How does a fuel gauge work? I have an 86 Carver 3207 and the port tank gauge jumps around like a good thing - from empty to it's fill level whenever I hit the toggle. I've looked at the connections on the the tank (intact) but don't know where else to look for a short (what to look for if I track it back to the gauge itself). I'm not crazy about spending the $$$ for such a simple problem and really, it's the only reason I have to bring a mechanic on board - everything else works just fine. Thanks boys. KW
It has a float that is in the tank and mounted to the top of the tank with 5 screws usually. You can join the two wires together at the float and the gauge should read full, if not the problem lies in the wiring, switch, or gauge.
This is the single guage that always shows the stbd. tank level except when you toggle to get the port reading? If so it sound right. There's no juice to the port until you toggle. At that point it would come up from zero to the actual fuel level. Not my favorite type system. It's a manufacturing money saver. I'd install a second (always active gauge).
