Fuel Guage

LSUFAB

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I own a 2003 Bennington Pontoon Boat. Model 205L.

The fuel gauge has stopped working.

Any ideas as to how to fix it and / or possible problems would be appreciated.
 
LSUFAB, Welcome to the forum! The first thing to do is look under the helm to see if any wires have come loose from the back of the fuel gauge. Next, check wiring at the fuel tank. If no problems with the wiring are found, the next step is to isolate where the problem lies, Gauge or sending unit. It can get a bit complicated from here if you aren't familiar with wiring and the use of a volt/ohm meter. Since i don't know your experience level, check the wiring first and get back to us with what you have found. And if you feel comfortable going to further testing, i can try to walk you through it. Otherwise a trip to your local boat mechanic may be in order. Meantime, post us some pics of your toon and the happy folks who get to go boating on it!
 
I purchased a 2011 Bennington. The fuel gauge has never accurately indicated the correct level. for example, recently the tank took 10 gallons even though the fuel gauge registered full. The dealer checked the sending unit and the float and reported that everything was working but the gauge was still not registering the accurate level of fuel. I was told that there may be a design flaw and since he did not design the system I should seek an answer on one of the forums. Has anyone encountered this problem with a new boat? Thanks in advance.
 
I purchased a 2011 Bennington. The fuel gauge has never accurately indicated the correct level. for example, recently the tank took 10 gallons even though the fuel gauge registered full. The dealer checked the sending unit and the float and reported that everything was working but the gauge was still not registering the accurate level of fuel. I was told that there may be a design flaw and since he did not design the system I should seek an answer on one of the forums. Has anyone encountered this problem with a new boat? Thanks in advance.
 
I am new to the form. I purchased my first new Bennington this May and love the boat with one exception, that being the fuel gage has not worked from the day it was new. The dealer has changed the sending unit and checked the floats and said he needed to order new parts again. I think 5 months to fix a fuel gage is a little excessive. I hope nothing major goes wrong.
 
Hi BOBW, Welcome to the Club! There have been a couple of similar situations with the fuel gauge, get it back to your dealer and have them dig a little deeper. It could be just a connection under the helm that came loose during transport. I agree, 5 mo. is hard to accept, but let them get it straightend out for you, after all, it is under warranty. As far as major goes, i haven't seen a major problem on here, so rest assured you have a quality boat with a minor problem. Get her out there and enjoy!, the season won't last much longer B)
 
I have a fuel gauge problem also. It always reads FULL. My Bennington dealer gave up on it long ago before going out of business. He had changed the gauge and sending unit two times. I too tried changing them out after running out of gas. Finally a marine mechanic suggested that the wires between the gauge and sender might be damaged. He suggested hooking temporary test wires from the gauge to the fuel tank . Problem solved! Now I've got to find how the factory wires are installed and replace them. Anyone know where how the wires are routed?

The Chief
 
Hi Cheif, All the wiring is run in a 'harness' bound together in plastic conduit, with wires breaking out to the different components. Running new wires through it is going to be tough. How about just running new wires zip tied to the outside of the plastic conduit? You could also try following the harness and look for a damaged area, like a screw that got run into the harness, etc. And by the way, welcome to the Club!
 
I have a 2011 20 sli with a fuel guage problem. They changed the sending unit no good. Talked with a factory rep and their is a design problem on the 20 sli. The bottom of the gas tank is round not flat and the sending unit will not work. They advised me they were working on the problem and that is the last I heard.
 
NYMike, and other SLi owners, there have been some problems with the tank design on the transom mounted tanks, at this time Bennington is working to find a solution. As of now there has been no official word on the progress of their research. As soon as an answer has been found, Bennington will let us know. In the mean time, keep on enjoying your new toon, for i fear the season is getting short! :(
 
Hi, I have 2012 20fnc with same gas gauge problem of always reading full. It is 2017 and still no answers?
 
I had an issue with my 2016 last year when I first got it. I took off the deck plate and tapped on the top of the sending unit and it has worked fine since. Probably won't fix it, but you may try that.
 
dodgeram, the fuel gauge is not great with accuracy as it is just a float in the gas tank.  On my 2012R it is very easy to access, I had a problem with the float stuck at the top; I unscrewed it and slid the float up and down, put it back together and no problems since
 
Have a 2018 Bennington and gauge has been wiring great. Turnered the boat on about a week ago and now reads nothing and shows dead empty. I have checked the wiring unplugging and plugging them both back in under the console and on the tank, I guess what everyone is calling the sender unit and all good. Looking a for a few other suggestion prior to calling in the pros.
 
Is everything else working ? Have you checked your breakers/fuses ? Have you checked for loose wires under the helm?
 
Check resistance values of the sender with a multimeter - if that is properly working then probably a gauge issue or wiring (bad connection, corrosion, etc).

There are only a limited number of possibilities so eliminate them in a systematic fashion.

 
Is everything else working ? Have you checked your breakers/fuses ? Have you checked for loose wires under the helm?
Yes everything else is working. I'm not sure I'm aware of a fuse however as I checked under the helm and near the sender. I did put a voltage meter on the connection coming into the sender and there was not indication of any kind of voltage coming from the gauge I'm guessing. I will go back down and check all the connection in the back of the gauge itself and see if I have any loose connection and check for voltage there.
 
I have a 2018 23ssbxp with F200 2.8L Yamaha. My issue is that my fuel gauge is pegged to full. It is the analog Fuel/trim/validate gauge. I’ve pulled and disconnected the sender and the gauge immediately drops to empty. When shorting the resistance and ground wire at the sender, the gauge reads full. I’ve ohm tested the sender and it tests between 30 and 240 ohms when I move the float between full and empty with a smooth transition. The Guage has a 6pin wire harness. I’ve tested between the purple and black wires (pin 1&6) and have 12volts at the gauge. I’ve even pulled the gauge and sender and directly connected them to the battery with the same results. Anyone have any ideas if the sender is testing good and gauge recognizes the sender? Is this a gauge issue?
 
If you are the original owner ,10 year warranty, let the dealer fix it .
 
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