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I want to run this past you all to see if I am heading in the right direction.
We have a 1997 Dodge Caravan. We live in New York, so rust is always an issue.
A few months back, the fuel pump failed. We purchased a new fuel pump and filter, and had a shop install it for us because I didn’t want to mess with the gas tank at the time. On the Caravan, the fuel level sender and low fuel warning sender are part of the fuel pump. In addition, the fuel tank is plastic.
The mechanic put in the new parts, and it has worked fine for a couple of months. Just the other day, right after putting some gas in, as we were driving, the low fuel light would flash on, the warning sound would go off, and then, immediately after that, the light would go out, and the needle on the fuel gauge would dip down, noticeably, perhaps between 1/8 and 1/4 of a tank lower, then come right back up. This happens intermittently while driving, but not when the vehicle is standing still.
I haven’t noticed any other ill effects so far.
I haven’t torn into anything yet, but my guess is that there must be a ground wire up above the fuel tank to ground the pump and sending units, and I am guessing that there is a problem with that ground, either where it connects to the fuel pump / sending units, or where it connects to the body of the van, perhaps thanks to the wonderful salty roads here. That is the only thing I could think of that would case both the low warning circuit, and the fuel level sender circuit to have problems. Do you guys think I am heading in the right direction, or is there something else I should look into first?
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I’m not sure if its a ground.It could be but one would think if
it was a ground,you would have more problems. it sounds like the
arm/wiper on the sending unit having a problem.Is the low fuel level warning on the Caravan triggered by the float wiper? I thought they were two separate sending units, though I could certainly be wrong.
I wasn’t aware that the fuel gauge went through the BCM . .. you learn something new every day. Hell, why use a fuel gauge technology that has been reliable for 60 years when we can send that sucker through a BCM and introduce all kinds of new problems to the system lol.
This is an end of life vehicle, only hoping to keep it together for a few more months, so we can live with the fuel gauge going nuts for a bit longer hahaha.
It could be a problem due to rust– a lot of car electrical things assume that they have a good ground just by virtue of being in contact with the frame. Maybe the sender has a poor connection to ground.
It could also be an intermitent connector.
You could do worse than spend a little time following the sensor wires and unplugging and reseating the connectors. While you’re doing that check the cables for fraying and shorting to the car frame.
It could be a connection issue. Perhaps the connector going into the unit is having a problem. It could also be the fuel pump unit. Some aftermarket units are known for issues. Airtex comes to mind. I would check for a connection problem first. Hopefully it’s accessible. I think the other suggestions also have merit. To be honest I’m just guessing here. Keep us posted on what you do find however.
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