Jump to content

Digital fuel gauge at bottom of cluster does not match OBD fuel percentage

ormandj
 Share

Recommended Posts

ormandj Enthusiast

ormandj

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have a 2024 1500 AT4X 3.0 diesel I picked up last Friday. The last day, I've noticed my fuel gauge does not appear to be dropping on the digital display, though my miles remaining indicator does. If I use an OBDII scanner, I can see the PID associated with fuel percentage appears to be accurate. The gauge was stuck at around 95%, but it was reading 80%.

 

I filled up the tank, and the digital gauge updated to full, but even after driving 60 miles, it hasn't budged, though OBDII and miles remaining both show the fuel level has dropped, so I know the sensor in the tank must be working correctly. It seems like something is 'stuck' with the instrument cluster fuel gauge, or there's some weird behavior going on here that's unexpected. It is strange, though, that when I filled up (the gauge was stuck at around 90-90% if I were to eyeball it) - it went to full, so clearly it at least partially responds.

 

Full transparency, I had the serial data recall performed, and they did update the radio (this was when -4 was the latest) last Friday. That said, the gauge was working properly afterwards, or at least, was dropping as I burned diesel. The other notable thing that's occurred was I had the battery disconnected for an hour or so the other day while ensuring all the fuses/bolts/etc were tight and I had an emergency meeting come up (old habit from owning Jeeps which are notorious from coming from the factory with things not seated properly.)

 

The last thing I can think of that's different is my driveway is at a fairly steep angle, and last night I reversed in and parked (tank would be much higher than the engine and depending on sensor location, perhaps reads as lower fuel). I'm wondering if the gauge does some kind of weird compensation if it detects fuel level increasing significantly (when the car leveled out after I drove off) while the car is running? I normally park forward, which has the engine/front of the truck higher than the back/tank.

Has anybody else run into this or have any suggestions on what I might do? I did the hold down the 'hangup' button reset of the infotainment, but that doesn't seem to have changed a thing. It just seems really odd that filling up caused the gauge to go to full, but burning gas does not appear to make it drop, or at least it hasn't budged in the first 70 miles or so I've driven on this new tank of gas. Do I need to perform some kind of procedure to re-calibrate it after pulling a battery for a longer period of time? Or parking reversed up hills?

Edited by ormandj
  • ormandj changed the title to Digital fuel gauge at bottom of cluster does not match OBD fuel percentage
ormandj Enthusiast

ormandj

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I’ve noticed after driving 70+ miles it has slightly moved downwards(perhaps a mm at most), so it definitely is moving, but there’s no way it’s even close to an accurate representation of remaining fuel. I’m showing 410 miles remaining, which started at 480, so the miles remaining appears to be working as expected.

redwngr Senior Enthusiast

redwngr

Posted
Posted

Congrats on the new truck!

 

I've never heard of the fuel gauge having that issue.

 

60 miles is only 10 % of a 600 mile tankful. 

 

I'd wait for a couple of tankfulls to see if a pattern can be identified. 

 

Miles remaining is based on 'recent' mpg -- some combo of instant, 25 mile, 50 mile, etc.

When current mpg changes significantly the 'estimated range' will change slowly to reflect this.  

Computer can't possibly know how the truck is going to be driven for the rest of the tank....faster/slower/grades/wind/trailer etc etc.

 

I reset 'tripmeter 1' every time it gets filled (and record miles, trip mpg and fuel added so that 'had calculated can be compared with the DIC.

I sometimes check the tripmeter + range number --  so I evaluate this tankfulls 'estimated trip miles' to what it usually does with the way I usually drive. 

 

 

This is a little less than 27,000 miles. Usually the truck is doing a little better than the DIC suggests.

Lifetime hand calc average is 29.2.

Clearly there is tank-to-tank variation depending on usage.

 

image.thumb.png.51a82752619b3a57607af46c6f69d4e9.png

 

 

  • Like 1
ormandj Enthusiast

ormandj

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

I’ve been doing pump calculated mileage over the last 600 miles and average a little over 20mpg. Lots of around town driving. I’m just surprised the fuel % might be 80% via OBD2 but the fuel gauge itself will show nearly full. I’ll give it a few more tanks, it wasn’t like this before, that’s why I was confused.

