Skoda Octavia Ambient 1.6i 2003 Fuel Meter Reading Erratic

[Caesar]

Dear All

My car's fuel meter readings has all of a sudden gone very very erratic in terms that the needle will fluctuate up and down depending if you are on a hill or taking a bend etc, this happend after the car was left standing for a few days. I had been checking the fuses over the weekend and maybe inserted a fuse back in the wrong place! Could this be the cause?

Any help is greatly appreciated, many thanks.

 

[Burnerman]

I don't think this can be caused by any interference from fuses.....gauges such as these have an electronic stabiliser that effectively damps out the movement of the float gauge in the fuel tank, and there's a chance that yours has called it a day.
Its likely to be housed in the dashboard binnacle somewhere, but thats only a guess.
You can get some useful tips at bba-reman for things like this.
John

 

[Caesar]

Hi Burnerman

Many thanks for the reply. I think the problem maybe the sender unit in the Fuel Tank as when the car corners or goes over a dip or bump it is then when the Fuel gauge needle moves to Zero and sounding the alarm for low fuel!

I gather the sender unit and Pump are just 1 unit or can then be repaired / bought seperately?

 

[Burnerman]

Hi Caesar
With all cars, the fuel float gauge bounces about merrily when you go over a bump, climb hills etc, and if this was directly connected to the gauge on the dash, then this would rise and fall too. Therefore these movements are electronically damped so that you get a steady indication of how much fuel you have left.
I would expect the fuel pump / tank sender unit to be very expensive on these, so before diving in, why not have a word with your local Skoda service manager? There's every chance he's seen it before.
John

 

[Caesar]

Dear Burnerman

I think you maybe right as now the Speedometer has stopped working altogether!!! Does anyone know how to repair / Replace and where can I get this done and the rough Costs? Many thanks.

 

[Caesar]

Hi All

Does anyone know the costs of repair the instrument cluster on this car, both Fuel guage and Speedometer have failed, No life from the Speedo and Fuel Guage erratic? Can this be repaired at home, is it an easy repair? many thanks.

 

[Burnerman]

Hello Caesar (should that be 'hail' Caesar)?
Check out the common faults listed on the bba-reman website and then contact them with your problem and see what they say. I very much doubt if there's anything you can do to the dash binnacle yourself.
Wishing you luck!
John