• | Perform the Diagnostic System Check - Vehicle prior to using this diagnostic procedure. |
• | Review Strategy Based Diagnosis for an overview of the diagnostic approach. |
• | Diagnostic Procedure Instructions provides an overview of each diagnostic category. |
Circuit | Short to Ground | High Resistance | Open | Short to Voltage | Signal Performance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fuel Level Sensor 1 Signal | P0462 | 1 | P0463 P0464 | P0463 | P0461 |
Fuel Level Sensor 2 Signal | P2067 | 1 | P2068 | P2068 | P2066 or P2636 |
Fuel Level Sensor Low Reference | -- | 1 | P0463 P2068 P0464 | P0463 P2068 | P0461 P2066 or P2636 |
1. Fuel Gage Inaccurate or Inoperative |
The primary fuel level sender and the secondary fuel level sender changes resistance based on fuel level. The engine control module (ECM) monitors the signal circuits of the primary fuel level sender and the secondary fuel level sender in order to determine the fuel level. When the fuel tank is full, the resistances of both fuel level senders are low and the ECM senses a low signal voltage on both the signal circuits of the primary fuel level sender and the secondary fuel level sender. When the fuel tanks are empty, the resistances of the fuel level senders are high and the ECM senses a high signal voltage. The ECM uses the signal circuits of the primary fuel level sender and the secondary fuel level sender in order to calculate the percentage of remaining fuel in the tank. The ECM sends the fuel level percentage via serial data circuit to the instrument cluster in order to control the fuel gage.
• | The engine is running. |
• | The fuel level is less than 28.5 L (7.5 gals) |
• | No VSS DTCs set |
The ECM detects that the primary fuel tank is greater than 28 L (7.3 gal) and the secondary fuel tank is less than 4 L (1 gal) over a distance of 175 km (108 mi).
• | The fuel gage defaults to empty. |
• | The driver information center (DIC) displays the FUEL LEVEL LOW message. |
• | The ECM records the operating conditions at the time that the diagnostic test fails. The ECM displays the failure information in the Failure Records on the scan tool. |
• | The DTC becomes history when the conditions for setting the DTC are no longer present. |
• | The history DTC clears after 40 malfunction-free warm-up cycles. |
Check if DTC P2066 is also set. Both DTCs P0461 and P2066 may set simultaneously if the vehicle was refueled with the ignition ON or engine RUNNING. Always refuel with the ignition OFF.
Instrument Cluster Description and Operation
Control Module References for scan tool information
⇒ | If any interference is present, repair the fuel level sender interference. |
⇒ | If not within the specified range, replace the fuel level sensor. |
Perform the Diagnostic Repair Verification after completing the diagnostic procedure.
• | Fuel Level Sensor Replacement - Left Side for the 4.6L engine |
• | Fuel Level Sensor Replacement - Left Side for the 4.4L engine |
• | Control Module References for the ECM replacement, setup, and programming |