Chrysler Repair: Chrysler Pacifica: gas gauge inaccurate, chrysler pacifica, variable resistor

Question
My Chrysler Pacifica also does what another person said theirs does.  The gas guage drops from a half a tank to empty all of a sudden.  It also will only fill up with like ten dollars worth of gas.  It is a real headache, do you know what could be causing this problem?

Answer
Hi Melissa,
It probably is just an intermittent variable resistor surface problem of the float mechanism in the tank. The float arms rubs across that surface but has to make good contact over the entire range of motion or you will get a transitory empty reading.
Once you have the tank full and note the mileage reading, and if you know about how many miles per gallon you get, I would suggest that you simply keep driving for a while even when the gauge reads empty and you know that it is no where near being so.  You will probably find that it will start reading properly again when the fuel level drops down lower. If not, then fill the tank again when your calculation of how far a full tank will take you tells you it is the point where you need to refill. Keep doing that sort of an approach and it may begin to work well once the float arm moves over that intermittent area enough times to re-establish good contact. You may have been conscientious about not letting the gauge read low which then leads to it not being in good contact when the level drops below the point where you usually have been re-filling it.
The only other solution would be to drop the tank down and replace the float mechanism which will of course be a bit costly.
Roland