Gas Gauge Issues

[lperry]

I have a 1997 R82 that has issues with the gas gauge. I ran out of gas yesterday with the gauge showing almost 1/2 tank. No other boat on the lake so I had to call a friend for a tow.
took it to the boat shop and the gas tank was empty. After quite a bit if "Razzing" and comments I filled it up and guess what-it ran fine.
My question is will it do any good to replace the gauge or just drive it like that and make sure I don"t let it get below 1/2 tank? The mechanic checked the sending unit and says its OK. Will a new gauge be accurate or all boat gas gauges like boat speedometers not so accurate?

[Esnow76]

Least you know when it's gonna run out. I still have 10 gallons in each tank when mine reads empty.

[Cestratton]

On my 188vs I had a half a tank on the gauge the other day when I put in, made a very short run and got ready to leave there I had between 1/4 and empty. Made an even shorter run and it was almost pegged out on empty so I had no clue as to how much fuel I had. Luckily I was near a marina and idled to it for fuel. I didn't want to spend a fortune on $3.50 per gallon fuel so I put $20 in and got 5.71 gallons, my fuel gauge read 1/2 a tank. So from now on I am going to keep her full and when she reaches 1/2 I'll fill her back up. I thought about hooking my Onix up to the engine to give me fuel used but I don't think I want to drop the coin on that and I'm not familiar with the NEMA system.

[518RangerJeff]

The Merc monitor gph is accurate.
Analog fuel gauge is worthless.

[saltonman]

You can install a new sending unit in your fuel tank. Measure the depth of your fuel tank and use this measurement to calibrate your new sending unit. Hook the wiring up and bend the wire on the float so it will show the accurate full and empty positions using the depth measurement of your fuel tank.

[CatFan]

You can install a new sending unit in your fuel tank. Measure the depth of your fuel tank and use this measurement to calibrate your new sending unit. Hook the wiring up and bend the wire on the float so it will show the accurate full and empty positions using the depth measurement of your fuel tank.

Won't help. Movement of the arm on the sending unit is way different at different fuel depths in the tank. Answer is to get a WEMA sending unit. No arm.

[lperry]

Will a WEMA sending unit work with the gauge is the dash? What is a WEMA sending unit?

[CatFan]

Will a WEMA sending unit work with the gauge is the dash? What is a WEMA sending unit?

It should. WEMA is a brand.

[Randallheinrich]

This is a copy from a post I made several months ago. If you have Lowrance HDS electronics this is a good solution

#1505-09-2016, 07:10 AM

I always had uncertainty on my 195VS which has a 48 gallon tank. I solved the problem by putting a Lowrance fuel flow sensor in which displays on my HD 9 accurate fuel used. The sensor cost setup is about $175 if you already have a NMEA backbone in place. If not, add $75 for a NMEA starter kit. Provides accurate information on fuel consumption and you know how much fuel is left in tank. Will also display warning on HDS when level reaches ten gallons and also five.

[huntertn]

If I were going to spend some money on an upgrade I would probably lean towards adding fuel flow rather than a more accurate fuel quantity. With the fuel flow indication you would know the quantity but you would also get an idea of fuel economy at different power settings.