2004 V70 fuel pump, gas gauge, metal vs plastic hatch Topic is solved

murraytm · Post by **murraytm** » 25 Oct 2016, 15:19

Over the weekend, I decided I'd try to tackle an issue I've been having where my fuel gauge never reads past one tick over 50%. I hooked it up to VIDA and it says the left fuel tank is always 0L. I'm pretty sure that's not the case since I can drive over 100 miles past when the empty light comes on.

I was able to pull out the back seats and get to the two access panels but what I found there was nothing like what I've seen in pics and in the VIDA diagrams. The locking ring around the fuel pump isn't the one usually pictured with multiple places for the tool to grip, and the left fuel level sender seems to be positioned much further back under the cargo area than where the access panel is.

I did measure the resistance across the two leads coming from the left fuel level sender and it was at 3.4MOhm. Does that indicate a bad sender?

I've attached pics of what I found under those access panels if anyone can help explain what's going on here.

Post by **jonesg** » 26 Oct 2016, 02:39

I have the yr and model, it looks like the fuel pump has been replaced.
I once installed a pump slightly out of position and it gave incorrect readings like yours.
you could try loosening the ring and rotating the pump, you need to know how much fuel is actually in the tank first, either full or near empty.

murraytm · Post by **murraytm** » 26 Oct 2016, 10:40

So do you think that's some aftermarket / wrong year retaining ring? Or that they left it off entirely?

I don't know if it's so much the fuel pump, though, unless the signal from the left sender is passed through that connector. I could definitely see some of those wires potentially being broken since they're kind of pinched in there. The level reading for the right (fuel pump) side seems to be correct.

I got that 3MOhm reading from the left sender with the tank nearly full (filled it then drove 15 miles or so).

Post by **jonesg** » 26 Oct 2016, 13:20

No its not wrong, I believe its the newer assembly,
the original, plastic type...like mine, are prone to cracking and leaks.
I'd try to loosen the ring and move it a bit, see if the guage shifts to correspond with whatever amount is in there, if you fill it and it only shows partly full just move it until the guage shows full.

murraytm · Post by **murraytm** » 27 Oct 2016, 09:39

Thanks. I'll give that a shot.

I just found this that indicates that the 2004 and earlier cars only had one sender unit, which is news to me. I could've sworn I found something indicating that these had both of them. At least this drastically simplifies things.

Post by **jonesg** » 28 Oct 2016, 03:08

MIne is 2004 and it has 2 tank hatches. Can't say for sure what is under the hatches.

Post by **oragex** » 28 Oct 2016, 08:46

You have the metal gas tank type. The only sender unit along with the non replaceable fuel filter are fitted at the pump assembly which is accessible through the hole in the last picture. Check in the comments, there is a link to a video showing the sender unit

murraytm · Post by **murraytm** » 28 Oct 2016, 09:23

Awesome! That's exactly what I needed! Thank you so much!