Bobnutfield
New member
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2009
- Messages
- 13
- Points
- 4
Hello everyone,
About a month ago my Fiat went in for MOT and failed due to a leak in the rusted fuel tank. They wanted £400 to replace it, and I knew that was stupid. So, I bought an after-market tank from Ebay and had my brother-in-law install it. After correcting a couple of drips at the nozzle where the petrol in put it, it passed MOT.
However, when I fill up, I get a strong smell of petrol inside and outside the car. The fuel guage has always been crap in this car, but the other day, after going around a sharp curve, it went into the red, light came on (as usual), but it never worked again. It just stayed on "empty" with the light on, even though I knew there was about 1/2 tank of fuel in the car.
I am told this is probably either:
1. A bad sending unit, or
2. a stuck float in the tank
I removed the cover plate under the back seat and noticed that the plastic cover moves around over the opening in the tank, though it seems securely in place. There is nothing about the look of it that is diagnostic. There are bout 12 small bolts holding the unit in. If I remove those bolts and lift the unit out, will I be able to tell if the float is the issue? Also, there are electrical wire attached. Should I disconnect the battery cable before attempting this? If it is the fuel sending unit, where is it?
I would very much appreciate an experts knowledge, because, as you might expect, don't have a lot of confidence in asking my brother in law.
Any help very much appreciated.
Bob
About a month ago my Fiat went in for MOT and failed due to a leak in the rusted fuel tank. They wanted £400 to replace it, and I knew that was stupid. So, I bought an after-market tank from Ebay and had my brother-in-law install it. After correcting a couple of drips at the nozzle where the petrol in put it, it passed MOT.
However, when I fill up, I get a strong smell of petrol inside and outside the car. The fuel guage has always been crap in this car, but the other day, after going around a sharp curve, it went into the red, light came on (as usual), but it never worked again. It just stayed on "empty" with the light on, even though I knew there was about 1/2 tank of fuel in the car.
I am told this is probably either:
1. A bad sending unit, or
2. a stuck float in the tank
I removed the cover plate under the back seat and noticed that the plastic cover moves around over the opening in the tank, though it seems securely in place. There is nothing about the look of it that is diagnostic. There are bout 12 small bolts holding the unit in. If I remove those bolts and lift the unit out, will I be able to tell if the float is the issue? Also, there are electrical wire attached. Should I disconnect the battery cable before attempting this? If it is the fuel sending unit, where is it?
I would very much appreciate an experts knowledge, because, as you might expect, don't have a lot of confidence in asking my brother in law.
Any help very much appreciated.
Bob
