i have a 91 accord and fuel gauge needle stays on E or barley moves after i put gas or fill up the tank... the low fuel light does come on when i am low on fuel... every so often after i fill up the needle will go to the top of F and then after a few min it will go back to e

 

it most likely is your fuel sending unit though it could be the cluster or wiring(highly doubtful)

 

Ensure you have a good ground on both ends of the wiring...both at the sending unit. The check continuity from the gauge to the sending unit. If all that checks out, then remove the sending unit. Move it up....the resistance should go down...and the gauge should go towards full. If it doesnt, check resistance at teh back of the gauge. You should be showing close to 3ohms(Very low resistance) when the swnding unit is up(Full tank)

If youre not showing low resistance at the back of the gauge...tehn i would suspect the sending unit. Again...with the resistance for empty being only about 100ish ohms. Grounds...and wire connections are very important. Corrosion will screw up your readings. before you start throwing parts at it...make sure your wiring is good, clean and tight.

 

that sounds like a lot to do and i could never understand how to troubleshoot electrical problems like that... im kinda leaning towards the gauges only because my oil light would blink every so often and if i would bang on the dash above the gauge it would stop... but i was just looking for suggestions... thanks for that detailed response

 

We all started somewhere. Tim73 is right and seems to have advanced knowledge, wouldnt be surprised if he did it for a living....or did at one point.

Point is- as cars get more and more complicated- becoming proficient in electric troubleshooting will be a necessary skill.

A mechanical issue takes minutes to diagnose but may take hours to fix. On the other hand, electrical issues take hours to diagnose but minutes to fix.

So if you can learn to work the equipment and follow the instructions provided in a manual to check continuity, resistance, and load (usually in that order), you will save a considerable amount of time and money.

For a seasoned auto tech, a sound background in electrical troubleshooting is a huge money maker because no one else knows how and they finish way under the alloted time.

 

i have a similar problem...my needle does not move below quarter tank and the gas light flickers when it wants....it reads and shows levels above quarter...but once it reaches quarter tank it stops....thanks for the info will definitely check the wiring...i was about to buy a sending unit