fuel sending unit

[(90festivalx)]

I have been having trouble with my fuel sending unit i fill it up and the gauge on the dash will sho full for a little while and the slowly work its way back down to empty....my question is the sending unit bad? if it is i found a universal sun-pro sending unit that says it will work in up to a 26 in deep gas tank i was wondering if anyone has used a sending unit like this.....and if its possible is there any trick i could do to fix the sending unit in the festiva

[brickdog2000]

i just had to replace due to the same problem. Easiest way to explain this is inside your fuel sending unit a tightly wrapped coil of wire that a arm runs along side of it. This arm recieves a signal from the coil and sends it to your gauge. However, if your sending unit is like mine then the tightly wrapped coil has been worn through. Which means theres a break in the coil. So your gauge will read empty. At least mine did once it hit the wirees that have lost sontact. I will try and post pics tonight to help you out.

[m715]

If you pull the carpet back under the rear seat, then the access panel below it, you can get right to that sensor to pull it out and check it also. At least they gave you a provision to get at it easily instead of dropping the tank.
Good to know that it can just be one dead spot in the windings of the sending unit.

[brickdog2000]

Hope fully these pics posts

[brickdog2000]

Sweet they did post. So now if you look at them you see the copper wire winding. That was my attempt at fixing mine. Instead of it reading empty it ended up reading full. Where that copper wire winding is is also where you may have a break in it. So it will not read properly. If your winding is broken you will be better off replacing the sending unit.

P.S. This sending unit in the pic is from a carb festy. I am suree though that the same concept applies.

[batstiva]

^^ Was going to say, I'm assuming by his handle, that his car is FI, which would make what he pulls out of the tank look different, but function mostly the same.

[Papabug]

Maybe the float has a hole in it. Don't know never seen one but if it read full and slowly goes to empty the float (if hollow) could be filling with fuel and sinking.

[sam.1956]

V8Festiva & I did some resistance measurements across the terminals... from an EFI car
Full tank = float all the way up: about 3 ohms
1/2 tank = about 53 ohms
Empty tank = float all the way down: about 163 ohms

Check this thread: http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/sh...sending&page=2

[(90festivalx)]

thanks guys and i didnt tell the full story about it it read full for the longetest time until the gas level got a little below full and then the gauge just kinda floated around between a half and full but anything under a half tank it just drops to empty.....

[brickdog2000]

thanks guys and i didnt tell the full story about it it read full for the longetest time until the gas level got a little below full and then the gauge just kinda floated around between a half and full but anything under a half tank it just drops to empty.....

I wuld have to say you have the same problem I jsut had. The coils are broken between half way and empty. Thats why it will read empty. Cause mine use to read full for a couple of days and then it would read empty.

[(90festivalx)]

could the coils or windings have rusted/corroded? the car sat for a year or two i think.....this is how i got the car i did some work for my mothers bos fixing a ford escort station wagon.... i put a new tps and tune up fixed vaccum leak for around 150 in parts i cant remember everything i bought but thats just a round figure and he gave me the festiva and it had sat in a field for i dont know how long with a half tank of gas.....or is it just a thing where i need a new sending unit?