 

At my current mpg I should get about 480 miles if I depleted the tank entirely, which I expect there is a reserve on. The estimated mileage is pretty close to what I’d expect.

Edited by ormandj
64BAwagon Senior Enthusiast

64BAwagon

Posted
Posted

The fuel level in gallons is on the OBD data because it shows up on my scangage. The gauge at the bottom of the dash is off like every other GM truck I have owned. It stays on full too long and drops like a stone when it gets below 3/4 until it gets to 1/4. The scangage is fairly accurate at reporting the gals left, I check it when I fill up. 

I use my scangage mostly since the OEM gauges are so weak and lack any real numerical readings, just guesstimates typical of a minivan. 

kickass audio Enthusiast

kickass audio

Posted
Posted

The funny thing with the bottom row being so far off like GM is known for, you can tell your truck "ok google, how much fuel do I have" and it will give you the OBD2 percentage and will also read the estimated range before empty too. I've never understood why GM sucks at getting an accurate fuel level on the cluster. I understand filtering the data unlike the old GM trucks like my fathers 97 tahoe where you could rock the truck and make the fuel level bounce around but it should be close to accurate not this far off.

  • Like 1
ormandj Enthusiast

ormandj

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, kickass audio said:

The funny thing with the bottom row being so far off like GM is known for, you can tell your truck "ok google, how much fuel do I have" and it will give you the OBD2 percentage and will also read the estimated range before empty too. I've never understood why GM sucks at getting an accurate fuel level on the cluster. I understand filtering the data unlike the old GM trucks like my fathers 97 tahoe where you could rock the truck and make the fuel level bounce around but it should be close to accurate not this far off.

I'm baffled why it doesn't just use a percentile over time, in essence debouncing erratic polls. So 95th percentile over the last 10 minutes or something. Clearly the "miles remaining" is updating like this, I'm just at a loss for why the fuel gauge isn't, since the data is obviously there.

 

It sounds like this is a "known issue" and not unexpected, then?

Edited by ormandj
  • Like 1
64BAwagon Senior Enthusiast

64BAwagon

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, kickass audio said:

The funny thing with the bottom row being so far off like GM is known for, you can tell your truck "ok google, how much fuel do I have" and it will give you the OBD2 percentage and will also read the estimated range before empty too. I've never understood why GM sucks at getting an accurate fuel level on the cluster. I understand filtering the data unlike the old GM trucks like my fathers 97 tahoe where you could rock the truck and make the fuel level bounce around but it should be close to accurate not this far off.

I was told a long time ago by someone at GM that the gas gauge hangs near full longer than it should to give people the perception that they are getting better MPG than they actually are. It seemed to make sense. They do have a habit of manipulating gauge response. The temp gauge in my POS 2005 LLY duramax would show 210 degrees all the way until it got over 240 and even then it would still show much less than the actual temp. 

ormandj Enthusiast

ormandj

Posted
  • Author
Posted

That's so annoying, I just want a gauge to read accurately. Is something like the Banks idash the only good option to solve for this in a way that doesn't require looking at your phone?

KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, 64BAwagon said:

I was told a long time ago by someone at GM that the gas gauge hangs near full longer than it should to give people the perception that they are getting better MPG than they actually are. It seemed to make sense. They do have a habit of manipulating gauge response. The temp gauge in my POS 2005 LLY duramax would show 210 degrees all the way until it got over 240 and even then it would still show much less than the actual temp. 

You trigger a memory. Back in 1974 I was driving my father’s 1974 Ranchero GT. My Mazda RX3 was waiting on a transmission. My future wife and I were cruising around. I filled the Ranchero. The fuel needle didn’t move for 100 miles. So we ended up in Atlantic City instead of Sea Side that was closer. I’m spending my money on games and food having a blast with no worries. I’m taking my future wife back to her house pretty broke after having a blast. 50 miles towards her house the needle reads 1/2 and is dropping like a rock. I’m not going to worry my future wife but after dropping her off. I still have 10 miles to go. I had 50 cents that gave me about 2 gallons. I ran out in the driveway of the farm where we lived. Lucky for me my father was out of town not due for a few days. The most you could get was 175 miles out of a tank. It didn’t move off of full for the first 100.

