boring fuel problem maybe planet fix?

[johnnyh]

hi to all,

this is not a new and interesting problem as i've read through many similar ones tonight, basically my gauge reads 1/4 to 1/2 full when empty and it reads 1 and a 1/2 full when filled up. it's totally steady and correct, in a way, it's just shifted 1/2 a tank out of whack. the low fuel light comes on when it actaully is low on fuel (gauge shows 1/4 to 1/2 tank) and this tells me the sender is not too badly knackered and that a re-calibration between sender and gauge would fix it. is this possible with peugeot planet? and if so, how do i do it?
by the way, it's a 2002 2.0hdi.

many thanks in advance,

john.

[dackjaniels]

Can't really help too much sorry but may be useful to others to know if the fuel gauge returns to the zero position when the ignition is turned off.

[johnnyh]

forgot that detail. yes it does return to zero when ignition is off.

[johnnyh]

ignore that last post

it doesn't return to the bottom when switched off. it stops at about a quarter if that means anything.

[dackjaniels]

What it says to me is the gauge needle has moved around its pin in a clockwise direction by about 1 quarter of a tank. You could remove the instrument cluster, take the front plastic cover off and manually move the pin back to 2 or 3mm below the empty mark as this is where it should be when the ignition is switched off.

[davidireland]

Originally Posted by dackjaniels

What it says to me is the gauge needle has moved around its pin in a clockwise direction by about 1 quarter of a tank. You could remove the instrument cluster, take the front plastic cover off and manually move the pin back to 2 or 3mm below the empty mark as this is where it should be when the ignition is switched off.

Don't do this. Remove the tanks unit and check its resistance when full (manually lifting up the float) and check the resistance empty by leaving the float down.
50ohms full and 350ohms empty as far as i can remember.

[dackjaniels]

I stand corrected. Do what David said

[johnnyh]

is that actually likely? i mean that the needle has moved?
i know i could take the instrument cluster apart and move the needle and i have read of people who have done it but it just seems like a bodge to me.
i could be wrong and maybe i'm just too suspicious of the electronics side of things but i just assume there is some part of the software that calibrates the sender to the gauge. i mean it's not like an old-fashioned sender and gauge set up where the guage is basically a voltmeter and the sender a variable resistor. in this case there is a computer in between them.

[johnnyh]

ah, cross posting..

David, that's something i will try. is it a real pain to get to on an expert van do you know?