Disco 2 Fuel gauge not working properly

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mad85

mad85

Active Member
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524
Location
Malta
So, another issue i have with my disco td5 is that the fuel gauge does not work properly. I already ruled out a faulty cluster since I replace a couple and had the same problem.

The actual problem is that it never goes past 3/4 of the the tank and then it shows empty when there actually still is plenty of fuel. I compared this with a buddies disco 2 during a road trip and end up using his gauge as an indicator of when I actually needed more fuel, rather than relying on mine... Anyone knows what could be the cause?
 
Might be a defender fuel pump fitted by mistake cos it fits and there are suppliers who mix them and that has a shorter sender with different reading curve which will behave like you described or the original sender is making tricks
 
Last edited:
I would have thought that you would have been able to do a whole lap of the island with 10 - 15 litres of fuel, keeping from those traffic jams that is :D

Anyway all that’s left is the fuel level sensor which is part of the fuel pump with a td5 I believe, yours may be faulty or there’s a high resistance (HR) caused by iffy pump top electrical connections.
Do u still have the red dash lamp illumination indicating that approx 9 litres is left in the tank?
 
discool said:
I would have thought that you would have been able to do a whole lap of the island with 10 - 15 litres of fuel, keeping from those traffic jams that is :D

Anyway all that’s left is the fuel level sensor which is part of the fuel pump with a td5 I believe, yours may be faulty or there’s a high resistance (HR) caused by iffy pump top electrical connections.
Do u still have the red dash lamp illumination indicating that approx 9 litres is left in the tank?
Click to expand...

haha, you are right and it is not a problem when I am at home since you are never more than a couple of km away from a fuel station. When I was mentioning about road trips I was talking about visits to Sicily or the South of Italy. There are some remote areas where you need to plan a little for fuel.

sierrafery said:
Might be a defender fuel pump fitted by mistake cos it fits and there are suppliers who mix them and that has a shorter sender with different reading curve which will behave like you described or the original sender is making tricks
Click to expand...

So which ever of the above, I would need a new fuel pump, right?
 
so which ever of the above, I would need a new fuel pump, right?
Click to expand...
if it's defender pump yes cos that's shorter and doesnt reach the bottom of the D2 tank but if it's a D2 pump with a dodgy sender you can replace only the sender... though you need a D2 pump to compare so IMO simplest would be to replace the whole pump and if the other is for D2 keep it as spare
 
i guess it is not a bad thing to keep a spare.... i see there are different part numbers, how can I make sure i get the right one, especially since I might have a defender pump
 
Order the correct p/n and choose a good brand not cheap chinese then if you compare the pumps and your's is defender you'll see a difference. If it's that dismantle the defender assy and keep just the pump from it cos it's replaceable.
 
mad85 said:
So, another issue i have with my disco td5 is that the fuel gauge does not work properly. I already ruled out a faulty cluster since I replace a couple and had the same problem.

The actual problem is that it never goes past 3/4 of the the tank and then it shows empty when there actually still is plenty of fuel. I compared this with a buddies disco 2 during a road trip and end up using his gauge as an indicator of when I actually needed more fuel, rather than relying on mine... Anyone knows what could be the cause?
Click to expand...
I have similar issue with mine, not as bad as yours, but also shows a little less when it is full (I would say it shows 90%) and already shows empty when I still have about 20-30liters.
I few months ago I removed my tank (and also the fuel pump) and when I reinstalled I might damaged the sender (I had problem with the new sealing and was hard to put back the pump) and since then I have this "problem".
I will not change it, as at least I know when it starst showing empty I have to go and refill, but my pump will never run empty as I still have 20 liters in the tank:)
 
sierrafery said:
Order the correct p/n and choose a good brand not cheap chinese then if you compare the pumps and your's is defender you'll see a difference. If it's that dismantle the defender assy and keep just the pump from it cos it's replaceable.
Click to expand...

is there anyway I can use my vin to make sure I am ordering the correct part? without going to the main dealership that is :)
 
discool said:
Using the VIN is the correct way to identify any vehicle with regards to replacement parts.





Sent from my iPad Air on a train
Click to expand...
I totally agree but in this particular case the D2 fuel pump is not VIN dependant... p/n is WFX000280 if you want reliability buy VDO, if you go cheap for some chinese sh*t dont complain after that
 
Managed to change the pump. Turns out I had a discovery pump but it was an imitation, not a VDO one. Now the fuel gauge is closer to the top when full. Is it normal that it makes a rather big difference whether going downhill or uphill? noticed that going downhill it shows significantly more fuel... but maybe it is the pump i have, since it is a second hand unit i got from ebay to 'try'...
 
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