  • Haha 2
dieselfan1 Senior Enthusiast

dieselfan1

Posted
Posted
40 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

You trigger a memory. Back in 1974 I was driving my father’s 1974 Ranchero GT. My Mazda RX3 was waiting on a transmission. My future wife and I were cruising around. I filled the Ranchero. The fuel needle didn’t move for 100 miles. So we ended up in Atlantic City instead of Sea Side that was closer. I’m spending my money on games and food having a blast with no worries. I’m taking my future wife back to her house pretty broke after having a blast. 50 miles towards her house the needle reads 1/2 and is dropping like a rock. I’m not going to worry my future wife but after dropping her off. I still have 10 miles to go. I had 50 cents that gave me about 2 gallons. I ran out in the driveway of the farm where we lived. Lucky for me my father was out of town not due for a few days. The most you could get was 175 miles out of a tank. It didn’t move off of full for the first 100.

Sad.

Has nothing to do with the question 

We don't care about your memories. 

Offer something useful .

  • Haha 1
  • Sad 1
KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted
52 minutes ago, dieselfan1 said:

Sad.

Has nothing to do with the question 

We don't care about your memories. 

Offer something useful .

Aw did I trigger you again? I’m so sorry 😢. Your jealousy knows no bounds. We referring to you and possibly and the mouse in your pocket. Need to take a chill pill. 

  • Haha 1
David Krueger Enthusiast

David Krueger

Posted
Posted

My new Harley did the exact same thing. I couldn't figure out why my dealer told me to track my mileage on a tank of gas. I was on my way to work one morning and my guage wen't from 3/8 to E like a rock. So after that I always reset my trip and didn't worry about the gauge. Just Enjoy The Ride!!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • diyer2
      Oil Consumption

      By diyer2 · Posted

      I have changed oil and filter for years by starting a cold engine to warm oil up, let it run 5-10 minutes depending on temperature. Drain until it starts dripping, refill with quantity from owners manual or get it close.   
    • Chuck FB
      Fluid Change Questions

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      I changed the factory fill oil in the rear diff of my truck for the first time today and the miles is close to 9000 on the truck. There was a lot of fines on the magnet, a very thick layer but working it through my fingers it all felt like mush and as most know it appears like graphite, so no surprise chunks anyway. Certainly was time to do it from my thinking and could have been done sooner but the oil didn't look awful but sure wasn't new looking and never expected it to either. I did use some solvent to help me clean out the bottom area of the axle housing, just get any other stuff settled at the bottom washed and wiped out of the housing for the bit of effort it takes. I used Amsoil Severe Gear 75W90 in the easy packs to try out what they are like and I used up 4 packs and didn't spill much at all in the process but did take all four of the packs and go to the work bench and emptied them into a measuring container and there certainly was some in them that added up to something, then poured that into one of the easy packs and squirted in what I could get out of it. I would say the level is within 1/8th of an inch of being level with the threads at the fill plug so just the perfect amount. Once again, more than what GM says the fill volume is but computes with what others are adding to their rear diffs as well. 
    • Chuck FB
      Oil Consumption

