Jon moved our 1993 Ford Escort XR3i onto the ramp and began investigating the fuel gauge issue. He disconnected the pump and sender unit, then shorted the wire to the gauge, which responded by rising to full, confirming the gauge and warning light were functioning correctly. As the sender needed to be removed, he took out the scraper valve from the fuel rail and fitted a pipe, then powered the fuel pump using a power probe to drain the tank. Around 40 litres were pumped out until the low fuel light illuminated.
He removed the exhaust heat shield, slackened and lowered the tank, disconnected all associated hoses, and dropped it to the floor. The pump and sender unit were then removed. On inspection, the float arm moved freely, and when plugged into the car and manually operated, the gauge responded across the full range. However, Jon found fluid inside the float itself. He replaced the float with a stock item and tested the unit again, confirming it now functioned correctly. He then refitted the pump and sender, remounted the tank, reconnected all hoses, and secured it in place.
After returning 20 litres of fuel to the tank, he checked the gauge, which was still reading low. He rechecked the connections and confirmed that shorting the wire to the gauge again caused it to rise fully, ruling out an issue with the wiring or gauge. After consulting with a Ford master technician, it was agreed that the wiring and gauge were operating as they should, pointing to a fault within the sender unit itself. Jon will now attempt to source a replacement sender. He then took the car across the road for its MOT.
