89 Gas gauge

[plwindish]

I got my 89 convertible out of storage yesterday and and drove it back home. One of the first things I wanted to address was a non-working gas gauge, which I thought might be the sending unit. This was only the third time I've driven the car as I got it in early December, so I'm not all that familiar with it yet. The gauge had been reading full all the time. When I turned off the headlights in the garage, the needle of the gauge swung back to just above 3/4's. Turned the headlights back on and the gauge went past full. Turned the lights off and it again was showing just above 3/4's. Any ideas??

[Avanti83]

Bad/corroded grounds force current to go where it isn't supposed to go, as a thought.

[wdaly]

Hmmmm....... This (strange) thought occurs to me - with the headlights "ON" and the engine running try dimming the gauge lights and see what happens.

[plwindish]

wdaly, I did try that the other day and the result of the gas gauge needle going all the way over past full was the same. Turn the lights off and the gauge comes back to reading normally.

[wdaly]

Well, at least you know the fuel level in the daytime! BTW have you added fuel to see what (if anything) changes? I'm wondering about the accuracy of the gauge in general.

[plwindish]

Another issue has also surfaced related to the fuel system. I had the car on a lift last night and got the first look under it. There is a fuel hose about 14 - 18" long connecting the gas filler neck to the neck coming out o the tank. The hose is leaking due to the tire rubbing the hose. Previous owner had 20"tires put on the back and the inside edge of the tire has rubbed against the hose causing the hose to leak when filling the tank. Now I need to locate a hose and try to route it without the rub.