Fuel Gauge not working

[simtech]

I bought a 2005 TZX200 last week and took it out for the first time yesterday. I discoverd the fuel gauge was not working when I got to the lake. I ran the boat until the port tank was very low and then switched over to the starboard tank using the fuel tank switch located in the back (recently I have read I need to have this set on dual to pull from both at the same time to keep the weight even). Anyway, after I changed to the full tank the gauge was still reading empty. No real surprise it was reading that when I got to the lake on the half full tank. I have checked all of the fuses and found no bad ones. Any suggestions on what to check next?

Thanks!

[Fishin' Steeler]

I have a 2004 SX190, one gas tank. Even when 1/2 full, the gauge barely reaches 1/4! I just keep an eye on the gas tank and oil reservoir before each trip, so I'm okay, but it'd be nice to have the gauge be accurate.

Of course, if I planned my life around some bass boat dashboard gauges I've owned in the past, I'd be in trouble, generally. Trim, water pressure, oil pressure, and tach are the ones I pay most attention to, and they're working okay. For speed marking, I use GPS.

[Z518 Comanche]

When I bought mine, the dealer did say to run off of both tanks. Check the wires. Just a thought. Also welcome to BBC

[Skinnyside]

I had to pull the sending units out of my tanks to drain some crap gas. I found that the sending unit "wands" are very short on mine and hardly reach half the depth of the tank. It explains why the tanks read empty when they are below half full.

Your problems sounds like wiring (possibly a bad ground to the sending unit) or a bad sending unit itself.

[simtech]

Thanks for the responses. As I said I just bought it and still learning some things about it. I went and filled up the port tank that I ran down and after turning on the master power and then turning on the "fuel port" switch the gauge reads full. This would be correct for that tank now. So....if I turn that switch off should it read the amount of fuel in the starboard tank? If so maybe I have a bad sending unit on that tank. What do you think?

Thanks again!

[fishin couillon]

Mine doesn't read correctly either and that's the second sending unit i put in. On a full tank it will read 1/2 full. But i don't go by my guage, just by looking at what's in the tank.

[Skinnyside]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by simtech &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> So....if I turn that switch off should it read the amount of fuel in the starboard tank? If so maybe I have a bad sending unit on that tank. What do you think?

Thanks again!</TD></TR></TABLE>

My boat has a three position switch, the middle is off. If I turn it to "port" it reads that tank, if I turn it to "starboard" it reads that tank. Can you turn your switch in two directions??

[simtech]

Thanks! You nailed it for me. Barely visible under the switch it says "stbd" and I can move the switch to the down position and get a reading on that tank.

Thanks everyone for the help. It is great to be able to come on here and ask questions and get good advice.