Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Fuel guage fluctuates like the stock market

Hi, I have a 4-cylinder 95 Contour GL with 98K on it. I recently notice that the fuel guage on my contour is going a little bit crazy. At the start of my commute, the fuel guage is displaying the correct value, then as I drive, it'll fluctuate up to 1/4 of a tank range depending on the slope of the road, the type of turn I make. (I do less than 10 mi. of city driving each time) Then when its finally parked, its back to the correct position. A little bit of background on the car: I bought the car on the west coast, moved to a high mountain state, but now back at sea level. Is there some kind of simple diagnostic an idiot like me can do to find out what's wrong with this? Is it an indication of something more serious or can I put off fixing this for a while?

Fuel is measured dependant on fuel level AT THE SENSOR/float


If you are going up/down any steep grades, it WILL fluctuate, though I have never seen it fluctuate by a 1/4 tank before.


When you are driving, and you park the car, ever notice the guage is higher in the morning, than when you looked down last night and thought you were gettin' close to empty?


Ray

I started to monitor the fuel guage because the needle fluctuates too much on a short < 10 mi. drive. I used to drive on 6-7% grades and the fluctuation was never instantaneous and the degree of fluctuation was usually less 1/8 of a tank.
The response I get now is instananeous (goes up/down in under a minute) and the degree of fluctuation is 1/4 tank.
I do notice that usually the amount of gas in the tank is more in the AM (before engine is turned on), than the previous night.