Questionthis was grannys car 78k miles . car has not been active used for five years...started up 2 or 3 times a year and driven a . little about once a year. after not being used gas guage shows empty all the time. it could be jammed, gunked up with old fuel , poor contacts or whatever. yourhelp with what and how to diagnose/repair will be appreciated. art
AnswerThe chances are about 10 to 1 that it is a failed sender inside the tank, but before you go to all the trouble of getting it out of there, try this.
From under the car, identify the wire that comes out of the rear body harness and goes up to the top of the tank, where the fuel gauge sender is located. If you can get it to unplug, or access it through a hole in the trunk floor, connect the end of the wire to a known good ground point (with the ignition key off!). A clip lead (wire with alligator clips on each end) is a good thing to use for this - clip one end to the metal end of the wire, and the other end to a known good ground, which will be any bare metal part that is physically connected to the chassis or body parts - but it has to be bare metal.
Now, go turn on the ignition key for a few seconds and watch the fuel gauge. It should move up to and past "full" in jerky pulses. (Turn the key off again right away - don't let it sit there and bang against the top of the gauge!)
This won't hurt the gauge, but it will tell you if the gauge and wiring are OK. I'm betting they are, and you've proven that your problem is inside the tank.
The only cure is to remove the sender and get it repaired - or with that new a car, I think you can probably just order a new one from one of the many MOPAR parts dealers - do a Google search for them.
Dick
