Filled up my crossfire for the first time. Low gas light went on so I filled the tank until the nozzle shut off, only 3.8 gallons went in. I could tell the tank was actually full, gas was overflowing. When full, the gas gauge is at half full. So it moves, is just inaccurate/offset. I searched the forums but wanted to see what everyone thought. I reseated the two electrical connections under the center carpet in the trunk, did not help. How do you fully remove the center carpet?

 

Just be aware if you filled the tank to the point where the gas was overflowing you now run the risk of fuel leaking out the top of the tank
which is concealed inside the bulk head wall behind the seats.
On the top of our tanks is where the sending unit is and if your gasket leaks on that sending unit you will have gas inside the car
NEVER pump more than a few cents to round of the $ amount but NEVER OVERFILL !!!

 

Overfilling also can cause a saturation of the charcoal canister - which often corrects itself but sometimes, it means an expensive repair!

If the gauge is THAT far off, the most likely cause is a bad sending unit in the tank. I can't say anyone has ever had this happen, but as our cars age, we will see failures we've not seen before.
The issue CAN be in the instrument cluster, but most likely, the sending unit has a problem. Personally, I am doubtful it is a connection or wiring problem.

 

I seem to recall that Crystal had this with that SRT6 she rescued from Texas.

 

I will be trying a sending unit from a local parts car in a few days. Thanks for the tips. I made my own special tool, basically a pin wrench that is spaced out approx 2 3/8" and a wrench and metal on the outside. We will see if it works.

 

Some years back the fuel pump sucked out the gasoline and as air was somehow stopped from taking up the space used by the gas used the tank collapsed and only a little fuel could be put back into the tank.
I have forgotten most of the details.
There is a flap that stops you overfilling the tank and that is why the fuel spills out the filler hole. The gas should not be able to fill above the level of the overfill flap.

 

With the fuel level sending unit out, will it be obvious if the tank is collapsed? I can swap tanks if need be just might be a few weeks to get the time. When I was pumping gas, I forced it to overflow, kept pumping and shutting off, and pumping. First time filling the car, how was I to know there was a problem...

 

I am not saying the tank has collapsed, it happened only once or twice here.
The service manual will tell you how to check the readings on the in tank sensor on a multimeter.
Quit the guesswork and check the basics.
The tank is sealed and not repairable except for the sensor.
Good luck.

 

My removal tool worked well. Instead of the normal range 20-270 ohms, mine is 50-994. Will be getting/trying another sending unit tomorrow.

 

"New" sending unit measures 0-200 ohms exactly, and of course problem solved.

I question if 20-270 from the manual is correct. The new sending unit is wire wound and should not wear out like my old one's poor carbon film design.

 

The manual is incomplete, inaccurate and all we have.

It is nothing new to discover yet another discrepancy, I see no reason to doubt your conclusion.

 

Thanks for the feedback, something else added to the list of possible problems areas on these cars.