rchuang

1997 3.2TL

After I have the radiator/compressor fan motors replaced, the fuel gauge will not go back to zero after turning off the engine/electricity. Some of the relays for the fan motors were tested at the time of the motor replacement. It stays at the current fuel tank level forever after turning off the ignition although it is the correct level. Any idea about the fix? Thanks in advance

WolfpackBill

I'm not sure about the '97's, but my '96's gauge never moves to E when the ignition is off.

longeye23s

i have the same problem! eversince i but on that indaglo gauge my fual reads 3/4 full and never move from there, thinking about replacing the fual gauge but im afraid that it wont sove the problem. and theres no refund on that gauge.. any help with that..

rchuang

By the way, I am pretty sure that the fuel gauge went to zero when eletricity was turned off before. The stated problem happened after the fan motors repalcement but that should not be related the the gauge. The gauge tells you the correct level of fuel in the tank and the fuel empty warning light also works regardless of the power on or off

longeye23s

thats the only way i can tell if i on e is whan the gas light turns on. i have to find a way to work.. should i just buy a new fual gauge?

veo

when i turn off my car the fuel gage stays where ever it is. i think thats normal not to drop to E.
by the way, my gas light never comes on even when i'm on E. does that happen to anyone else?

vanz

my fuel guage doesn't drop when the car is off. It stays at the current level.

The E light is dim at first when almost empty and gets brighter. It should work. It should light up when you are down to 2 gallons or so.

DJRamzy

My gas thing stays there when I turn the car off...

longeye23s

mine use to go to e whan car is turn off. now it just stay in one spot no matter what! whats up with that i think im just going to buy a new gauge to see if tha gauge is missed up

WolfpackBill

Ok...I just consulted my Acura's service manual. Here's what it says:

Source: Acura Service Manual CD-ROM. '95-'98 2.5/3.2TL Page: 23-121


So...like I said before, the gauge needle will stay whereever it is even when the ignition switch is off.

Case closed!!

longeye23s

thanx for the info, but me gas gause does not move at all, i caould be on e and it reads 3/4 full its stuck on one spot no matter what. i even move the needle up or down with my fingers and it slowly move back to allmost full when i know it on e. if it wasnt for the gas light ill be in deep shit. what ur guys think? and thanx again guys for ur halp

WolfpackBill

You've mentioned about installing indiglo gauges. Maybe the needle is stuck onto the board. Try lift the needle up just a tad bit and see if there're any differences.

longeye23s

yea i have done that too its funny becouse if i move the needle it would slowly move back and just stay there. i dont know its werd i think im going just take the whole thing apart and play with it again.

c29842984

I can understand why it's a problem if the guage always stays in the same place but why would it be a problem if you could see how much gas you have without turning the car on?

WolfpackBill

The reason being is because many Honda vehicles with anything more than 4 cylinders have gas gauge needle drops to empty whenever you turn the car off. Our '98 Accord EX-V6 and our '05 Odyssey have gas gauge needles drops to empty whenever you turn the car off.

longeye23s

no. ur guys ur not understainding me, that cool. let me asplain. my needle dont move at all no matter how much gas i use. see my gauge reads three quaters full all the time i could be on a half or on e and the needle still says three quaters full it does not move from there. the needle should move closer to e as i drive and weast gas but it dont thats what im saying, i dont care what happens after i turn off my car. i hope ur guys can understaind me and maybe help me out, thanx for ur guys help..

WolfpackBill

Haha...I understand, you, bud. That's why I asked you if you had lifted the needle up just a tad bit. But now, I think your gauge is malfunctioning. Let me do some reading on the service manual and I'll post if I find something.

Ken1997TL

Umm... every Honda I've ever been in, the gas needle goes to E when its turned off

WolfpackBill

Haha...not every. Your '97 TL's gas needle doesn't drop to empty when the ignition is turned off as confirmed by the service manual. Our '98 Accord's manual stated that the gas needle on the 4-cylinder models will stay at its current level even when the ignition is switched off while the V6 models' needle will drop to empty. They may have switched it around over the years but this is as far as I know. So that is why I said "many" Hondas instead of every Hondas.

longeye23s

cool

Ken1997TL

Hmm.. mine drops to empty. When I put it on II (the setting that activates everything except starting the car) the gauge will go back up.

Bluish

Ken - my '96 3.2TL does not go to E, except when it's low on gas.

Over the past 100,000 miles, I've noticed that the low fuel indication consistently comes on with just under 2 gallons of gas remaining. (I can tell because if I refill the tank at that point it always takes about 15 gallons.) However, the needle's location when the light comes on has shifted. It used to come on just below the 1/8th of a tank point. Now it comes on just above the "E". I think the accuracy of the needle has degraded and that there is actually more fuel left than it says.

Does anybody know how these sensor work? Are the needle and the low fuel indicator separate sensors? Have others noticed that the needle accuracy has degraded with time while the indicator light has remained relatively constant?

Now that I've typed this up, I think I'll post this as a separate posting - so don't bother responding here.

Ken1997TL

Strange... my car must be a fluke