fuel gauge is stuck... help!

Hi guys,
As you may or may not know i picked up my Disco 4.0 V8 ES on Sunday.
Since then i have discovered a few issues with the car.

The main one at the moment is the Petrol gauge is stuck, Can someone tell me is this common, how i can fix it. or even how to take the instrument cluster out.

The car does have a LPG conversion which means the fuel gauge only uses the top half ie when 1/2 way its empty when 3/4 its 1/2 and full is full.

But its just stuck at 1/2 way (empty) which doesn't help as i didn't realise and broke down on the M6 today.

Thanks

Grant

Spooky!! I was just about to post exactly the same question!

When I bought my M. Reg Tdi300 Disco ES last month, the fuel gauge read empty. I put £4 worth of diesel (say 4 litres) into it and when I switched on the ignition the fuel gauge went to HALF Full! So I drove to the filling staion and put another £30 worth of diesel (say 30 litres) and it went to nearly FULL. When I switch off, the fuel gauge stays exactly where it is, but over the weeks, as I use fuel, the gauge slowly goes down. It is now reading half full. (I've only done 150 miles in the disco since I bought it). Yesterday I took the instrument panel off, took the fuel gauge out and inspected it. It looked in very good nick (i.e. very clean) and though there was a little resistance, I could easily move the needle. I manually set the needle to empty, put it all back, switched on and lo and behold the needle slowly went up to half full. (still awake?, cos even I am bored now) When I switched off the needle stayed at half full.

Now the point of my post.
Is this how it is supposed to behave?
Do you think I can have confidence in my fuel gauge or am I likely to run out of fuel with the gauge still telling me I have fuel in the tank?

If anybody is still awake out there, please give us your thoughts.

not quite sure I only have had dealings with v8s I have 3 spair fuel senders for v8 that all work fine for I tested them, But I am not certain
if they are the same as tdi to tell you how to test them

mine is the 4.0 V8 so i may take one of those senders off you.
Are they easy to fit ? or do i need a dealer to fit? I have found a load of dealers wont touch the car coz its got a LPG conversion.


LundRover >> how easy was it to take the instrument cluster out?

the fuel gauge STAYS at the same point when you switch the engine off ! i thought my guage was screwy but this is how they are. if you have the origional manual it tells you about the fuel gauge. so if you fill the tank to half full drive home and turn off the ignition the needle will remain at half full, as you use fuel it will go down. this is true for the diesel model but i couldnt say about the petrol.

Dear Grantsmith.
Taking the instrument cluster out was REALLY EASY. I used - Haynes Manual (didn't need it really) and 2 phillips screwdrivers - one small and one big - that's all.

Disconnect NEGATIVE lead from BATTERY FIRST !!!!!!!

Use steering column adjuster to lower the steering wheel as low it will go.

Unscrew 2 phillips screws at bottom of cluster cowl. Use big screwdriver.(after about 3 turns the screws become dead hard to turn but carry on they wont do any damage)

Lift off the plastic cowl being carefull not to pull any wires too much. I didn't even disconnect any wires, but you might want to. You could even pull the connectors off if you wish (usual caution, make sure you press any clips before you pull!)

Then you will see 2 screws on each side of the actual instrument panel (so 4 screws in total). Unscrew them with little screwdriver. The instrument cluster will now be loose. Pull out 3 multi connectors (left hand, top and right hand) and one single connector (Back middle)nand the instrument cluster will now come out freely.

Don't lose the screws!

reassemble is exact opposite of removal. Make sure you don't trap any wires.

Good Luck!

btw when i switch the engine off the needles does drop to the bottom.. would this indecate signal fault or could it still be the instrument cluster?

LundRover - thanks for the tips

vivnap said:

the fuel gauge STAYS at the same point when you switch the engine off ! i thought my guage was screwy but this is how they are. if you have the origional manual it tells you about the fuel gauge. so if you fill the tank to half full drive home and turn off the ignition the needle will remain at half full, as you use fuel it will go down. this is true for the diesel model but i couldnt say about the petrol.

Click to expand...

That is how the v8s work aswell the needle does down slowley as you use the petrol when you turn engine off it stays where it was eg 3/4. so when you get back in before you put keys in it should be showing how much fuel you have

it might seem sillt but have you got a pic of your instrument cluster or can you pm a pic of it and I will find out I have a lot of them and some dont work and some do and I will test mine to see what the prob is for you

if u give me your email or PM me your mobile number ill take a pic and sent you it tonight