99 beaver Patriot fuel guage

[Randy Keaveny]

Ok.  Returned to motorhome after being away for awhile. Filled up before I parked her last year.  And now it reads 1/4 full.   Any ideas on that???

[Frank Bergamo]

Possibly a bad fuel gauge? Or someone with a siphon hose? Good luck!

[Carl Boger]

Easiest way to find out is to go fill it up.  Other than that it could be the gauge, fuel sending unit, or a bad ground or other wire.

I had a bad sending unit on mine and had to drain out about 1/3 of the tank to replace it since it is on the side of the tank. 

The fuel sending unit will be cheaper that 3/4 a tank of Diesel!

[Randy Keaveny]

Thx.   Hoping it's just the Guage.   Fuel door is locked.  And I don't see any leaks.   After it cools down  I'll have to take a closer look.  Just filled up last year.   Drove here.  25 miles and parked.  So.  Should still be 3/4. Full.  Anyways

[Eric Maclean Co-Admin]

Randy
On the driver's side of the fuel tank the fuel sender is located just below the frame rail above the front axle .
There are two connections on the fuel sending unit one is the signal wire for the gage and the other is the ground for the sending unit these connections need to be clean good connections for the gage to work properly.
Those connections are located near the front wheel and the water spray from that tire when driven in rainy condition's this is why those connections are suspectable to corrosion and related resistance or poor connections.

In the coach assist section under the older smc articles there is a troubleshooting article for the gage and sending unit.
Click on the blue link at the top of this page,
Go to coach technical then coach assist then the very first label ( brochures for most beaver) then click the three bars at the top left of the page marked as beaver history on that drop down menu pick the ( Safari motor coach 1994-2001) then go down to
 ( misc diagrams and fixes ) there you will find a memorandum on the fuel gauge .

Hope this helps
Eric

[Randy Keaveny]

Dude.   Thank you so much. I will definitely be crawling under there to check it out. 

[Randy Keaveny]

Thanks so much for the info...found the ground and the sensor....now...without pulling it out  how do i know what the replacement part is??   and do i have to drain the tank to replace??   got lots of thoughts going thru my head   just need to dial it all in....

thanks
Randy

[Eric Maclean Co-Admin]

Randy
Have you tested the gauge and wiring to be sure your sending unit is bad .
If you have to remove the sending unit the fuel level has to be below the sending unit before you remove it.
As for the part number I don't have one for it but BCS may have or someone else here might be able to help you out.

Eric

[Carl Boger]

The fuel sending unit on mine was Made by transfer Flow Inc.  out of Chino Ca.  and looks like a 90 OHM,  or a WHO 06.  Mine had a 7  97 date below the WHO 06 .  It also had a standard 5 hole mounting pattern.  I suspect that if you could find a generic 90 OHM adjustable sending unit you could make it fit just fine.  Test before you buy.  The fuel level will need to be below the sending unit.  I believe I got my unit from Beaver Parts sales and it was pricey, but I did not want to remove the old unit until I had a new unit in hand.  You will also need a new gasket that did not come with my sending unit!  If you have time, I would drain enough fuel, take the old unit out, and match it up with a compatible unit at a auto parts store. 

Hopefully this will be hepful!

[Bill Lampkin]

Small correction; Transfer Flow is located in Chico Ca, not Chino.

[Randy Keaveny]

Going back down to motorhome in few weeks will cleanup the ground first.  Wondering how to test Guage thru the wiring??   
Also wondering. If my furnace could have something to do with this as it draws from same tank. 

[Steve Huber]

Randy,
Check the ground connection at the fuel sensor at the tank. If there is more than a 3 ohm difference between the tank and battery ground the gauge will malfunction. For the gauge to read full the tank sender wire should be sending out about 90 ohms, when empty about 3 ohms. So if you ground the sender wire the gauge should show full.
Did you verify the gauge read full after you filled up? If not, possibly the float is stuck. Driving it on roads that will cause the fuel to slosh around may free it.
Steve

[Randy Keaveny]

Steve.  Thx for that info.   I filled up about a yr ago.  Drove back to my property about 20 miles maybe.   It was reading 1/2.  3/4. Somewhere in there.  But would not take anymore fuel.   My assumption was.  It was full. Put in 200 bucks worth.  Back then.  It was lots cheaper lol.    Anyways.  My heater draws off that tank.  But.  I o KY ran it for 10 days .ast winter.   So.  Hopefully just the ground.    Not the sensor. I will test here in a few weeks when I am back down there

[Bill Lampkin]

If your coach has a fuel sender made by Centroid, see:

http://www.centroidproducts.com/zTroubleshootingMonaco.pdf