Fuel Sending Unit Mayhem!

[Squintoo]

Replaced fuel sender on 1999 V6. Used part number 83320-80331 instead of more common 83320-35590 due to date of manufacture, in March of 1999. Mechanic indicated that part seemed to have different components than old one, but was of equivalent size.

Garage had filled up tank after replacement but needle on fuel gauge seemed to bounce from my start up. Dash gauge showed tank full to above full mark.

Drove less than 10 miles, gauge registered 1/2 tank.

Drove further 10 miles, now registered less than 1/4 tank. Filled up and put in less than 3 gallons. Needle returned to above full mark.

Immediately after pulling away from gas bar, tach, speedometer and fuel gauge seemed to lose power and dropped to zero, with speedo and tach returning to normal almost immediately, but situation repeated several times. The fuel gauge now registers 1/4 tank, even though full.

There was no problem with engine performance.

Got part from local Toyota dealer, installation by independent garage.

Anyone have similar issue and use different part number? Any other thoughts?

Thanks guys.

 

[EatonKyleH]

Replaced fuel sender on 1999 V6. Used part number 83320-80331 instead of more common 83320-35590 due to date of manufacture, in March of 1999. Mechanic indicated that part seemed to have different components than old one, but was of equivalent size.

Garage had filled up tank after replacement but needle on fuel gauge seemed to bounce from my start up. Dash gauge showed tank full to above full mark.

Drove less than 10 miles, gauge registered 1/2 tank.

Drove further 10 miles, now registered less than 1/4 tank. Filled up and put in less than 3 gallons. Needle returned to above full mark.

Immediately after pulling away from gas bar, tach, speedometer and fuel gauge seemed to lose power and dropped to zero, with speedo and tach returning to normal almost immediately, but situation repeated several times. The fuel gauge now registers 1/4 tank, even though full.

There was no problem with engine performance.

Got part from local Toyota dealer, installation by independent garage.

Anyone have similar issue and use different part number? Any other thoughts?

Thanks guys.

Sorry to hear this,
Butttt.. They are not compatible/interchangeable parts. The meter/circuit plate in the instrument cluster is entirely different from those build dates. If you want to shoot me a PM with your email address I will email you a bulletin from Toyota that spells out some compatibility and interchange numbers but in reality you'll need to get the correct sender.

I know its bad news but I wanted to make you aware of this before you wasted too much time on anything else. Hopefully your mechanic will assist you in some form.

 

[TheDurk]

I believe this is the TSB EKH was referring to, courtesy of toyotapart.com.

http://www.toyotapart.com/FUEL_GAUGE_INACCURACY_T-EL010-00.pdf

As it happens, my rig was also built in 03/1999, and the two sites I use confirm that 83320-35530 is correct for my VIN number. Happily, my gauge has always worked well since Day 1--but I can't get more than 14 gallons into the tank. For that, I'd need the updated fuel tube that allows a higher fill.

 

[Squintoo]

This appears to be the exact problem. The 35530 part was replaced by a totally different part 35590 which requires a hole to be drilled to mount with existing tank hardware. The Meter Circuit No. 3 then also needs to be replaced. The part I was given, looks similar to original 35530 but was for vehicles manufactured through July 98, mine was made Mar 99.
Hence my issues.

This is covered in Toyota bulletin EL010-00.

Now I am wondering if I order the Meter Circuit No. 3 from the USA, will my speedo read in miles or can I switch it to kilometers?



Thank you very much.