The issue of "dodgy fuel gauge" seems to come up a lot.
I am puzzled as there seems to be always several possible solutions suggested ranging from the "software upgrade" to replacing senders or "hardwire" the senders (from where to where?) and I have seen a post relating a cure when the senders were replaced but there was no obvious problem with the old ones.
It would seem strange that there might be be several causes for one problem
I have a fuel gauge which only gives problems when the tank level gets to just under half full then the gauge wil intermiitenetly fall quickly to zero iwth a zero range.It will then just as quickly go back to normal after a few minutes.
Removing the saddle tank prop shaft and exhaust to replace the senders is I suspect something I will have to do but before embarking on this route I would very much appreciate any observations or advice, please

Once your tank is less than half full it becomes two half-tanks. As I understand it, the fuel is taken from one half, and the level equalised via an in-tank pump. Your problem could therefore include:
faulty/intermittent electrical supply to pump
faulty sensors, assuming these control the pump
faulty sensors, sending a false reading to the gauge
faulty pump
faulty electrics somewhere else in the system.
Hence the various possibilities for a cure.
Er - I'm not being very helpful am I? Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
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Thanks, Past master- it is helpful in so much as you list possible causes.
This is what puzzles me- say you have 2 dozen vehicles all having exactly the same the same problem such as this "fuel gauge gone bonkers " issue-and I think that figure is probably conservative..

1)They all have various and different faults causing the same symptom-possible but improbable
2)They share a common problem -possible and probable
The question is what is it?

In my opinion the main reason for these failures are the small metal particles that came from HP pump or from the fuel stations tanks. These conductive sand like particles, floating inside the tank, eventually will build up and accumulate inside the resistive level sensors That will lead to all sorts of errors due to misreading the sensor value.

The problem with that theory is mine worked fine for days then would show partially full tank, even after I ran out of fuel. This happened several times, I replaced the senders (complete with fuel pump) and the fault went away.

Subsequent inspection of the old units showed no apparent fault in the wiring, plugs or sender units. they were operated a couple of dozen times linked to a multimeter and also showed no fault. If metal particles were present I hope I would have found them, either in the drained fuel or in the stripped sender units - I was looking (and hoping) for contamination. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
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That's interesting ,Atlas and Andy 131.
So, replacing the senders and pump does solve the problem - this is what another poster mentioned, I think.


Isn't it a bit strange though for there to be no apparent faults in the old units ?

perhaps I am used to rather ancient vehicles where if something goes wrong it eventually becomes very obvious that the faulty part is now in too many bits or something electrical doesn't work or fails a continuity test ..

My fuel gauge has just started playing up. Drops down to zero when driving. I stop the engine and restart it and the gauge is ok. Luckily at the moment I'm only doing short journeys to work and back.

I went to my local indy last night. He said (like many others on here) that is a known problem. He reckons a software update will usually sort out the issue. Ive read a few posts here about fuel senders and that updates don't work. Anyway I asked more about the update. The indy said that there wouldn't be an issue with the senders. The problem lies in the software for the dash. He asked me if I had had an error message about steering lock. I've had this a few times over the two years I've had the car. Apparently this error message is related to the fuel gauge error and the update will cure this.

Apparently the indy I use has done quite a few Freelanders and all but one has been sorted out with a software update. This costs about 50 quid. He told me if the update doesn't work then it will require the tank to come out and the wiring to be replaced. This is around 400 quid as its a full days work.

My car is booked in for next week. I'm hoping its just needs a software update. Black MY2013 SD4 GS Auto, Wood Company Armrest, Freel2 sticker.
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