Dual tank fuel gauge issue

05chevy

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Jun 10, 2010
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Help a guy with his 03. Custom truck for hualing mower buildings and such. Was having issues with the fuel gauge working. We did injectors, cp3, and lift pump. 2 feeds 2 returns and split the returns from the engine to each tank. Still would work for a few miles then go to empty. So replaced both sending units. Still says empty. And help? It's got me stumped

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THEFERMANATOR

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Feb 16, 2009
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The dual tank setup runs EVERYTHING off the front tank. The rear tank is a transfer tank. The ecm controls an electric fuel pump that transfers fuel from the rear tank to the front tank. The ecm also watches the level in each tank to allow a single gauge to show the combined fuel for both tanks. NO fuel is pulled OR returned to the rear tank in a properly functioning system. If the ECM sees a level chang in either tank it doesn't think should occur, it is supposed to default the gauge to empty and disable the transfer pump.

Sounds like you need to fix your plumbing to how it is designed to work, otherwise the gauge will continue to to empty. Also, you MUST run the correctcab and chassis fuel segment for it to enable the transfer pump.
 

05chevy

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Jun 10, 2010
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My problem is with a fass pump installed. I have to run 2 return lines. One to each tank. If not the return will.over fill one tank. And spill fuel out of the fill neck. I also have the transfer pump unplugged. Do you think if I plug the transfer pump back in even tho.it is not being used or hooked to either tank would help?. He was having this issue before we installed the Fass pump. I think the transfer pump might have been fualty

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THEFERMANATOR

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Feb 16, 2009
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My problem is with a fass pump installed. I have to run 2 return lines. One to each tank. If not the return will.over fill one tank. And spill fuel out of the fill neck. I also have the transfer pump unplugged. Do you think if I plug the transfer pump back in even tho.it is not being used or hooked to either tank would help?. He was having this issue before we installed the Fass pump. I think the transfer pump might have been fualty

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How will the FASS overflow the one tank? It doesn't on single tank trucks, so why would it on dual tank trucks. You hook the lift pump up like factory so it pulls fuel from the front tank, and returns it to the front tank. You can't pump more into the tank than there is for the FASS to suck out. The ECM only engages the transfer pump once it sees the level in the front tank dropping, and stops the transfer pump once it sees the leve; reach a certain point(turns it on at roughly 75% front tank volume, and will shut it off if it goes back above say 80% or so). Hook your FASS up to the front tank to ONLY pull from the front tank like every other single tank install. Run your return to the front tank just like every other single tank truck. Hook the transfer pump back up, and let the ECM do it's job, otherwise deal with the fuel gauge on empty as it is doing what it is designed to do(the ECM defaults to empty ANYTIME something else causes fuel to be trasferred to the front tank. Refueling with the truck running can also cause the gauge to go to empty and require a restart for the gauge to come back).
 

05chevy

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Jun 10, 2010
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I understand what you are says. I originally had the return going to the rear tank.only because the front tank is hard to get to the way this truck is set up. And the return would fill the rear tank and flow out of the fill. I will try to rerout a few things tomorrow and see how that works. Thanks for the imput on how the ECM works with the sending units.

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05chevy

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Jun 10, 2010
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How will the FASS overflow the one tank? It doesn't on single tank trucks, so why would it on dual tank trucks. You hook the lift pump up like factory so it pulls fuel from the front tank, and returns it to the front tank. You can't pump more into the tank than there is for the FASS to suck out. The ECM only engages the transfer pump once it sees the level in the front tank dropping, and stops the transfer pump once it sees the leve; reach a certain point(turns it on at roughly 75% front tank volume, and will shut it off if it goes back above say 80% or so). Hook your FASS up to the front tank to ONLY pull from the front tank like every other single tank install. Run your return to the front tank just like every other single tank truck. Hook the transfer pump back up, and let the ECM do it's job, otherwise deal with the fuel gauge on empty as it is doing what it is designed to do(the ECM defaults to empty ANYTIME something else causes fuel to be trasferred to the front tank. Refueling with the truck running can also cause the gauge to go to empty and require a restart for the gauge to come back).
So I got the everything working properly in the shop. Front tank was about half full
Rear tank was full. Turn key on transfer pump leveled tanks out. No issue. He drove truck for 2 days now it's back to staying on empty. Do I need to recalibrate the ecm with the new sending units? I'm at a lose of how to fix this thing.

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jollybuildingmover

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Apr 21, 2015
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Did get your fuel guage working? I am having problems with the guage on my cab and chassis that left me steamed over the weekend. Mine has gone to a few random times, but now is stuck on full. Sure where to start. It may may have to go to the dealer this week.

Rob

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DIESELMAFIAPER.LB7

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Jan 17, 2010
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There is no fix gm has never fixed this issue. You can rescale the fuel level to never show full is the "fix" it's a bullshit system gm should recall and fix it has left us stranded half a dozen times in our 05 c&c now it's broke again and will not come off full....

Pulling a service bed is not fun
 

jollybuildingmover

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Apr 21, 2015
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Oh, no doubt. And I discovered today when I ran out of fuel AGAIN that when this issue is rearing its head, the rear tank does not fill the front like normal. Yippee!

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THEFERMANATOR

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Feb 16, 2009
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Oh, no doubt. And I discovered today when I ran out of fuel AGAIN that when this issue is rearing its head, the rear tank does not fill the front like normal. Yippee!

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If at anytime the ECM THINKS fuel is going from the rear tank to the front, it disables the transfer pump as a safety to prevent overfilling the front tank. Learned this helping with a DURABURB, and fuel was sloshing from the rear tank to the front because they fill both tanks through one filler.
 

unionmax481

hot rodder
Aug 8, 2014
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lebanon in
A friend of mine is having the same problem on his Kodiak guage reads empty and the transfer pump doesn't seen to be working. he wired hot for a while worked for as minute now it doesn't. And still has no gauge. He asked me to look at it i just wonder where do i start. Does the transfer pump have to be there for the gauge work properly our can i add a lift pump to the truck an gravity feed the tanks together and use one sending unit