First post here, hello!

Have a 1983 240D, about 205,000 miles. Great shape. This past Friday noticed the gas gauge was dead even though I had 3/4 tank full. Needle all the way over to the left, reserve light was off. I took out the fuel level sender, cleaned it, could hear the floater easily move up and down as I rotated it around, reinstalled and still the fuel gauge was dead.

Tonight I actually drove it for the first time since the fuel gauge issues and I discovered that none of the power window are working and the turn signals are not working as well (hazard flash does work). All other lights, gauges, etc are working from what I can tell.

Are the non working power windows and turn signals related to the dead fuel gauge and, if so, what is the fix??

Thanks!!

Check the fuses. If they look out go and pull them out. They might be corroded and need cleaning.

The gauge issue might be a bad ground, but my issue were bouncy and inaccurate readings. Attaching a new ground easily fixed it.

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

it is raining but I did take a look and some do look pretty nasty.

also, i do get a slight, slight wiff of an electronic burn smell...not much but just enough to notice

hehe, just kidding. When you took the sending unit out, did you take it apart to clean it or just clean the outside? I'm asking because I took mine apart to find that one of the very fine wires that goes up and down had broken at the solder point. There wasn't much room left to solder it but I managed to put it back on there and the gauge works better. Also, there was a bunch of black gooey sludge in there (which means, go to the store and get biocide!)

edit: i forgot to mention that the wire that was loose was the current carrying wire not one of the two guide wires.

your electrical issues:

sometimes a fuse will look fine but will have a hairline crack in it and is near impossible to identify without removing the fuse completely. that happened to me on my left headlight and drove me crazy for a long time ... everytime i wiggled the fuse it would work again until i noticed it was cracked.

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'82 240D 224K miles manual transmission
mods: wooden 4by4 bumper, EGR delete and older EX manifold without EGR port, glass pack muffler (cheapest replacement muffler), rebuilt bosch injectors with Monark nozzles

working on: aux electric fuel pump, coolant/fuel heat exchanger/filter head, afterglow, low oil pressure buzzer/LED

yes, got the insides clean. it wasnt dirty to begin with.

so is there some common denominator between the fuel gauge, the turn signals, and the windows all being out at the same time? i figure fuses, but they are all controlled by different fuses, not a single one.

thanks!

I just experienced the same thing, It was a white fuse, sorry do not have the number, but located bottom row of fuses, just right of center IIRC.

Mine is a 83 300D.

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Gary
Experience is something you get, Just after you needed it....
'99 E300 295K, '83 300D 220K, '75 240D 185K sold
'80 MCI Bus Conv DD 6V92TA, w/4 cyl. Kubota diesel GenSet 12.5KW

thanks!!!!! will check it out tonight...weather permitting

White ones are 8 Ampere .

Look at the current fuses, they're prolly grey metal and so are junk ~any VW/Porsche/BMW shop will sell you better quality copper strip ones that won't corrode and cause faults like you're suffering now .

Get a whole buncha white 8A ones , a few red 16A ones and some Blue 25A ones , the fusebox has provision for storing the extras . the fuse ratings Are color coded in the lid and are often improperly mixed by a DPO ~ FIRE DANGER ! .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Fuse contacts on my SD were corroded. I cleaned them with Deoxit (great product not everyone carries it) and fine sand paper. That helped. You will likely need a wiring diagram mostly because no one on the forum has your exact problem.

Start by making sure the fuses are clean & that you have current from one side of the contact to the other. Measuring voltage drop (there should be none) is better than just looking. Electrical problems usually happen at the connections.

Re the fuel gauge, check the sender. I haven't pulled the SD but most vehicles have a float & an arm. Moving the float changes the resistance. This can be measured with an ohmeter. The change should be smooth with no breaks.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

i pulled the fuel sender the other night and cleaned it, it was clean already and floater moved pretty easily as i rotated it around. the fuel gauge being dead coupled with the turn signals and power windows also being dead i think are the smoking gun that i have a fuse gone bad or a bad connection somewhere..

Fixed!!!! Fuse replacement solved all the problems..
Thanks for all your help!