T4 Fuel Gauge problem

Hi all, I hopped in my '98 T4 diesel yesterday and the instrument panel had a bit of a hissy fit. I'm hoping someone might have a suggestion or two.

When I turned the ignition key to 'on' and stopped to let the glow plugs do their bit, there was a buzzing/whirring noise from the back of the instrument panel and the temp gauge and fuel gauge went crazy and kind of 'crossed their eyes' - the needles shot round til they hit each other's centre and were pointing at each other's markings.

When I started the engine and drove away, the temp needle fell to zero at some point then worked normally and in 2 or 3 trips since has behaved normally. It's not jumping up abnormally when the ignition is 'on' so temp is now ok. But whenever you switch ignition to 'on', the fuel needle sits still for a second then swings all the way over til it hits the centre of the temp needle.

However, as you drive, it slowly (I mean slowly) starts rotating back towards its own side of the panel but so far I've only seen it move so it's pointing slightly to the right of the temp gauge symbol, not even into its own area.

When turning to 'on', the buzzing/whirring noise is distinct but not as loud as it was the very first time. I don't know if it continues when the engine's running, can't hear over the engine, but after you switch the engine off, the needle drops back to its rest position and the buzz/whir continues for a few seconds, gradually winding down to a soft 'click, click, click'.

I'm thinking it's more instrument panel fault than fuel gauge sender because in the first instance it affected the temp gauge too.

If anyone has any thoughts on this I'd appreciate it.

Hmm, more to this than meets the eye - or maybe less.

The fuel tank was about a quarter or fifth full when the problem started and when I put 30 litres in the tank last night the gauge started working normally.

I'm still reluctant to call it a sender problem because the temp gauge went funny at first too. I'll see what happens when the fuel level drops again. Hopefully it was just a temporary glitch.

I have posted your problem on the T4 forum over here in the UK.

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthrea...433#post194433

Someone will be along shortly to give you the answer.

(i hope)

Rob

Thanks Rob, I'll keep an eye out.

The instrument panel usually has a dry solder joint..this is a common fault in t4's ...next time it happens give the dash board a big slap and watch......this will determine if the fault is at the dash unit.......they can be repaired cheers steve

LOL! I did give it a slap! Always believed in 'if it doesn't work, thump it - if that doesn't work, thump it harder...' No luck though.

It maybe worth checking your earths in that area. I have read before that 95% of electrical problems are earth related.
From memory the dry solder joint that 20v has mentioned applies to the earlier vans.