99 regal gas gauge fix,wiper replced

[steelcity]

99 regal gas gauge fix,wiper replaced

Just wanted to post this simple and inexpensive fix for some of gm's gas gauge problems,have had my 99 regal for about 5 years and the gas gauge never worked which was a pia and stumbled upon this link and decided to give it a try and it worked .It took about 2 hours to do and $30 gm part,here is a few links that educated me any questions just ask.
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=456
http://aurorah.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=nextgeneration&action=display&thread=5353&page=2
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7cY_IPCVfI[/ame]

 

[buickwagon]

Applies to 2001 Regal too.

Having watched the video and followed your links, I just did SWMBO's 2001 Regal fuel sender. It had the typical symptoms -- random readings that fluctuated dramatically, etc.

The 01 also has the opening under the trunk liner. The manual says to remove the liner, which starts with removing the rear seat. This is supposed to be accomplished by "pull tab on seat retainer". Anyone see a tab on this anywhere???

The rubber insert closes around the wire seat mount. The only way I could get it out was to pry with a bent screwdriver. That was the second hardest part of the job. Once the seat cushion was out, the back is held in with 6 easy-to-remove bolts.

Surprise! You don't have to remove the whole trunk liner. Once the seat and spare tire cover is out of the way, the two halves of the liner can simply be folded out of the way and held in place with the spare tire. (I knew there was a use for that POS temporary spare...) And there's no need to climb into the trunk when you can sit in the back of the car.

From here, the directions in the first post are great. I wish GM had seen fit to make the access hole a touch larger though. It is a bit of a wiggle to get the retaining ring out, and it's a real PITA to reinstall the ring. Part of the ring is under the sheet metal and the retaining ring has to compress the rubber seal. Trying to get all 4 tabs properly engaged took repeated attempts -- as soon as I started to lock the ring, one tab or the other would pop up and prevent it from rotating. An extra pair of hands would be invaluable here!

Especially when I had to remove it and do it again because I didn't get the electrical connector properly centered between the two posts:

If the pump is rotated a hair too much either way, you can't get the connector back in the socket!

Note for fellow Canadians: the dealers around here wanted about $100 for the part. Aftermarket was $89. Rockauto has it for $20: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php?carcode=1371125&parttype=10729 . Plus shipping, of course. Comes with a new gasket and float. No need to disassemble and swap bits and pieces either -- this one is a direct plug-in replacement. Just unplug all the wires and pop in the new complete unit.

 

[JSGrind]

Guys, I actually found this thread from my thread on the pontiac forum. I just replaced a fuel pump assembly and now the gas gauge shows absolute zero! with the fuel light on... any ideas?


Also any ideas on how to test the gauge possibly?

Thanks!

 

[buickwagon]

The first rule of troubleshooting is to ask "What did I do that might have caused this?"

And example: years ago I replaced the leaking steel tubing out of the top of the tank on my RMW. There was not convenient hole in the floor pan for this one -- I had to drain & remove the tank to access it. Lots of fun dealing with rusty screws and straps lying on my back in the gravel driveway.

Car ran great -- for about 5 minutes. Then all the symptoms pointed towards a failed fuel pump. I had to do it all again -- drain the tank, etc. etc. etc. On dis-assembly, I found I forgot to tighten the hose clamp inside the tank, so the rubber hose popped off under pressure. Doh!

So, what did or didn't you do? Wire disconnected? Pinched? Pulled out of a connector? Assuming your Pontiac has the same pathetic sender as our Buicks, any chance you damaged the fragile wiper handling things when swapping out the pump? Do you have the float properly installed?

For the answers to these and any other possibilities, you will have to take it apart again and investigate.