Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

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icemanwp
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Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by icemanwp »

Can anyone advise what the issue can be, my tank was on just over quarter then all of a sudden the light goes on and the fuel needle goes all the way down to empty, when i checked the amount of fuel left it says 0km :( weird after 10 minutes of driving the tank goes back up to quarter.

Help please if anyone had this experience
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by Stompie »

sounds like a loose connection or wires.
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by Nikz_tsc »

Sup dude

Do you have vcds?

If so, attempt at doing an instrument test to determine if it is the gauge thats faulty or a bad connection/burned fuse/faulty sender unit/something or the other thats faulty

:hi:
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by RPGTI »

Everything is built into the pump housing so wiring and fuel line connectors are on top of the unit which is under the back seat behind the driver, there will be a round black disc with a rubber rim and a cable going to it pull the plastic disc up and it will expose the top of the pump, check the wires or clean them off with electrical cleaner. if its still a problem, it will be a float mechanism inside the tank that's the problem.
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by icemanwp »

Thanks guys, i will check what rpgti said :) hopefully it is only that, if it is the floating mechanism im sure its gng to cost alot to fix.
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by SoDub »

I had the same issue years ago on my TDi. VW replaced my cluster(10k!!!) - same thing happened. Landed up being the fuel tank relay sensor that was faulty?
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by kingr »

A fuel pump relay issue will result in your car not starting , such as no voltage to the pump.

A fuel sendor unit not working properly means your fuel gauge is faulty. VAG VW fuel pump not working in the tank means your car wont start.

Your car needs fuel sender calibration.
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by _plaYa_ »

Hi, was the cause of this issue ever determined? Having the same problem now on my 1.6 9n3
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by Kam19 »

_plaYa_ wrote:Hi, was the cause of this issue ever determined? Having the same problem now on my 1.6 9n3
Has this problem been resolved? Had the same problem this morning.

Was sitting at 210km and then the fuel light came on for a second with the beep - range dropped to 150km and then went back up again. (Needle also moved up and down a few times)
:cry:
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by _plaYa_ »

Hi Kam19, never found the solution hey... learned to live with it - happened maybe 5 times in 6 months, didn't affect drivability or anything.
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by P1LAYA-ZN »

Howzit gents,

I recall my car (A3 8L AUM) having a similar problem about 2 years back. In my case the gauge was stuck on empty. What I did was, I first removed the Instrumentation Cluster Fuse and the Fuel Pump Fuse. The fuel pump should now no longer prime when ignition is on. Now try and start the car, just let it start briefly and switch it back off. Then replace both the fuses. In my case this worked and the car has been fine since. Good luck ;-)
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by Kam19 »

P1LAYA-ZN wrote:Howzit gents,

I recall my car (A3 8L AUM) having a similar problem about 2 years back. In my case the gauge was stuck on empty. What I did was, I first removed the Instrumentation Cluster Fuse and the Fuel Pump Fuse. The fuel pump should now no longer prime when ignition is on. Now try and start the car, just let it start briefly and switch it back off. Then replace both the fuses. In my case this worked and the car has been fine since. Good luck ;-)
Thanks for the advise! But I hope its not a huge problem... Will just have to monitor it...
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by MK2 G60 »

It is the sender unit in the tank. The resistor plate gets affected buy build/corrosion from the fuels.
you can replace the unit seperate on some models or else the complete pump unit.
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by Merv78 »

R2810.10 for a complete fuel pump unit just to fix the fuel gauge issue, or just live with it, its your choice.
This seems to be the norm with most new cars and its extremely disapointing from VW, when I have a 1991 Mk1 Fox that is still more reliable than my 2006 Polo Classic Comfortline.
Just replaced the break light switch today R255.55 from VW and I was told this switch is on its 2nd upgrade, 1 of the many causes of the EPC light coming ON on the dash :bang:
I also have the fuel gauge issue but as long as its not designed like some other cars, i.e. the car does not stall when in empty, well then it will have to wait.
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by El Toro »

Hey guys. I had the exact same problem with my 9n3 gti. What I did was removed the whole pump and cleaned the float unit and the sensors on with a can of carb cleaner and put it all back together again. Been about 6 months now and hasn't happened once. Saved me about R3000 for a new unit. Try that before you go spending R3000 on a new unit.
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by Merv78 »

@ El Toro
Thank for that tip, been meaning to do just that but time was an issue, carb cleaner it is then. :hurray:
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by UzziB »

My old 9n polo used to that every now and then used to just drop to empty then go back up. My ranger, I noticed twice now that upon filling it full the needle sits just under full tank. Fuel consumption normal.
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Re: Fuel guage of Polo Gti 9n3 not working

Post by Merv78 »

Hey all
So I pulled out my 2006 Polo 1.6 fuel pump today and found that the float resistor board was covered in black gunk from 10 years of the wiper moving up and down.
I cleaned it up with Carb cleaner and re-installed it and so far so good will keep you posted if the fuel gauge issue has been resolved.
The only hassle I had was taking off the power connector to the fuel pump as it just would not budge and ended up having to break the clip and clip housing to get it to release, but the main lock is still intact.
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Previous Cars:
Jetta Mk1
1991 Sentra III 160 GX
1992 Sentra III 200 Sti
2014 Dodge Journey 2.4L SXT
2006 Polo Classic 1.6 Comfortline

Current Cars:
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1991 Fox 1.8L Sport
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