Fuel guage

I have a 99 Toyota 4 runner. Acouple weeks ago after filling up the gas
tank the guage registered empty. It did that on the next fill up. The
last fill up the guage stayed at full and then went down to half a tank
where I ran out of gas. Is the problem with the sending unit or the fuel
guage? Is either one a job an individual can tackle or is it best to take
to a dealer?

Don't take it to a stealership.
Take it to a good "Sparky"
(Electrical Shop)
Just about anyone could fix it.
Good Luck !
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 23:04:30 -0500, "Satmechanic"
<cheeseheads4life@nospam.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
[color=blue]
>I have a 99 Toyota 4 runner. Acouple weeks ago after filling up the gas
>tank the guage registered empty. It did that on the next fill up. The
>last fill up the guage stayed at full and then went down to half a tank
>where I ran out of gas. Is the problem with the sending unit or the fuel
>guage? Is either one a job an individual can tackle or is it best to take
>to a dealer?[/color]

It sounds like the sender is sticking with this little bit of
information. Something wore out, and first it is stuck at empty, then
it popped up and stuck at full... To tell for sure takes an ohmmeter
and some time.

For temporary use, reset the trip odometer every time you fill up.
If you usually get 300 miles from a tank of gas, fill up when you pass
200 to 225, leave a cushion.

If the car is driven by more than one person, put a note on the
cluster so nobody forgets - and during this period nobody is allowed
to pull the old "It is Okay to drive home and leave the car on empty,
Dad will see it and fill the car tomorrow..." That's a good way to
get stranded.

--<< Bruce >>--

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

I have used Bruce's method since my 98 was brand new, same with a 97 I had.
I can never really rely on the guage, always use my tripA, set to 0 when I
fill up, and when I hit about 225 -250, fill er up!
"Bruce L. Bergman" <blPYTHONbergman@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
news:sko9r1h1rbpgt8jrgt2jj6kbfuiei28hhu@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 23:04:30 -0500, "Satmechanic"
> <cheeseheads4life@nospam.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>[color=green]
> >I have a 99 Toyota 4 runner. Acouple weeks ago after filling up the gas
> >tank the guage registered empty. It did that on the next fill up. The
> >last fill up the guage stayed at full and then went down to half a tank
> >where I ran out of gas. Is the problem with the sending unit or the fuel
> >guage? Is either one a job an individual can tackle or is it best to[/color][/color]
take[color=blue][color=green]
> >to a dealer?[/color]
>
> It sounds like the sender is sticking with this little bit of
> information. Something wore out, and first it is stuck at empty, then
> it popped up and stuck at full... To tell for sure takes an ohmmeter
> and some time.
>
> For temporary use, reset the trip odometer every time you fill up.
> If you usually get 300 miles from a tank of gas, fill up when you pass
> 200 to 225, leave a cushion.
>
> If the car is driven by more than one person, put a note on the
> cluster so nobody forgets - and during this period nobody is allowed
> to pull the old "It is Okay to drive home and leave the car on empty,
> Dad will see it and fill the car tomorrow..." That's a good way to
> get stranded.
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
>
> --
> Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
> Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
> 5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
> Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.[/color]

I should add that while the fuel guage thing is whacked, overall this truck
has been the best ownership experience I've ever had. 135k and just
maintainance so far. I did just replace my radiator, water pump and timing
belt, but hey, in 8 years? Hard to complain!
"Bruce L. Bergman" <blPYTHONbergman@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
news:sko9r1h1rbpgt8jrgt2jj6kbfuiei28hhu@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 23:04:30 -0500, "Satmechanic"
> <cheeseheads4life@nospam.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>[color=green]
> >I have a 99 Toyota 4 runner. Acouple weeks ago after filling up the gas
> >tank the guage registered empty. It did that on the next fill up. The
> >last fill up the guage stayed at full and then went down to half a tank
> >where I ran out of gas. Is the problem with the sending unit or the fuel
> >guage? Is either one a job an individual can tackle or is it best to[/color][/color]
take[color=blue][color=green]
> >to a dealer?[/color]
>
> It sounds like the sender is sticking with this little bit of
> information. Something wore out, and first it is stuck at empty, then
> it popped up and stuck at full... To tell for sure takes an ohmmeter
> and some time.
>
> For temporary use, reset the trip odometer every time you fill up.
> If you usually get 300 miles from a tank of gas, fill up when you pass
> 200 to 225, leave a cushion.
>
> If the car is driven by more than one person, put a note on the
> cluster so nobody forgets - and during this period nobody is allowed
> to pull the old "It is Okay to drive home and leave the car on empty,
> Dad will see it and fill the car tomorrow..." That's a good way to
> get stranded.
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
>
> --
> Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
> Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
> 5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
> Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.[/color]