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Help with Yamaha Fuel Gauge


Hegg

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Guys...I own a 2001 Redfisher 16' with a '01 Yamaha two-stroke 90.  Recently, I turned on my battery switch and the fuel gauge in the tach showed completely empty (last bar flashing).  The fuel tank was completely topped off and it has never has done this before.   Thoughts???  Anyone ever changed a fuel sending unit in boats?

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Mine does that periodically.  Go for a boat ride and after a few little wake bumps it may start working.  

I think sometimes the sender gets wacky.  I've checked the wiring - ground and white? - but it doesn't seem to be the issue.  

If it doesn't come back to life, the sender may be done.  The access is through the deck plate under the console.  Bring your spider monkey and go easy on the bolts - soak them in PBBlaster if you see any corrosion.

Hopefully it's just an occasional short-term fluke like mine.

Good luck,

Bud

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Many years ago I had a 2003 16 ft RedFisher and the fuel tank sending unit had a swind arm type sender with the float on the end of the arm and it would bind and hang fairly often . I replaced it with a Moeller non swing arm sender the float was a round float the circled a tube The was built into the sender , I could trust the new sender . Fuel flow meters are more accurate if you really want a fuel amount that you can trust . 

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Thanks guys......

Bud, I have run it once since this condition started and it didn't jiggle it free.  So this was my next step because I felt like someone probably has seen this before.

Bear, I may have to look into a new sending unit...glad to know you were happy with the Moeller you used.  I'm thinking that probably is where I may be headed.  Where do you find out with model fits our boats?

I've never attempted to change out a fuel sending unit before so it should be interesting.  I definitely will need to do some serious running to get the fuel level down in the tank before I try.

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!

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I had the same problem with the swing arm type sending units.  Replaced mine with a WEMA sending unit in the picture.  Use a wood stick and measure the inside depth of your tank, subtract an inch to keep it off the bottom, and order that length if you decide to go with this type.

 

Wema Sensor.JPG

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Thanks guys.....

Wet, thanks.  You and Bear both went with similar style replacements(non swing-arm).  He seemed to think it was more accurate than the swing arm.  Your thoughts?

Honey, not going to run her dry.... I just thought I would get it down a little to try and avoid any mess, dripping, etc.

 

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8 minutes ago, captpn said:

Mine was acting similar. turned out to be a bad ground connection. Sender was fine.

Try the typical wire testing scenarios before buying a sender that isn't bad. Electrical issues are always fun - beer required.

Yep that’s what I said too.. lift the wires and test first 

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4 minutes ago, HoneyB said:

Yep that’s what I said too.. lift the wires and test first 

Also, I recall that the Yamaha digital fuel gauge has a built in delay, something like 12 seconds. So you wont see the gauge move instantly. Making tracking down the short difficult.

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Thanks Capt and Honey...will check wires first for sure...and thanks for the tip on the possible delay.

I will say that the existing sending unit has never been very accurate so I'm considering upgrading it anyways.  That's why I asked for input from Bear and Wet on how accurate they felt like the newer ones are over the older swing-arm models.  It would seem to me that they would read closer and be less susceptible to the sloshing, etc.  I do make some pretty long day trips so I'm wanting to improve the accuracy if possible, without the effort or expense of adding a fuel flow meter to this older motor set up.

BTW, I talked with the Hewes factory to see if the had any info or schematics on the fuel tank in that '01 hull.  They did not and said to pull the old one and measure the tank.  I was foolishly hopeful that I could get the tank specs, order the right size/length part, and just do a one-time pull/replace job.  Doesn't look like that is going to happen.....

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IMHO, they are much more accurate than the swing arm style senders.   I wouldn't wait to change out to a Moeller sending unit, which I have had good luck with.  I would buy several different lengths, maybe 11," 13," and 15," use the one that is appropriate after measuring the depth when you pull the old one out, and send the other ones back for a refund.   Easy peasy!  At least this way, you won't be grubbing around inside the console but once.

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