E36 Fuel sender - again!

All...this is a copy/paste quote from a "Closed" topic which I couldn't reply to......

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Stevie,

the broken wire is very obvious if you remove the pump/sender unit from the tank. There are four wires which go into the back of the connections for the two plugs ontop of the unit. On mine it was the black wire that had broken.

Oh by the way, be sure not to damage the fuel hose when messing around in that area. I have just had to fix a leak and the car now smells of petrol. Lovely

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Well, our 92 E36 320 has now got this problem.  Under rear seat....which side (Pass or driver) is the unit with the sender in?

The driver side has two connectors, pass side has one.

Also, in addition to the fuel guage on the amber light the range on the OBC is now set to the " --- " meaning empty tank.  It's full tank btw.

Obviously related, but is this the likely to be the same fault...or is the OBC reading some other sensor?

I do not have a multi-meter so can't test the wires...I'll have to physically inspect.

 

 

 

 

Old Shape,

The Passenger side is a Fuel gauge Sender unit only (1 connector) and the Driver side is the integrated Fuel Pump and Fuel gauge Sender unit 2 connectors, both will have fuel pipes going to them.

I'm also getting the 'Tank Empty' courtesy light on my fuel gauge (No OBC on my model) but having tested with 318 fuel gauge, thankfully it's only the Fuel gauge motor that was at fault.

Hope thats helped you.

Unfortunatly I'm having real problems trying to find out why I'm not getting a reading from my speedo/mpg dials...I AM getting a pulse from the sender unit, but cannot find where I'm loosing it?!?!?!

Has anybody got a description of how to do this repair to the wires?

Photo's would be even better.

Which is the side that has the suspect wire?

Do the fuel pipes need taking off, or is there enough slack in them to get the unit out?  If they need to come off, I assume the system needs a presure release? Can this be done by using G-clamps on the pipes..or is there a better/safer way?

I really don't like messing with petrol

Old shape! wrote: Fuel sender unit......So where's the broken wire that needs soldering?  Inside the tank under the 5 inch screwtop?

Yes. The wire will have broken where it goes into the connector, on the other side of one of the connectors you can see. Just solder it back on again.

The side that has the suspect wire is the fuel pump/sender unit i.e the one with two connectors. The OBC range reading is directly related to this problem and once you have fixed the wire the range reading will be sorted as well.

Just make sure that when you solder the wire that you take the unit well away from the car and that there is no petrol left in the pump.

Also make sure the system is depressurised as has already been describen, other wise tou'll end up with petrol everywhere.

Once you've disconnected the fuel hose from the pump the clip may not be reusable. I got something suitable from work, but you should be able to buy a clip that does the job.

Edited by Peter Fenwick

There isn't too much slack to be honest but there is just about enough if the hose is damaged where the old clip attaches. I had to cut about an inch off and just about had enough slack to reconnect the hose.

Good luck, I found the first time I did it is was a monumental f**k on.

Glad the advice helped