Fuel Gauge suddenly reading beyond full??

[KyngofPop]

Anyone ever have this issue? I know the car is approaching empty but today when I crank it up the gauge went to point straight up and won't come down?

The only weird issues I've been having lately is a cold start driveability issue which clears up when it warms up, an occasional gas smell when cold, and a decline in fuel economy. I fill it up on the regular due to my long drives to work but am befuddled at this sudden weird gauge issue.

All maintenance is up to date also...

Any ideas? Gotta fix this asap!

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Sounds like your float broke free of the gas. I had that happen once when I ran the car almost completely out of gas and hit a good bump.

Try filling the tank up.

 

[rubydist]

or the sender just got dirty or failed - an open circuit on the fuel level sender results in a gauge that is pegged at full. one of my many SHOs would indicate extreme full if it sat for a while, because the sender wiper would get corroded enough that it would have an open circuit - after it was driven for a while, it would work fine again until it sat for a couple weeks.

 

[KyngofPop]

Cool deal, thanks for the input. I'm gonna fill up today and see what it gets me.

 

[BoogiesAdda]

I have the same problem pretty sure mine is the float as it started after the pump was replaced. Just haven't gotten around to dropping the tank to fix it. I conservatively estimate twenty mpg which equates to 360 miles on a 18 gallon tank. As of now this is just easier and less time consuming than fixing it