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Faulty fuel gauge in the cluster!


Kol12

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Hi, My fuel gauge is basically broken and I'm sure the fault is in the cluster. I've run out of petrol in some dangerous situations now so I have to get this fixed! Thing is no one seems completely sure what the fault is. Is there anyone here who has had the same problem and knows how to fix it or knows anyone that is actually familiar with the problem and has fixed it? It's apparently a common problem with these cars but there's not a lot of info around on what the actual cause or fix is.

I know one potential fix is to swap the cluster for a functioning one and have the mileage re-programmed but I don't know how legit this is and it would be quite costly. I'm basically wondering if the actual gauge can be fixed on the original cluster?

I've also been told to track fuel consumption with the trip meter but it's a bit hit and miss and not very reliable. I'm not even really sure how many km's I should expect per litre? (1999 Legacy B4)

Not having a fuel gauge absolutely sucks.

Thanks.

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It moves sometimes, mainly with a decent amount of petrol in it but the readings are all over the place and then it will just fall off down to the bottom and stay there. Sometimes the empty light just stays on all the time.

I've had both the senders in the tank replaced with used ones "apparently" because the originals were faulty but I don't believe it and I think the mechanics I had look at it at the time didn't know what the &*&&^ they were doing. I think the fault has been in the cluster all along.

I wouldn't really know what to look for in behind the cluster, not really my expertise..

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Just grab another cluster, keep note of the kms yourself if worried - if nothing else using it for a week will confirm if the problem lies in your cluster or not

Or just swap out the fuel level gauge part of it? I can't remember how dismantle-able a legacy cluster is, but I do know they only take about 2 mins to remove from the dash

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Rung Capital Civic but they don't do cluster repairs. I also rung Hamish at H&N Auto in Tauranga (anyone here know him? Subaru specialist..) and he said he's fixed this a lot and can do it for $90. Awesome. I would of rung him in the first place but I forgot whether I had asked him about it before and whether he knew how to fix it.

If anyone here doesn't know Hamish he's a cool guy and is a Subaru specialist. Recommended.. H&N Auto Tauranga.

Edited by Kol12
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 Marky said:
Just grab another cluster, keep note of the kms yourself if worried - if nothing else using it for a week will confirm if the problem lies in your cluster or not

Or just swap out the fuel level gauge part of it? I can't remember how dismantle-able a legacy cluster is, but I do know they only take about 2 mins to remove from the dash

Yeah, it's possible the gauge part can be replaced separately or fixed as Hamish at H&N say's is possible.

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  • Admin

Have read that swapping to the blackout cluster isn't quite as simple as dropping it in. Have you done it yourself? Think all the wiring was different from memory, can't speak from experience but there was something that made it a semi major hassle to do.

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 l2eeFer13 said:
$90 is pretty good really. Do you have the basic cluster (green lights) or the back lit one with orange halos? Could be worth doing that swap if it is the old one. Not much to it

I've got the backlit cluster that lights everything up white with red needles.

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 Andy_Mac said:
Have read that swapping to the blackout cluster isn't quite as simple as dropping it in. Have you done it yourself? Think all the wiring was different from memory, can't speak from experience but there was something that made it a semi major hassle to do.

I haven't done it before so don't know what is involved. Everyone has said that it has to replaced with the right one by matching the numbers on the back.

The guy at Sub a roo auto parts reckons there's a silver box on the back of it that controls the illumination but also the fuel gauge and said it's possible you could just swap this part but doesn't know for sure.

Hamish at H&N sounds confident he knows how to fix it so I'll wait to see how this goes.

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 Andy_Mac said:
Putting a blouckout one in when you originally had a blackout one shouldn't be a problem, its only complicated when swapping from the basic one to the blackout.

Is the basic one like the older style green lit ones?

I imagine changing the cluster with an exact same one would be pretty straight forward. Here's hoping I can just get my one fixed!

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 Andy_Mac said:
Have read that swapping to the blackout cluster isn't quite as simple as dropping it in. Have you done it yourself? Think all the wiring was different from memory, can't speak from experience but there was something that made it a semi major hassle to do.

Yeah i done it myself. I had both pin out diagrams. Unpinned everything from old plugs and then re pinned them into new plugs following new diagram. Their was a guy over at subyclub making harnesses that would come in handy for some people

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 Kol12 said:
I haven't done it before so don't know what is involved. Everyone has said that it has to replaced with the right one by matching the numbers on the back.

The guy at Sub a roo auto parts reckons there's a silver box on the back of it that controls the illumination but also the fuel gauge and said it's possible you could just swap this part but doesn't know for sure.

Hamish at H&N sounds confident he knows how to fix it so I'll wait to see how this goes.

The silver box only makes everything bright. When i done my swap i tried it without the box and everything was very dull so i doubt that it will control the fuel gauge reading itself. Can pick up a new cluster for $50 from the right wrecker and will be a straight swap. Maybe even ask to test first but then your odo will be off

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey everyone, just to let you know Hamish at H&N has fixed my fuel gauge. He really made it look like it was no big deal at all, he even done it for $70!

Basically there's solder points behind the gauge on the pcb board that look totally normal but Hamish showed me with a screw driver that when he pressed on the solders they caved in and this is what is called a "dry joint" (lack of connection)

New solders and it's like new. Very happy.;)

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 Kol12 said:
Hey everyone, just to let you know Hamish at H&N has fixed my fuel gauge. He really made it look like it was no big deal at all, he even done it for $70!

Basically there's solder points behind the gauge on the pcb board that look totally normal but Hamish showed me with a screw driver that when he pressed on the solders they caved in and this is what is called a "dry joint" (lack of connection)

New solders and it's like new. Very happy.;)

Glad you got it organised and even at a cheap price. Cant complain with that at all

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