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akaPedro's avatar
akaPedro
Explorer II
Sep 13, 2021

Erratic fuel gauge

Not working well. Noticed after a right-to-the-top fill up last week.
Gauge reads full while traveling 200-300 miles. At rest it drops to 3/4 full. This is a 2003 National Dolphin LX6355, W22, 8.1L engine. Not an Actia dash, don't know the mfr.

Is there a way to diagnose with a code reader and possibly fix without going into the fuel tank and replacing the sender/float ?

Thanks for listening

6 Replies

  • motorhommie's avatar
    motorhommie
    Visitor II
    May 20, 2026

    It is May of 2026 presently. My 2003 Dolphin W22 has the fuel gage also stuck at full. There is a nifty feature on the Dolphin that you will need to look in your owner manual for procedure! I did the onboard diagnostic and it would go through ALL the instruments one by one. IE tac 0-max, speedo 0-max, blinkers L&R, FUEL GAUGE would drop to low and back to full...so the gage must work. This is making me think the issue may be with a float of inside the fuel tank. ???

     

    • way2roll's avatar
      way2roll
      Trailblazer
      May 20, 2026

      You may want to post your question in a new topic rather than respond to one that's been inactive for 5 years. 

  • jodeb720's avatar
    jodeb720
    Explorer
    Sep 13, 2021
    my 2003 chevy silverado truck had a similar problem. Gauges one at a time started to fail.

    Found a guy on fleabay and for 75.00 he fixed it up and shipped it back to me.
    NO fuss, no muss.
  • monkey44's avatar
    monkey44
    Nomad II
    Sep 13, 2021
    If it's an 8.1, probably a GM ... if so, dash panel might need replacement - cost about $400 ... had that happen to my 2003 in 2008, and that was the issue. GM knew it, but claimed out of warrantee - and lots of GM dash indicators failed in several years production around that time. Some failure of switching relays. Had new dash panel installed, that fixed it. Although several of my gauges failed, not just fuel gauge, but they failed one by one, not all at once. A little puzzling at the time.
  • akaPedro's avatar
    akaPedro
    Explorer II
    Sep 13, 2021
    Thanks....had not thought of that. I am an automotive/handyman DUNCE. Guess a rubber mallet and not a regular hammer ?

    TIA
  • jdc1's avatar
    jdc1
    Explorer II
    Sep 13, 2021
    Now it's stuck at the top. If you could get a hammer in there and bang around, it might loosen it up enough to drop. I'm not going to tell you why they say not to top the gas off. I think you know what could happen now. We all do it, until that happens.

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