Warning Fuel Gauge Problems

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zerocool

Active Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
230
Location
uk
Car
vr6 rallye
We have had a flood of mercs in our dealership in the past month with incorrect fuel gauge readings,it is affecting most models particularly clk and other c classes.
the problem seems to be a chemical in the fuel that is affecting the fuel tank senders,and making the gauge read incorrectly,quite considerably.
the only cure seems to be new fuel tank senders.
you all may be well aware of this problem already,but I am putting this up just incase,as we have had a few people braking down on the continent because of this.

:crazy:
 
From what I have read on the subject both here and in the US, this does seem to be a bit of a problem with Benz's accross the whole model range.

Its usually the sender in the tank thats at fault but they can apparently be cleaned (carefully) with a pensil rubber.

My W124 CE has had this fault since I had it and although the needle rarely indicates below half full, the reserve light does seem to be accurate.

I assume from this that there are two separate senders. Am I right?
 
clk and others have two senders in the tank one left and one on the right,they are screwed into the bottom of the tank and are a messy job to take out(HAVE DONE SIX THIS WEEK).
others have just one,which is located from the top,mls are like this and are a bitch to do as you have to take the back seats out to get to them.
 
Thanks for that Zerocool, your “Inside knowledge” is appreciated. Have a Banana:bannana:
 
I had three senders replaced in my last E 280.
Dealer did them under warranty.
The last one had been modified with special connections to avoid the problem, so all new senders should be OK.:bannana:
 
i had this problem on our C220 CDI w202..

MY heart sunk when i saw the needle drop as it was one of the few times dad let me drive the car :-(
We got all the sensors done under warranty too


The first time ( day we bought the car) i took the car out , i was met by a puff of smoke coming out the offside wheel arch which i later found out to be the fuel preheater and not the engine blowing up.


ahh , we live and learn:D
 
I think there could be a world shortage of these senders soon as we are starting to get back orders on merc fuel senders,particularly 203 models.
 
Originally posted by zerocool
I think there could be a world shortage of these senders soon as we are starting to get back orders on merc fuel senders,particularly 203 models.

How much are the senders? Maybe I should order mine now then if it breaks I will already have the parts... ;)
 
This problem must be very common. I have run out of fuel twice in the last month - on both occasions the guage (and computer) both indicated that there was plenty of petrol left in the tank.
The fuel guage has been acting strangely for months, but only displayed 'unexpected' readings when the tank was 'full'. After 100 miles or so from completely filling the tank, the guage settled down and read accurately. Now it seems that the sender units have failed completely.
I have purchased two (!) sender units from the stealer at a cost of £108, but haven't fitted them yet. I understand that they are fitted on the underside of the tank. Is this a difficult job? Can it be done with the car on 'normal' ramps?. Does anything need to be removed to get access to the sender units? Any special tools needed? Any advice would be graetly appreciated!
PS - Car is 1999 CLK 320 Cab
Thanks
 
I am not sure on the price of these senders as they vary from model to model and year,best check with your dealer for an accurate price.
As far as fitting them to your car,they are quite easy to do if you have the car on a ramp,I can do them in about 30 minutes(for 2 of them)take the plastic covers off the senders underneath they are held on with 3 10mm bolts each side,once they are off disconnect the electrical plugs.
you need a special tool to un screw the ring holding the senders in which is a metal circular plate with for dowels on that locate on the rings to unscrew them.
the drivers side one is the easiest as the passenger one has a pump incorperated in it so you need to disconnect the pipe off it,and once you have taken the securing ring off,you will have to pull the sender out and put your hand up in the tank and unclip the two pipes connecting to the pump/sender.
try to have as little fuel in the tank as possible when you do this,if you loosen the ring s first and then let the fuel drain out,you may have to jiggle the senders as sometimes they stick to the tank,stopping the fual drain out.
there is an allan headed bolt on the bottom of each sender which looks like a drain bung,but belive me it is'nt as I found out the first time I did one of these,thinking the tank was empty and it was'nt(got completely soaked in petrol)
you could probably substite the special tool,by loosening the rings with a drift and then using a pair of pointy nosed pliers to to locate in the holes on the rings,to uncrew them.
the rings are ally so you shouldn't generae a spark doing this.
 
Zerocool, I have a CLK430 thats 3 years old almost so just within warranty. At the weekend I started up and the gauge read zero (did not move). Turned off and on and it went to near full as expected.

Sounds as though I had better get it in quick before I have to pay ;)
 
430 eh,only ever seen one over here VERY NICE CAR.
yeah get down the main dealer and don't take any crap from them.good luck with the warranty claim,if they say no ask for good will,after all you got an expensive car there and they should value your custom.
 
Booked in for the 13th March to get the front lower ball joints done at the same time as the sensors.

They could not do it before if I wanted a loan car for the day :mad:

This sums up the difficulties the new dealership arrangements have caused the punter. Complete lack of capability to deal with demand which is also pushing prices up :devil:

Sorry to rant :bannana:
 
I know how you feel,the service/circus advisors at our dealership are pretty much the same. f@#$ing useless.
 
Here's a new sender that's just become available on ebay if anyones interested.

Link
 

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