Fiero Store gas tank sending unit (Page 2/2)
damittron JUN 13, 03:44 PM

quote
Originally posted by FieroStore:

I am very sorry you are having trouble with the unit. It does carry a 1 year warranty and we are happy to replace it, if it is defective. The problem you describe sounds more baffle related though (thanks for the cutaway link Charlie1963). The Fiero uses a plastic baffle inside that is simply pressed over the filler tube. Over time, the press fit can loosen and allow the baffle to shift one way or another and sometimes it completely dislodges from the filler tube. This movement means that the baffle can interfere with the float on the sending unit. There definitely should have been a small piece of paper with a diagram and instructions about this problem in the packaging, taped to the box and/or stapled to the invoice.

Unfortunately, we cannot “quality control” every customer’s 30+ year old gas tank (great help though IMSA GT…as always). We build a quality stainless steel sending unit at a reasonable price for a very small market. To think that RockAuto has better quality control than us is laughable. Great company to buy from at times but zero invested back into your car and little to no knowledge of your car. We understand that RockAuto's low prices are tempting, but the sad fact is that RockAuto hurts the Fiero market more than it helps.




Matt,

This is probably the reply I should have received (via email) first. I can appreciate that you don't know anything about my car, I don't expect you to, that would be completely unreasonable. My car has less than 2000 miles on it, I pulled the tank in December and inspected/cleaned it, checked everything out on the inside and there were no issues with the baffles. I did dry fit it before I locked things down and made sure everything fit properly, everything was good. I will pull the tank in the next couple of weeks and see what is going on.

I rebuild cars as a hobby, I currently have several and have been working on several makes for about 35 years, so this isn't my first rodeo.

If this were the first issue that I ran into with your parts, I would definitely not have been in agreement with IMSA GT, but it isn't my first issue. I am sure I will buy more parts from you guys, but I will likely be very cautious about what they are and how difficult they are to install.
donuteater306 JUN 14, 01:55 AM
Unfortunately my 2 year old sending unit has never worked properly either, so I use the trip odometer and refill at 220 miles. Two issues: 1- I'm sure the float it's bumping into the baffle, and 2- the gauge doesn't display the fuel level consistently.

My original sending unit and gauge were surprisingly accurate for a 30 year car with 250k miles. What happened is, I failed CA smog because of an evap leak. The leak was a cracked weld on a metal evap line on the sender. Rather than repair the line, I decided to replace the sender with a FS unit.

The new sender did come with the paper explaining the possibility of interference with the baffle...the shop that installed it said there were no issues. The 1st time I filled the tank, the gauge sat on empty until I hit a few bumps, then went to full. Clearly the shop did not test for interference...seems obvious (or most likely), the float is getting hung-up on a baffle. Shops fault, not the product.

Maybe it's related, but the gauge doesn't show the fuel level consistently...Within 20 miles of driving, the needle drops to 3/4 tank. Gauge sits at 3/4 until about 100 miles, then drops to 1/2 tank, nothing in between. Sometimes while driving, the gauge will drop to 1/2 tank at 50 miles, then goes back up a little, then drops to 1/2 again at 100 miles. By 150 miles, the gauge is resting on "E". Refilling at 220 miles takes roughly 9 gallons. I average between 25-27mpg with the 5spd. We have to support TFS. Our vehicles are a dying breed and GM gave up on us 30 years ago lol.

FieroStore JUN 14, 09:14 AM
Scott:

Unfortunately, we don't know whether or not the part is defective. The symptoms you previously described suggest it's not, but until we have more information, we just don't know. If the part is defective, we will be happy to warranty the part for you. Defects are rare, but they do happen from time to time. We have sold nearly 1,000 of our current manufacturer's sending units and their defect rate is well below 1%.

I looked through your order history and did not see any other warranties or abnormal incidents on your account. We would like to learn more about the details that you alluded to.
Initial.F JUN 25, 03:23 PM
I had issues with mine... but it well past warranty....bought it and it sat in the box for 1 1/2 years ” I finally installed it and the gas gauge stays on E” ...pulled it again and tested the gas gauge and it worked.....installed the gauge...and the gauge sat on E... Again!

Hooked a external gas gauge and it stayed on E....said screw it and drove the car with a non working gas gauge.....then the fuel pump stops working. Pulled the tank AGAIN! And saw the grey connector loose.... tested it and the wire had a short...then the grey connect” inside the tank.....started messing up “ causing me to ditch the grey connector” I ended up shrink wrapping and hard soldering the wires” straight to the prongs” on the sending unit.


I installed the tank and guess what? Gas gauge still stuck on E.... the sending units look nice...but they need a quality improvement.

[This message has been edited by Initial.F (edited 06-25-2019).]

Chris Eddy JUN 25, 08:34 PM
I think that you should add another level of test.. if the sender is defective, one would expect the ohms wire to be broken or shorted or some such. A simple ohm meter reading should tell you where the sender is physically on the wiper. That could tell us more useful stuff.
hobbywrench APR 22, 03:54 PM
Had to chime in ...My 85 GT bought new . In less than 8K miles from new the pump failed. I replaced it myself and now I am sorting out a 10 PSI rail reading.

Anyway, I now relate the main problem I have with Rock Auto. Paying online is a gigantic PIA. After decades of business I have emailed them numerous times and they have always answered that it is my card provider. With any other vendor check out is effortless. I have had a few bad parts always remedied IF WITHIN THEIR GRACE PERIOD. But when I lay in bad parts and age them I end up eating them. Long range planning is dangerous.

My original gas gauge has left me stranded a few times. I never have completely overcome the false 1/8 tank reading when it is really empty.
Dennis LaGrua APR 22, 06:00 PM
If you compare the Fiero Store gas tank sending unit to the OEM unit the design of the float and arm is different. For whatever reason the floats on those FS units interfere with the baffle. There was a member here that had to redesign the float arm and ended up locating the float in the middle of the arm by cutting it and making a T . The float was cut in half and each half put on each end of the T. You can find the post on this forum as it was only a few weeks old.
I've never had a problem with Fiero Store products but this one seems the exception. I believe the arm needs to be redesigned to mirror the OEM unit so that it will clear the baffle.

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DrXtreme MAY 02, 06:07 PM
I had the same issue on my 1988. Fix was bend the flat piece holding the sensing unit to bring float back to center. i posted pics of what i did about 6 months ago. its a real easy fix, but you do haveto drop the tank.

Dr Xtremw