ChangoLoco

Just got the car running and knew the gas gauge didnt read from the moment i bought it.

Everything on the cluster lights up, but i am pretty sure my gas light doesnt turn on. hasnt turned on even when the tank was dry or when i put a gallon of gas in afterwards.

One issue i have is the fuel pump not always wanting to turn on. So i have a ground wire set up into the main relay to kick it on when it doesnt want too. So i figured something is wrong with the main relay.

I pulled the fuel level sensor out and everything seems fine. But upon moving the floater, the gauge still doesnt read.

Looking for a way to get my gauge working as soon as possible. Dont have many tools such as a test light or ohm meter. But can get them from a friend of mine.

Any insight will be very much appreciated.

Sparksman

Well for one you should state which car you have and the trim, this tends to help.

buy a new relay if you suspect its bad.

it will take several gallons in a complete empty tank to mover the floater, and most are on a delay. So the gauge doesnt bounce around widely with every hill and corner.

When dealing will electrical issues, there's not much you can do without meters.

ChangoLoco

My bad, its a 1993 Prelude S.

I figured i wouldnt be able to do much without meters, but i know i filled the car up with more than 3/4 of the tank. And my buddy i bought the car from stated before i bought it that the fuel gauge didnt work.

Edit: Would a 92-95 Civic fuel level sensor be compatible to just drop in?

Z99doc

i have a 93 lude myself and i have a similar problem. The electronic fuel gauge will light up when it wants to(normally when its really really cold outside).

crazes

Have you checked to see if your gas light doesn't have a possible broken cable in the back which causing it not to work? Also check and make sure your grounds with your fuel pump are clean making proper contact. Last check your main relay. It is a common occurrence for these to go bad.

ChangoLoco

My main relay finally decided to go out.
I knew that was one of my problems when i had to ground out the relay itself just to get my fuel pump running to start the car. Just havent been able to purchase a new relay yet due to work being slow at the moment.

Gonna be checking the grounds and wires tomorrow with a meter. Might just end up resoldering the relay and hopefully that fixes the issue.

As far as the grounds go. I have tried searching for the locations of them an the only ground i have been able to locate on that side of the harness is the one near the driver side seatbelt.

Have yet to pull the dash but will definitely do so tomorrow.

ChangoLoco

Bought a new main relay and plugged it in.
Fuel pump still not turning on and i hear no click from the relay anymore.

My check engine light stays on, so thinking my ecu might be faulty.
Which wouldnt surprise me since that the last i messed with the relay,
I tried hooking up a ground wire, thats bolted up behind the clutch pedal, inside the relay to keep the fuel pump running
(since thats how it was functioning before)
and saw sparks once contact was made with the relay. So ECU might possibly be burnt.

Checked all the fuses and they all seem to be intact.

Havent gotten around to checking the wires with a meter or pulling the codes yet.
Suppose to be borrowing the tools to check those from a friend but he has been laggin as of late.

AudioFunk

i had a similar problem, fuel pump not turning on sometimes, cel staying on . the ground under the thermostat housing was loose i just tightened it up and good as new

ChangoLoco

Checked that this morning and its good and tight.
Wont have a definitive answer until i get the wires checked out.

Also when the old relay was in the car. We were able to get it to prime without that ground wire being plugged into the relay by moving the wires on the fuel pump plug. Didnt always work and hasnt worked so far. So i am pretty sure i have bad wires somewhere.

ChangoLoco

So i rechecked the fuses. And upon further examination. Found 3 fuses blown.
1 of which was the ECU fuse. The car starts up like a dream with the new main relay.
But still no operating fuel gauge. Might possibly replace the floater but gonna wait a bit and mess around with the wiring first. If all else fails. I will probably just put in an autometer gauge that i have lying around.

snobordboy

Honestly if you have the time, find a good 4th gen at a junkyard and pull the harness in the cabin, and swap it out. might take time, but it sounds like you have a decent wiring issue that it would solve.