HELP! fuel guage trouble

[lurtch]

Hello All,

    This morning I wanted to join my touring group for a cruise around a local lake. Did not happen because electrical gremlins now inhabit my instrument cluster. The indicator needle will not come off the peg in spite of the almost full tank. I suspect corrosion has locked up the delicate meter linkages? I used to be able to knock it with my knuckle to get it off the peg. No more.

 I especially need to monitor fuel quantity because mine is a 230SL with the smaller tank. I would be OK with doing the tour (200+ miles) if my odometer was functioning, but those gears stripped out earlier this year, so I've got NO fuel quantity measurement capability.

Questions:  has  anyone on the website had an cluster refurbished?  if so, where and how much $$$?

There is a cluster on eBay right now (99.00 US) that I will probably buy so I can cannibalize it for the fuel guage. Has anybody done this transplant procedure?  if so, please PM me?

Regards,

Larry in CA

[UJJ]

Hi Larry

How do you know the problem to be the gauge and not the sending unit?
I had trouble with the sending unit on my 280SE 4.5 (W108). A thorough cleaning took care of that.
I never had trouble with either of these on my Pagoda.
I had my Speedometer serviced/changed by Palo Alto Speedometer.
It included the required change to the odometer (new gearing) to Diff 3.26 and a new bezel besides the overhaul they do. $180.00 plus shipping.
Best, Urban

[teahead]

Right, check the sending unit.  Maybe pull it out and and test for voltage changes as you move the sending unit.

[doitwright]

There are YouTube videos showing how to disassemble the fuel sending unit. Be very careful if you attempt this since there are 2 very fine wires that the float slides on. I cleaned one from a Porsche successfully and found detached wire in one I removed from a 220SE Coupe. W108’s use the same sending unit as my late model W113.

[Garry]

Larry,


My fuel gauge occasionally sticks and i tap it and it corrects, exactly as yours had done.  To me that would indicate that by tapping it and it then correcting the reading the problem is in the gauge rather than the sender unit.


I would have thought buying the unit on ebay and changing them over would be the cheaper way to correct.

[ja17]

The easiest way to check the sending unit is to remove it from the tank, connect the plug, turn on the ignition and rotate the sending unit up-side-down. The gauge on the dash should move from empty to full.