Installing a Better Fuel Sender

[Awest]

I have been reading this thread in the hopes of solving my sender issue and noticed that you might have a sender for a 98 sunsetter vlx. I recently installed a sender from Hardin that I cut down to fit in my boat and it will not read more than half full when calibrated. Hardin will not take it back since I cut it. If you have a sender that would work in my boat I would consider buying it from you.

Thanks

Andrew

[gmoneycrf450]

This is the support topic for the article Fuel Sender. Please post here if you have any questions or feedback.

I bought the unit from West Marine and when I took out the backseat the fiberglass from the rear deck is right above the fuel sending unit...looks like I'll wait til after the season is over so I can pull the whole tank out....I have a '96 Response LX just for future DIYers

[kashmir320]

Can I use this on a 96 Sunsetter LX? My fuel guage jumps all over the place and drives me nuts!

[dj468]

Anyone know where the fuel sending unit is located on an 03' Wakesetter VLX?

Edited August 28, 2010 by dj468

[fkboatman]

can i make a suggestion. install your sending units so they show empty with a gallon or so in the tank, that way you know as we all do sometimes run them down to empty. that way. you know you have less of a chance of picking the stuff off the bottom, keeps the filters cleaner longer. keeps any water in tank from making to the motor. not that we want any water at all but it happens. and if someone else drives the boat and they see it empty they wont try to make it somewhere and worry about running out. only you know there is a little left in the tank, because you put it in and calibrated it.

[Pistol Pete]

Anyone know where the fuel sending unit is located on an 03' Wakesetter VLX?

You have to pull out the large floor panel that the table pole goes into. (not easy the first time)

Then, it is a small, round, 4 or 5 screw plate in the rear port side of the tank. It will have 2 wires going to it and nothing else.

[Pistol Pete]

Edit,

I happen to be winterizing my boat today (pretty late in the season for me), and noticed I gave bad info. on where the sender is. Here is where it is...

Edited September 4, 2010 by Pistol Pete

[dj468]

Pistol Pete, thanks!!!! Going to replace the sender unit next weekend.

[John23LSV]

I wanted to add something to this discussion as I found out the hard way. Installed the new sending unit as per the instructions and the gauge worked perfectly (well better then before and I haven’t used the gas from the initial fill up to see how accurate empty will be) The problem I had was I didn’t put any thread sealer on the screws that hold down the sending unit to the tank and the gas from the tank would overflow through the screw threads when the boat was anything but level. I didn’t see where anyone else had this problem but I wanted to post it anyway for anyone attempting this installation in the future. So make sure to use a sealer, I placed some Permatex Blue RTV gasket maker on gasket and around threads of screws and that took care of the leak.

[BoilerUp]

I had a similar problem as john23lsv, except the rubber gasket seal itself didnt seat well between the fuel tank and the sender top flange. It was a moeller fuel sender, the universal type that raises laterally. The instructions are particular about how much you are supposed to tighten the screws, but whatever i did, the seal still kind of buckled. Needless to say it leaked....i ended up using jb weld on the gasket to fix it. I know its never going to come off (for when it will surely fail around 5 years from now) but i was going on vacation at the time and i needed it to work. I wanted to use rtv sealant but those that i could find said they could not to be used with fuels.

[BoilerUp]

Ok sooooo fuel started leaking through the jb weld after a month. I repaired it again using permatex sealant, it said on the package that it could be used with various fuels. It also had a minimal drying time. This has worked great so far...

[kgbbu]

Just wanted to say that after 3 years I finally got fed up enough with the stock sender that I followed the advice on this thread and replaced the sender. I finally have a gas reading that I can trust. I have learned to gauge my remaining gas by hours used (average 5-6 gph). Thus I knew I could put on 9-10 hours of average wakeboarding use before running dry. I never bothered even to look at the gas gauge due to its inaccuracies. The first time out after replacing the sender, I used the boat 8 hours and the gauge (w/new sender) read 1/8. That seems pretty accurate to me. I don't know yet whether or not the gauge will read empty (as described in this thread).

i'm assuming your fuel pick up was on the starboard rear of the fuel tank? definitely interested in this swap. i've never seen a boat that reads fuel correctly, although under power and on plane you will get your most accurate reading from the stock gauge. i run the hour gauge, about 6 gph for wake or surfing. which means 9-10 hours out of a tank. the visual test(pull the cushion and look at the level throught the plastic tank) works as well...

[TexasWakeRep]

Anyone know if this mod will help on a 2008 VLX? Guage stays on full forever, then quickly moves to empty. I can run at least an hour or so on E loaded down....who knows how long before I would actually run out of gas.

[CDWLADR]

Hey all,

I have a 2000 sportster with a bad sending unit. Read all the posts and the DIY post for replacement as well as seat back removal. My question is this.....is there enough room to remove the old and install the new sending unit as is or will I need to pull the fuel tank?

Thanks,

Jason

[Deephaven]

Put a Teleflex in today. Had weird fuel like issues earlier this year so I thought I'd pump out the tank and of course if I am going to pull the stock unit I'm replacing it.

However, now I need to calibrate the gauge. When empty it read 1/8th. I connected everything out of the tank to test and full range it goes from 1/8th to Full. Obviously I can remember that, but would prefer to make it right. Is there a way to adjust the gauge?

IIRC the resistance is ~230 when empty and 35 when full. If I added a resistor in line with it I could artificially lower it all but at the expense of the Full I would expect as well.

[Punyelroo]

Hi,

Anybody know if the Teleflex sender suits a 2007 RLXi - the version with the in-tank fuel pump etc. My gauge is ridiculously inaccurate and I finally cracked...... boat is in another location so can't check easily....

Cheers

Andrew

[Malibowner]

This is an old topic with plenty of discussion, but I'm still putting up with a non-functioning fuel gage. The sender works just fine when manually moving the float up and down, so I'm trying to think of a way to add buoyancy to the float. (attaching more cork?)

[WakeGirl]

What material is on it now for buoyancy?

[Malibowner]

It's about 1"dia. cork. Apparently not enough to do the job anymore.

[WakeGirl]

I think that I'd see if I could just replace the cork altogether, rather than add to it. Adding to it seems to me like a recipe for something coming loose inside the tank. Maybe there's a replacement piece that could be purchased? Have you checked Skidim?

[Malibowner]

I took the sender out yesterday and the float is very close to the size of the access hole into the tank, so you're right there's no altering of that, besides it floats just fine in water and as I said the gage works when the float is moved manually. Very puzzling. Thanks for your feedback. I think I'll study it a bit more before buying a new sender, though.

[WakeGirl]

Call Vince at Skidim & see if he has any thoughts. The worst he'll say is that you'll need to buy a new sender, right?

[mnhays]

installed new teleflex sender in our boat and it's night & day.

[Sethro]

The original sender (different design) that came with my boat worked perfect, but it puked after only 1 or 2 years. Malibu replaced it with one that never worked right until this year. Seriously, I have been contemplating this upgrade for literally years and now all of the sudden I have an accurate gauge again. I thought it was a fluke but it's been working accurately all year. It has always worked, just never gave an accurate reading. If it wasn't so easy to check the gas level of my tank I would have replaced back in the year 2001 or so.

[pkenney]

On 8/17/2005 at 0:33 AM, WakeGirl said:

This is the support topic for the Fuel Sender article. Please post here if you have any questions or feedback.

I did it in my 2000 sporty. Easy  job hardest part  removing rear seat.