bypassing erratic Journey fuel guage

RKL · 11-11-2009, 02:28 PM

My fuel guage in my 02 Journey is erratic..It works most of the time till it drops to 2/3 rds full and then goes back and forth to empty. I bought a full guage with the same ohm parameters at an auto parts store at a reasonable price and it has two post connections and a light connection..
.Because my Journey is in Florida at the present time I have an install question...does anyone know if the OEM fuel guage on the dash pod is connected by posts or plug connections to the wires from the sending unit.. If they are post connections I will bypass the OEM guage and remotely mount the new guage..hoping that this corrects the problem..Don't want to drop the tank to replace sending unit..A new OEM guage was very expensive in the $300 range.....thanks.....RKL

ernieh · 11-11-2009, 06:02 PM

I'm not sure about the fuel gauge, but almost every instrument in the cluster on my 03 Journey has the same plug type connector. They are all fed by the System 3 computer. It doesn't matter what plug is in what instrument because each instrument has its own address. ie: you could swap the plugs on the front air and voltmeter and both would still work normally.

A call to Freightliner in Gaffney is the best way to find out what you have on your coach.

skigramp · 11-11-2009, 08:23 PM

My fuel gauge was exhibiting a similar behavior ....

A friend suggested that perhaps my ignition switch was not tight ... and was losing ground ... I tightened the bezel on the switch ... and the problem went away ...

CaptBill · 11-12-2009, 09:57 AM

I may be wrong, but I do not believe that the gauge is bad. More than likely, it is an intermittent electrical connection somewhere else in the system. Intermittent problems are hard to troubleshoot, but you may be able to get to the connections on the back of the gauge with a multimeter, and see if it show erratic readings when the gauge itself is erratic. Then at least, you could rule that out.

RKL · 11-12-2009, 10:53 AM

thanks guys..I will follow up on your suggestions when I get to Florida...Doesn't soiund like I can spice in the other guage unless I can isolate the sending connections in the connector...RKL

CaptBill · 11-12-2009, 08:25 PM

I'd call Freightliner tech support and ask them if they have any suggestions. I vaguely, and I mean really fuzzy vaguely, something about an intermittent problem on the circuit board that is behind the gauges. I'm thinking that if there was a known problem along these lines, tech support may be able to shed some light on it. They may be able to suggest some test points to meter. Might be worth a try.

B2900 · 11-28-2009, 07:13 PM

Dear RKL

I hope you do not have the first sign of your VDC failure. A box about 8" x 8" on your motor compartment. I to experienced the same problem with my fuel gauge and then my gauges on my air pressure did the same thing and of course the alarm were going off one gauge reading excessive pressure then the front show air failure.

On advice from a grest person in here IRV2 a Mr. G Kirby, now my Journey is up and running fantastic, as are all the gauges. The VDC box is a known defective part in the 2001 and 2002 Freight Liner units.It sends all data to your gauges.I had 7 resistors with bad sauder points within the box.

If you need further information on this matter I can forward you Mr. Kirbys e mail with pictures detailed simple directions which will save you a lot of money as you can fix it yourself.
B2900

RKL · 11-28-2009, 07:50 PM

B2900....I would appreciate you forwarding the infomation by private message or email. ([email protected]). I too have also had a few erratic air pressure readings....Thanks RKL