Thanks guys. Last night as I was posting, I was wondering if the needle is hanging up. I was going to look at the needle from the side to see if it is touching the face of the gauge but, I did not get around to it. I have tapped the plastic cover on the face of the cluster and the top of the dash, but the needle has never moved. Now that I know I cannot get the wires screwed up, I will check the needle tonight and remove the cluster tomorrow.

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1987 300D 146K Original #14 Head
One eye on the road, the other on the temp. gauge

Gone But Not Forgotten
1983 380 SEL Long gone
1983 300SD Wish I hadn't traded it in on a 90' Corvette
1989 300SE My all time favorite
1995 E420 Went like a bullet

I turned the key on and watched the needle. It immediately jumps to Full (I just filled the tank) When I turn the key off, the needle hits the Empty mark so fast it bounces once after it hits. So the needle is not hanging up. I will check the grounds tomorrow. Does the fact that the needle moves so fast indicate anything?

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1987 300D 146K Original #14 Head
One eye on the road, the other on the temp. gauge

Gone But Not Forgotten
1983 380 SEL Long gone
1983 300SD Wish I hadn't traded it in on a 90' Corvette
1989 300SE My all time favorite
1995 E420 Went like a bullet

I just checked the fuel gauge in my '87 300D Turbo. With a full tank, the needle rises quickly to "full" when the key is turned on - takes less than a second. When the car is powered off, the needle "drifts" down, taking longer to fall back down than it did to rise. Similarly, if I take my spare instrument cluster and with my finger move the fuel gauge needle to "full" and release it, the needle again drifts downward to "empty." The "drift" is probably a result of magnetism generated in the meter movement (I've forgotten most of my E&M, sorry).

The fact that your needle drops so fast that it bounces, to use your words, suggests that something is wrong with your gauge.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970