Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

Broken down, cut out. Fuel tank collapsed, bent sender

My opinion for what its worth .. you ran out of fuel due to an incorrect fuel gauge reading .

That might be a sender fault , a resistsance in the wiring which i doubt or the sender unit float is catching on the pipes in the tank and never actually reached the bottom of the tank .

There is a line up mark on the sender to stop this .. an arrow .. perhaps this isnt lined up .

C4 and its calculated due to the sadle tank design .. C2 and its a normal sender unit that bottoms out when the tank is empty .

A canister fault , vacumn fault .. the fuel tank crushes , the fuel tank totally collapses , ive only ever seen it once and the gauge still read but the tank was a hell of a lot smaller .. remove the fuel cap and this cant happen .

Sorry it happened on a long trip .. thats sods law im afraid .
 
G2 said:
Hope the car behaves itself for you infra :thumb:

Looking forward to the race. Hopefully a bit of rain to see if anyone else can drift radillon like Perez did...

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...cky_-to-qualify-p4-after-eau-rouge-scare.html

Priceless quote from him ' I $h1t my pants" I bet he did, it scared the crap out of me in the dry :splat:


I think I may vent the tank with a cable tie for the journey back home tomorrow.

Just watched the Porsche Super cup :cloud9:
 
Up at the crack of dawn today, packed up the tent in the rain, as soon as I switched on the ignition to head off I got this dash message.

43586412774_b2ae11ff30_c.jpg


I filled up at the first station I came across and I got a gauge reading again and range of the tank, drove around 50 miles and this reverted back to the sender failure, brimmed it again and the same thing happened after around 100 miles, so potentially I have found the fuel gauge problem but not the other issues associated with the EVAP problems?

I think I'll remove the tank or at least all attaching fixings and just have a look at what is going on with it or if there are any crushed pipes?
 
I doubt the sender has anything to do with it, too much of a coincidence, just that theother issues are making the sender signal seem like nonsense to the computer. I would fix the evap issue first and see where you are. Hope you get back in one piece first!

MC
 
I'm back safe and sound, just had to guess that I had enough fuel and kept topping up.

I also feel it is related to the EVAP but there are also stories of the wiring or pipework within the tank catching the float. Need to just rip it all apart and go through it all and check everything.

When I did the battery tray a few weeks ago I noticed a vent pipe connector on top of the sender unit was loose so I clipped it back home, I'm now wondering if a previous owner had unhooked this due to similar issues, the pipe meant the tank vented directly to the atmosphere so this may be a clue to the pressurising? I ran it today with the fuel cap not fully tight but only did this after the dash warning had shown but it obviously didn't change all day long.
 
I pulled the sender out today and the thing came out in two parts with the wiring just holding it together. Looks like it's either been dropped and refitted at some point OR the tank has distorted due to a vacuum as the tube is kinked and the plastic is distorted, I feel the tank had done this? :eek:

43626893054_e956421652_c.jpg


I checked the tank wasn't damaged and this all looks fine as I wondered if the bottom of the tank may have distorted inwards and caused the kinked pipe, could the pressure from the tank have caused this, seems quite extreme if so, I would have thought a pipe would have blown or collapsed before the tank moved?

I have a sender unit it on its way in the post and it'll hopefully be fixed for Sunday's drive to Brands. Still doesn't eliminate the other issues but at least the gauge will work again?
 
Seen this before. Think thete's a thread on here somwhere with piccys, although may have been one of the US sites. You could have a vac problem and when you opened your filler cap the tank sprung back into shape. :dont know:
 
alex yates said:
Seen this before. Think there's a thread on here somewhere with piccys, although may have been one of the US sites. You could have a vac problem and when you opened your filler cap the tank sprung back into shape. :dont know:

Exactly what I'm thinking but seems a crazy amount of Vac to suck the tank in, I think I will loosen the vent pipe on to of the sender again as this is something that has been done since I've had the car by a previous owner maybe with the same symptoms?

If you do find that thread it would be good to read.
 
What's a search function :dont know:

I will double check the bottom of my tank but it looks like mine hasn't moved too far in comparison with that one in the thread link as the kink in the sender tube is less.

I have changed my tank bleeder valve, fuel filler tube, charcoal canister, canister check valve and purge valve already so I'm wondering if I have a crushed pipe somewhere, maybe even the tank vent pipe to vent valve and why it had been left loose but a previous owner.

In very hot weather I had noticed a smell of fuel every so often so this may be coming from the top of the tank vent with it being disconnected? This issue could actually be a blessing in disguise if I can cure the altitude and emissions problems.
 
Lets hope so.
 
Be careful when fitting new sender, you might find the sender leg moving to one side as you lower it into the tank this means the bottom of the tank has risen. same problem as mine air venting gas you undid the petrol cap cost me new tank. good luck.
 
steve1 said:
Be careful when fitting new sender, you might find the sender leg moving to one side as you lower it into the tank this means the bottom of the tank has risen. same problem as mine air venting gas you undid the petrol cap cost me new tank. good luck.

I checked the bottom of the tank again today and pushed down with a piece of wood through the tank sender hole but it seems it had already gone back to its original shape.

43649758054_dbdac9576e_c.jpg


This is the new (used) sender just sat on the top of the tank entry before tightening the threaded ring up, so it looks like no damage has taken place to the tank luckily.

29430183267_b230ec0ae7_c.jpg
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,357
Messages
1,439,464
Members
48,715
Latest member
911tt1
Back
Top