Fixing a malfunctioning fuel gauge?

[dguy6789]

Hello!

This is my first post in this section of the forums. I'm not very knowledgeable about cars but I do want to learn how to properly take care of my cars and fix simple problems myself eventually. This is my car:

Year: 1995
Make: Oldsmobile
Model: Cutlass Cierra S
Engine: Wikipedia says the engine used for the 1994-1996 models is "1994-1996 2200 2.2 L (134 in³) I4 120 hp (89 kW) and 140 lb·ft (190 N·m)" So I guess that would be it

Trim Level: No idea
Modifications: None that I know of
Mileage: 148,000~

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_Cutlass_Ciera

My problem is that the fuel gauge has recently begun acting strangely. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. It spends probably ~90% of its time reading E even with a full tank. Once in a while it will accurately display the amount of fuel in the car, but it seems almost random going back and forth between working and not.

As stated above, I'm not very handy when it comes to cars yet. My experience with car mechanics is mostly limited to changing tires and adding fluids. I am wondering if fixing the fuel gauge is something someone with low experience should even attempt to fix or if I should go and just have a mechanic do it(Googling the issue said that the causes of a faulty fuel gauge can vary widely). I am also wondering what kind of ballpark estimate I should be reasonably expecting to pay out of pocket to have this fixed if you guys have any idea.

Thanks for any input!

 

[nwfsnake]

Sounds typical of a lose connection somewhere, probably a ground connection. Without wiring diagrams, it would be tough to determine location though.

 

[bpjz24]

that problem can be the gauge, or the fuel level sender in the tank, usually the tank sender gets so worn, the small windings of wire that the contact slides up and down on breaks, thus it reads some places and not others, only option there is a new sender, if its the gauge, same thing, new gauge . I have checked the sender with a ohm meter on the connections, but you need it out of the tank. Most gauges, you can short them to a ground and if they go from empty to full quicky, they are ok, but i do not claim to know exactly how on your car.

 

[Thump553]

Your car is fourteen years old. As someone who has owned lots of cars that old or older, bad fuel gauges are almost a universal problem. But its not the kind of thing I would spend money on. The New England Yankee solution is a 50 cent pad and pencil-keep track of your fillups, determine your mileage and roughly how many miles you should get per tankful. Fill by the odometer reading, not the gas guage.

Heck, when I was a kid one of our family cars was a '56 VW bug that didn't even have a gas gauge. It had a small reserve tank, when the engine started sputtering yo'd flip a switch under the dash to switch to the reserve tank, then head to a gas station. (The same car had it's windshield washer "powered" by the air pressure in your spare tire).