Does anyone else have this problem where you gas gauge will only work if its full then when you drive more and more the gauge just bounces back and forth, then when it gets really low it starts to read how much you have and the gas light will go on if you are really low. My friend who owned the truck before me said that they replaced the fuel pump before, twice i think and it worked for awhile but i have a fealing that it didnt work and its just the gauge on the dash, any takers?!

 

The gas guages is a big problem that us dakota have. I did have the problem all I did was replace the sending unit and it has worked eversince. But some peole replace it and it still doesnt work. So I would say check the wires going to the tank make sure the ground is good and all wires are good. Check out the FAQ in this sec. 1st gen. dak. they talk about some tab the gets corroted or something.

 

Half of fuel gauge problems are with the sender, the other half are bad grounds. It's incredibly rare for a fuel gauge itself to go.

 

mine does the same thing, just to lazy to pull the bed off and fix it. that tank is a bish to drop i here, and i have the 22 gal.!!!

 

Chrysler fuel senders are especially prone to get corrosion from excess sulfur in gasoline.

You might try 3 bottles of the new formulation
Chevron Techron "PLUS"

the PLUS is important
because only that mix in the bottle
has the fuel sender cleaning solution

more info

https://dodgeforum.com/m_454739/mpag.../tm.htm#459127

 

I have this problem on both my trucks, my 2wd can go til 280 miles on the tripometer before needin a fill up and my 4wd goes 230 before a fill up

 

Here's some info from the regular pick up truck section that shows some fixes for the sending unit. these may be able to be adapted to the Dakota senders? Also check out this thread.

https://dodgeforum.com/m_1028102/tm.htm
[*]Fuel Gauge Sending Unit Repair
[ul][*]Photos and instructions CJ Johansson's instructions[*]Photos and instructions from Huey Conway[*]additional details text only posted to mail list by Huey Conway[*]Fuel level sender replacement - tips from the mail lists and Chrysler [/ul]

 

I have a feeling its the ground connection because the guy that had it before me says he has replaced it a number of times, and I dont know how the fuel pump connection is if its like clamp (if it is then thats probly the case)

Where would it be grounded to? Just like any normal ground straight to the chasie? Or do I have to remove the truck bed to do that.....

 

to do just about anything with the fuel tank you need to either remove the truck bed or drop the tank.

With mine I find it easier to remove the truck bed, because as you're going about your work, you can quickly reconnect the fuel tank and start the truck to test w/e it is you're doing. Dropping the tank you would not be able to drive it down the road to test it without fully replacing it, then possibly having to drop it again.

Removing the bed is fairly simple with the help of one other person. There are 4 bolts under each side of the bed connecting it to the frame. Remove these, then remove the few screws on the nozzle where you pump the gas into the truck (I didn't know to do this and damaged my nozzle. I have 1 singe screw holding it up to the hole right now which has sufficed all this time.) After all 8 bolts are removed and the nozzle screws are removed, have one person on each side of the bed pull up away from the truck to lift it off of the frame and off of the hose that goes into the gas tank. Walk back and set it on the ground.

There ya go, a bedless truck to work on and drive around till you're done, just be careful while driving because the hose where you pump gas into the tank is not secure when the bed is off. It WILL move around on it own. Replace the bed in the reverse order when done with the tank/pump/unit/etc.

If any part of my procedure is incorrect or lacking in information, ppl please add to this thread and correct it. This is only the way I removed my dakota's truck bed when i replaced my fuel pump.

 

Thanks Razoroth!! I am going to look at the ground cable first because the owner before sad they have replace the pump twice!

And wow cody you get that many miles to a tank!!! HOW?!?! Damn I'm lucky if I make it to 200!!