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      So speaking of oil consumption with my L8T as I just changed the oil yesterday and made the switch over to Amsoil SS 0W-40 from the Mobil 1  5W-30 Truck and SUV I just dropped out. 2900 miles on that oil as well as  68 hours on that oil ( so used to equipment with an hour meter and that becomes valuable information to compare with others as well ). Once again the oil use was so very little, I am going to say it dropped under 1/16 of an inch on the dipstick. No towing was done and this interval was from early spring until now.    One interesting item to note is that going by the 5 quart jugs I was using before from Mobil, it was showing that I was putting in 8 US quarts to bring it to full if not slightly over the full mark according to their jug markings. Granted I did allow more drain time this time and in part because the engine oil was only lukewarm as I started it and let it idle and not for long enough to get the oil itself hot ( the engine was up to operating temp ). The oil in that state just seemed to take forever for it to drip out but not only at the drain plug but at the oil filter housing as well, perhaps I had never quite gotten all the oil out before and I could have still waited longer but as it was I waited well over 3 hours. I think next time if I have the time I will do an experiment by dropping the oil and lets say leave the pan under it for 15 minutes, then switch to another pail and let it drip out overnight and measure how much more oil comes out. So this time and yes I ended up getting it just over the full mark as I was experimenting with trying to get the level to the add mark after I had run it and then waited some and then added a bit and waited for a certain amount of time for it to settle to the add mark. I very well may not have waited long enough for that experiment but I got to the add mark, then dumped in a full quart and waited some and checked and then waited some more and it crept up more ... and then finally oops, it was slightly over full some hours later when it really had settled all it would. I find this engine sure takes time for the last bit of oil that gets poured in to finally make its way into the crank case. I can only guess at how much too much I added as per maybe a 1/10th of a quart. I had poured in 8.5 quarts going by the quart containers as per 8 quarts and 16 us ounces. I was shocked at how much this was off compared to the prior oil changes and if those larger jugs and they are not marked accurately enough or they contain slightly more than what they say, or the drain time factor made that much of a difference. But I know on this forum there have been others who have said they have put well over 8 quarts in their L8T and now I have also going by the Amsoil true quart containers. Its a confusing convoluted mess up here in Canada with some oil manufactures packaging is in true US quarts, some is also in true US quarts containers on an even number of quarts but also marked in liters which becomes the odd ball volume of a fractional amount of liters. Then there is the Liters only containers, no US markings as its a true metric container and only measured in Liters to an even number of Liters. But remember we used to have Imperial Gallons and Imperial quarts as well !. 
    • Atlas
      2027 GMC Sierra: Official Discussion

      By Atlas · Posted

      Holy smokes. Clearly not a deal on that truck. I just mean in general, matte or painted trim is becoming more normative than chrome, but I know the Black Optics packages on various vehicles are being sold as uplevel trims. They look really good, but sheesh. It's just paint and plastic.
    • Grumpy Bear
      Some Assembly is Required

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      I Wouldn't Know Where to Begin    Oh I know where I would begin but I'm just one of over eight billion people on this rock. Eight billion versions of where the goal post is. How large it should be. How far to kick from. What ball is the right ball. Elevation. Age.....are you getting the point? It isn't about disagreeing with one individual. It's about agreeing only with one individual. One's self.   Agreement comes when multiple people hold the same point already. THAT is the goal of an education. Building the Social Contract. That thing that allows us to all read this sentence. We've agreed on the alphabet and how to arrange those letters into words we agree upon whose meanings hold true for everyone entering into that contract. Those words arranged into a sentence form an idea and several sentences strung together in a paragraph convey an argument for or against or inform the reader of a state, condition or perhaps reveal a things nature. Paint a word picture. Make oneself known.    This contract is not limited to words although they are often explained by words. Things like numbers and their usefulness. Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Music, Art and so on.    The frequency of middle C (C4) is 261.63 Hz is a first principle. We build on that to make music we all can enjoy even if we all can not compose or play. You don't have to master it to make it enjoyable and useful.    So why is the Beginning so difficult? Why is agreement so elusive?   Everyone "Signs" the contract (when receiving that education in obtaining it)  but fewer and fewer in this world have any intention of living by that contract. They find exploiting that contract more advantageous. Disruption. With intent. Without intent. In Ignorance. In your face. With a double dog dare you. With a hold my beer. In resistance to that contract and in spite how it looks on us. It permeates the very air we breath.    In this way the contract is subject to advantage. Abide by it when it serves you, disregard it when it doesn't. Unpredictable and self-serving. Corrosive.....Toxic........   It says a lot about a persons character to disregard the contract, the truth, first principles. None of it good.        ********************************************************   https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/character-vs-personality-who-we-are-and-who-we-aspire-to-be/   Just an interesting article.   

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...