I have mentioned before that I'm not sure if my fuel gauge is reading right. Yesterday I filled up the car (only 47 litres and it holds 65) the needle was about half way into the little red zone. I also got about 435kms on that tank. So today i'm driving to work and have 75 kms on it, and its reading half way between full and half!?!??!?! Now I know that can't be right, I should get about 250 by half way. But I live in Vancouver, B.C. and there are tons of hills everywhere. The needle would fluctuate from 3/4, to full as I went up and down hills. I don't think it should fluctuate that much. What and where do I check to find out why its reading wrong? The sender in the gas tank? The fuel gauge itself? Relays?

If all the previous answers don't correct your problem there is one additional thing to check into. Recently Shell oil released a silent initiative to repair fuel sending units on customers cars who used their fuel. It seems that an additive they were using would coat the sending unit with a layer of sludge that would cause the fuel guage to read inacuratly or fail completely.

Just a sugestion

Volvord 784VC
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/gilesij/Volvord/

First check the wiring to ensure the connection is OK.
To test the fuel level sending unit:
1982-1986 Lever Type Sending Unit:
-Disconnect battery
-Unplug connector leading from the tank and measure resistance between the gray-white lead and ground. Full tank: 36 ohms; Empty tank: 296 ohms.
1986+ Tubular type:
-Disconnect battery
-Unplug connector leading from tank and measure resistance between white-gray and brown leads.
60-liter (16 US gallon) tank: resistance between 0 and 280 ohms
80-liter (21 US gallon) tank: resistance between 0 and 367.5 ohms
These two tanks change resistance at 5 ohms/liter
1993+ models: resistance between 2 and 130 ohms

Other values result in changing the sending unit.

Ok, thanks. So I don't have to actually pull the unit out of the gas tank, but check the connector on the outside? Sounds better than what I thought I would have to do. I also talked to my mechanic (ex Volvo trained) who did my t belt a couple of months ago. He said it probably is the sending unit. New from Volvo is about $400, but used ones can be had for 100-200 CDN. At least I can check it myself and go from there.

THanks.

Duh, I should of read the FAQ first! Maybe that is my problem, I might have to resolder the 3 screws on the back of the gauge. Is it ok to pull out the dash without taking the ground off the battery? I don't have the code for the radio.