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long story short. I aquired a 1987 4Runner that
had been sitting for 15 years inside a shop. With gas in tank (which I drained before starting up and replaced fuel pump and filter). I rebuilt the engine (22re) and got her back on the road. 200 miles later I ran into wouldn't you know, fuel problems. Turned out tank was pretty damn rusty. After lots of cleaning, scrubbing, and coating inside she's ready to go back in...
The gas gauge didn't work before and I'm assuming the sending unit is toast. Picked one up from a buddy who had one lying around his shop but it's a little different. Mines the rusty one, the one on the right is the one I want to out in.. What the hell is that other prong on the rusty one? Some type of ground? And will the one on the right work? I got a 50/50 shot at making my fuel gauge work lol. And I don't want to drop it again so I came to you guys before I put the tank in. Here's the pic
Next question. Can someone with a working fuel gauge tell me if the truck has to be running for the fuel gauge to give you a reading? Does it give you a reading with just the key on? Knowing this I could probably test the units
It means there is an extra wire that's all. If you get the wiring right and the resistance is right it will work. I just think one is a two wire and the other is a three wire. It can be made to work, it just requires more effort.
Skypilot yes one is a 2 wire and the other is 3. Which means the pmugs are indeed different. But like you said, with a little effort I should be able to make it work.
Millball thanks for answering my next question. That will help me with testing the units tomorrow! If all fails I will probably end up following your link for a new one. Thank you guys
I'd test that with a multimeter to make sure it still works before installing. And if it's like the rest of the connectors on Toyotas, you can release the pins out of the plastic connector housings and swap them.
Pop the hatch under the passenger rear seat and connect it to the connector. With the key on, motor off, you can move the float to different positions and watch your fuel guage. The fuel guage is slow to move so be patient with it. You can test it from Empty to Full that way. To replace the Float Assembly you will need to drop the tank.
The bulb is for the for the Low Level Fuel Light. All Cluster Guages have a Low Level Fuel Light built into them, but to have the light to work, the Main Harness has support it. Since yours did not have the bulb on it, your harness is not set up for the Low Fuel Light. The Float will still work.
Your connector should be the flat white connector. The 85 and 86 has a round connector. In the past I have just swapped connectors and from a round to a flat. If both of those Floats you have are the flat type, it should just plug in without any problems.
While you are messing with your tank, I would check and see if all the lines in the Fuel Pump Brackets are clear and the lines running from underneath the hood to the tank is clear as well.
Thanks terrys87.
The rusty one is the one that came out of my 87 which has a flat connector. Gonna test it here in an hour or so if it is toast in gonna splice the other one in (has round connector) and hopefully it will work..
And yes I cleared and cleaned all fuel lines and fuel rail. Gonna run Lucas fuel injector cleaner for my first couple tanks once I get her back together.
04-03-2015, 04:11 PM
