank is.

We had an occurance in our area (Louisville, KY) where Marathon Oil Company distrubuted bad gas that caused failed guages in many cars in May 2004 (we frequent a nearby station). That was around the time we started having problems with the fuel light but our dealer says that in nearly all instances of the bad-gas failed guages the sender failed causing the guage to read full or partially full when the tank was actually empty. Our dealer feels the cause of our problem was likely not bad gas but cannot be certian until they examine the sender unit. Marathon Oil has owned up to the problem and is paying for repairs however (http://www.mapllc.com/), if the problem is unrelated to bad gas the bill will be on us. I would prefer to fix it myself or live without the low-gas indicator instead of a $200-$300 repair bill.

Additionally I am going to order a HELM manual to help determine how the system works. I imagine that there is nothing between the sending unit and the dash panel light other than a wire except for maybe circuitry in the dash. Odds are the wire is okay and because the light worked intermittent, I do not believe it is a bulb. I also wonder if the dash panel is a bulb or an LED. In that case, LEDs hardly ever fail. I also wonder if I can put a VOM on the sending unit leads to measure operation without removing it. I hope that maybe the manual will tell me what to measure.

So, with all that said, I am just trying to save a buck and get the satifaction of fixing it myself.

Thanks for any input.

Kenny

 

yes - you're right

the principle how the sender works is on resistance

...the floater moves up and down by the fuel level in tank thus setting the resistance higher - yes there is a way to check it with Volt meter - the specifications are in Haynes manual too.

...well heres a simple explanation you can refer too - (unless it's electronic sender , which i doubt) http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-gauge.htm now not every sending unit works this way but this should put some ideas in your head

no doubt - paying 300 bucks is out the question so we'll try to help you

give me your actuall model number and year and engine

let me check if theres a recall on those models

 

I am not sure how to determine the actual model number, but it is a 2001 Accord Sedan, 5 speed, with the 4L VTEC. Is the model # encoded in the VIN? I looked in th driver door jamb and under the hood but did not see anything.

 

are you sure the bulb isnt burnt out? not to be a smart ***...but that just came to mind...

 

I am not sure about the bulb but ,of course, it is a possibility. At this point I haven't done checked anything on the car itself. I do not suspect the bulb so much because the light worked intermittetly for a while. What I mean by that, when would get low on gas, the light would come on, the 10 minutes later it would be off, then on then off. Historically, once the gas got so low, the light would come on and stay on until I filled up. Now it does not work at all. If the bulb was to blame, it would be out, period, from the beginning. I think, when I get the chance, I will remove the back seat to access the sending unit, disconnect it, and try to send a current to the light to see if I can get it to come on. This will rule out the bulb and other circuitry / wiring going foward to the dash.

Don't worry about being a smart ***, I am thankful for the discussion.

Kenny

 

i would check the bulb because that is your cheapest fix...if thats it, WONDERFUL...

i would then check the basic electrical connections to that light, and to the sensor..if it worked off and on for a while, maybe the connection for the bulb or sensor was getting loose, and finally just came unhooked

 

Thanks for the help. I will dig into it soon and let you know what I find.

Kenny