Fuel gauge anomaly ?

[93civicvx]

Purchased the MPGuino last night. Will get it hooked up asap and enjoy the mpg quest !! Looking forward to tweaking my driving habits !

Anyone know the highest maintained mpg's obtained from any fellow VX owner on this site ?


Sending unit is $51 from partsgeek... Realizing it won't help in the quest for mpg's, I will let it ride for now...

Thanks guys

[some_other_dave]

Originally Posted by 93civicvx

Anyone know the highest maintained mpg's obtained from any fellow VX owner on this site ?

Try EcoModder Fleet list - EcoModder.com . There's still some searching required (try control-F to find "vx" in that page)...

-soD

[PaleMelanesian]

basjoos' car is essentially a VX now. I've heard 95+ mpg for that AeroCivic.

A VX should be capable of better mileage than my larger, heavier, thirstier, worse aero, poorly geared 96 sedan.

About the fuel gauge - I see mine change with uphills and downhills, but not for turns, and never as much as you're reporting. Yours may not be completely normal.

[Frank Lee]

Fuel gauge behavior depends on which way the float arm is oriented, tank shape, etc. I've had gauges that moved on accel/decel, and some that moved on turns.

But I've yet to have a gauge wear out the float arm pivots.

[user removed]

I have seen mine (94 VX) go from 1/3 tank to almost 0 on a Interstate exit ramp where I was going 45 MPH around the cloverleaf.

That's a VX, 94 model year, not some other model that might not act the same way.

Mine would generally stay on the full mark until 100 miles if it was filled completely. When it had stabilized at 1/2 reading, it took 5 gallons to fill.

Don't waste your money trying to fix it, because it will be a waste of money. Many manufacturers have developed methods to dampen the fluctuations in fuel gauge reading, including sending units that are encapsulated with small holes to allow fuel in and out of the sending unit itself. Mercedes used this design 30 years ago.

The old simple heated bimetallic gauges with the resistance wound sending unit as a variable resistance to ground single wire setups will all do that unless you add significant baffles in the fuel tank. Same gauges were used on the original F15 fighters, because they are just about as bulletproof as you can get. Even if the in tank sending unit is shorted directly to ground you just get a full tank reading, with no sparks in the fuel tank, because the voltage to the sending unit is less than 2 volts.

My 1937 ford did the same thing. Shorter more flat tanks make it worse unless extensively baffled.

regards
Mech

[379Kcivic]

I'm new here but have been lurking for several months. And after a long search, I was finally able to find a '95 Civic VX that was in decent condition. I used the search function, but was unable to find a recent thread that related to my problem. Sooooo, since you are the man...

I've read about the fuel gauge problem with this car. So after running the needle as far deep into "E" as I dared to, I refilled... all I could get in the car was 6.05 gallons! Was I just premature in heading to the gas station? I checked the gauge more than once on level ground and didn't head to fuel up until the needle was parked consistently below the 'E" bar. Your comments are appreciated.

[PaleMelanesian]

Where is the needle after you filled up. It should be solidly above the F mark. If I fill to the first click I have about 1.5 gallons until it comes down to F.

[379Kcivic]

Thanks for responding. I''m pretty sure that it was above F when I filled up; I'll double-check that the next time I fill up. But I did make three attempts to continue filling after spilling/overfill when the pump read just 6.05 gallons.

Additional issues:
1. The upshift light ceases working after the engine is up to temperature (ECU?)
2. The idle is running about 1100rpm once warm (idle control motor?)
3. When the car is still cold, the rpm's seem to be sticking in between shifts (??)
4. Occasionally the engine dies when coasting to a stop (O2 sensor?)
5. Finding a driver's seat.

And of course the transmission is toast.

Thanks

[PaleMelanesian]

I can't help with most of those. Sorry.

The high idle - there is a vacuum operated valve that may be clogged. Idle Air Control Valve, I think it's called.