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Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:22 pm
by Junkie
Well, it didnt take more than a couple of weeks for something else to go wrong......

Filled, yes filled the X at Asda tonight for 94 quid and after the tell tale clicks on the filler and the twitchy round up to the nearest quid fiasco, the gauge reads half full (optimistic) or half empty (me).

As the screen also displayed 138 range, even I know the 4.4 is slightly better than that.

Had a look at some inconclusive stuff on Xoutpost, looking like a sensor problem at the moment.

*sigh

Re: Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:38 pm
by Sanj
PM Jig - he filled up with petrol in his diesel and got similar issues. Not that you did but sensors could be right!

Re: Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:24 am
by x555
[quote=""X5 CPE""]Well, it didnt take more than a couple of weeks for something else to go wrong......

Filled, yes filled the X at Asda tonight for 94 quid and after the tell tale clicks on the filler and the twitchy round up to the nearest quid fiasco, the gauge reads half full (optimistic) or half empty (me).

As the screen also displayed 138 range, even I know the 4.4 is slightly better than that.

Had a look at some inconclusive stuff on Xoutpost, looking like a sensor problem at the moment.

*sigh[/quote]
Sorry to hear that mate you seem to be having a nightmare run with the x at the mo :roll: lets hope it's a simple fix :thumbsup:

Re: Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 11:19 am
by lezmtaylor
Hope you sort it , could be a dodgy connection on sender.
Lez

Re: Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 3:57 pm
by pvr
I have only had this once in France earlier in the year, but whilst driving it, the meter moved slowly up to full (took about 80 miles or so). Never had it before, never had it since either.

Re: Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:10 pm
by bullethead
Why haven't BMW solved all the electrical gremlins with 3 buttons on the dash CTRL,ALT,DEL

Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:52 pm
by Pewters
No wonder the X5 has electrical problems, my mate stripped a write off and it needed two of them just to carry the wiring loom !!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:53 pm
by Sanj
[quote=""bullethead""]Why haven't BMW solved all the electrical gremlins with 3 buttons on the dash CTRL,ALT,DEL[/quote]

They think they did with the Start/Stop button!

Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 2:14 am
by jeegnesh
There are two tank senders units in the tank that read the level, the range is nothing but a calculation by the computer based on the senders reading x mpg.

The needle again is based of the senders reading.

You can get into a hidden menu on your OBC and actually see those readings.


2 buttons/pins on the speedo one resets the mileage counter (left) and the other to alternate the obc view (right)
1. Press and hold right button till u get TEST NR 01
2. Press left button
3. Add up all the numbers this is your unlock code. Example 26131=13
4. think right takes u back to TEST-NR 01
5. Press right till u get too TEST NR 20 then left
6. Get locked message hit left till u reach ur unlock code then right
7. Goto TEST NR-09 and hit left
You now see the 2 sender results live if your driving

Unlock only needed once stays unlocked unless you disconnect the battery. And hold right to come out of this menu else switch off and on brings you back.

Alot of folks reported wrong values and after a couple of fills it was fine and never happened. However they also mentioned they followed up by filling super.

If it's sender issue one of the sender has the fuel pump attached so more pricey other is just sender so cheaper but still BMW prices.

Hope that helps. As you can tell I had far too much experience here.

Re: Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:03 am
by x555
Jig you da man :hattip:

Re: Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 10:54 pm
by Junkie
Cheers all, appreciate the responses.

I've been away on business for a couple of days and returned to find the needle and display reading somewhere close to the expected levels after a fill.

Wifey tells me it just started to act normally after about 25 miles, bizarre.

Anyway, I'm too busy to bother right now and while it's working I ain't gonna touch it guvnor......

Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2010 1:30 am
by jeegnesh
[quote=""X5 CPE""]Cheers all, appreciate the responses.

I've been away on business for a couple of days and returned to find the needle and display reading somewhere close to the expected levels after a fill.

Wifey tells me it just started to act normally after about 25 miles, bizarre.

Anyway, I'm too busy to bother right now and while it's working I ain't gonna touch it guvnor......[/quote]
Sounds normal :-) this was what alot of other folks mentioned after 1-2 fills everything was back to normal.

Re: Fuel Gauge Sticking

Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 1:03 am
by thedweeb
I think what happens is,very rarely the tank gets filled up which means the float on the sender rarely lifts to the max level. There then becomes a build up of residue on what is probably a pin that the float sits on thus preventing it to move. If that makes sense.