98 Dodge fuel sender

[fixerupper]

I bought this Dodge Cummins about a month ago, some of you might remember my post about it.

My son was driving it today and it lost power and died. He was approaching the John Deere dealer so he coasted in and then called me. Outside temp was five degrees so we thought it had gelled. Poured a can of Power Serve in the tank, drug it down the road with my son's pickup for about a half mile and it started up and ran. Drove it two miles and it died again. Then we started thinking it might just be out of fuel even though the gauge still showed 3/4.

Well, our hunch was right. Pulled it to town, filled the tank, drug it about a block with his pickup again, and it started and kept running.

I'm thinking the sender float is hung up on something in the tank because when the tank was filled the gauge did go to the top from where it was sitting at 3/4.

I replaced this sender last spring with a new one purchased from the Dodge dealer and everything was working then, but I didn't see the truck again until late this fall, so I don't really know how long it actually worked right.

First thought in my mind was CHEAP CHINESE JUNK, but maybe not. Coundn't be the installer made a mistake could it? Jim

 

[caterpillar guy]

It could be that the sender unit is broken off at the top of the tank or bent wrong or to long for the tank and hits the side of the tank or the part above the hinge is to long and there for causes the float to read incorrectly Peterbilt has the problem with the unit breaking off at the top of the tank or the vertical portion breaking. If you can get the tube type where the gunit looks like a pipe and the float slides up and down inside of it will be the best fix.

 

[big jt]

Jim

Did that rig go west last summer? From what you have told me just about anything could have happened to it out there.

 

[Anonymous-0]

If he worked on the sender last spring,other than breakage why has it worked fine up till now?can these things bend or get too long while inside the tank?

 

[fixerupper]

John, it did go go west and was driven about 20000 miles during that time. I doubt very much if anyone would have messed with it while it was out there. It's going back in the shop this spring, so I'll have to drop the tank then and find the problem.

Stay warm. The schools are closing over your way this morning. Jim

 

[Anonymous-0]

I spent a lot of years in a dodge dealer. We had nothing but problems with that vintage sender. More that a few times new ones in the box wouldn't work. I got to be very fast at changing them.
Ted

 

[Texasmark]

I had a '98 and the only problem I had with it in 100k mi was the sender. I figured it was my fault as I usually kept the gas in the upper half so the wiper was wearing on the same part of the resistor all the time and I live on a bumpy road.

Mark