After replacing cluster, do you need to calibrate fuel?

[doncaruana]

My fuel gauge on my 97 Tahoe was doing the full 360 and beating up my oil pressure gauge so I bought a used cluster from a junk yard. I think the needle read a 1/4 tank on the junk yard cluster and I probably had a little more than that in the truck when I replaced it.

I went to gas up so I could at least use my trip gauge again just in case. After filling up, the gauge is way past full. And as I type this, I'm wondering if the reason it should a quarter tank is that it was off by that much when I got it...

So...did I just waste my time and need to get another new cluster? Or is there some easy way to calibrate this thing? Or should I pluck this thing out and "realign" the needle? Is that even something you can or should do?

 

[east302]

Odds are fairly good that the replacement cluster has issues with a stepper motor or two - even the youngest of these is almost twenty years old now. They do sell replacement stepper motors. They are specific to the gauge. I’m not sure about repositioning the needle.

The gas gauge does not fall to zero with ignition off. On my two 98 models, they rest roughly where the fuel level is. Both go a little past the ‘F’ mark when filled to pump shutoff (maybe a needle width?) and are reasonably accurate from that point on.

Have you gone through a complete tank yet to see how the needle tracks? Yours may be ok.


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[doncaruana]

About half way through my first full tank. The gauge is tracking okay I think. My original gauge always went a little past both full and empty. Interestingly I'm beginning to wonder if the new gauge will end up with it ending up on more of a "true" empty.

Ill be patient and see where things end up before I do anything.

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[doncaruana]

One run through the tank....It's good enough. The empty line seems to now be much closer to a true empty, which will take some adjusting (it used to be more of an "uh oh" warning). It's farther past full now, so somehow it just looks like the whole gauge is rotated clockwise a tad, which is fine.