Volkswagen Golf I GTI and Citu Golf (1975 - 2009) - 95 1.4 Fuel gauge - replacement price

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Fri 6 Nov 2009 15:21
95 1.4 Fuel gauge - replacement price - confuseddave
Hi,

I'm interested in buying a Golf GTI, but the fuel guage doesn't work and needs replacing. It would irritate me if it didn't work.......I've had a quote of about £300 to replace it. Can that be right?

Is it really that fiddly? Has anybody had any experience of this?

Many thanks!
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Fri 6 Nov 2009 15:33
95 1.4 Fuel gauge - replacement price - DP
Depends where the fault is. If it's a sender fault (which it usually is), changing the gauge won't help.

The sender unit is usually mounted in the top of the fuel tank. Check that its feed wire is secure and the connections are clean. Use a multimeter and check for a 12v feed at the wire, then have someone watch the gauge, and "earth" the wire briefly to a metal part of the car (away from the fuel tank just in case there's a spark). If it's a two wire connection - I've seen both types - bridge the two wires together. In either case, the fuel gauge should swing to full. If it does, the gauge and wiring are both fine, and it's a sender fault. If there's no feed at the wire, it's a wiring fault, or a fuse (does everything else work OK?). If there's a feed, you use a good earth, and the gauge doesn't move, it's a gauge fault.

I've replaced a few senders over the years, but never a gauge.

If it's a nice car and you can't be bothered with this, just zero the trip and use mileage to determine when to fill up. Motorcyclists have managed this way for donkey's years :-)

Edited by DP on 06/11/2009 at 15:36

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Fri 6 Nov 2009 16:29
95 1.4 Fuel gauge - replacement price - confuseddave
many thanks!
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