Saltare fuel gauge/sender issues

[cadunkle]

Boat is an '89 Saltare. The past couple times out I'm been nervous about fuel and coming back to the ramp with the gauge on E. When I fill it though it'll only take about 20-25 gallons.

Today we came back to the ramp as the tide was coming in and there were, no lie, at least 20 bass boats in the marina fishing... Seriously, fishing in the marina, trolling motors and all. Some tied up blocking the ramp and whatnot. By the time I tied up and went to ask them to move clear of the ramp they were starting to pull out in leisurely tournament fisherman fashion. We would have just gone back out and done a few more sets but gauge was on E so didn't want to chance it even though I have a feeling there's still about 20 gallons in there. It's a 46 gallon tank from what I've read, and from the outside measurements I put it at about 50 gallons, so 46 sounds accurate. In July when I was on a lake for 3 weeks vacation I ran it down to near empty many times and I know it would take 40+ gallons because the pump on the lake shuts off at 19 gallons, so I'd have to swipe my card 3 times to fill it.I seemed to get more use out of it too as I'd be filling it about every other day on the lake vs running it to E in just one day on the water now, so something isn't right.

Does anyone know the resistance range for the fuel sender? Any way to test the gauge? Is there a direct replacement gauge for these tanks? I have to pull the tank to replace the rudder this winter, so that'll be a good time to get this sender issue sorted.

[wotan2525]

Let me know what you find out. Mine has never worked. I just always fill it up before every session out.

[oldman]

Ohms low 240 mid 103 full 33
Just put the standard replacement sender in a old malibu tank.
Bought from Skidim 30 bucks will fit up to a 24 inch deep tank.
Easy install and worked fine.

[cadunkle]

Thanks for the info. I'll pull the sender and test. On a side note, while looking at the senders skidim sells, I saw a fuel vent overflow check valve jobbie... Seems pricey, but if it works I might order one as filling that last 5-10 gallons in the tank can be a battle. Anyone tried one of these??

http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=LG-50

[sybrmike]

I'll second the "universal" Teleflex sender from skidim. When I pulled & cleaned the tank in my 89 Salt, I found the original cork float had disintegrated & the pot was bad. Simply cut the shaft and float arm per the measurements in the directions. Bolt pattern matched right up (use sealant on the threads). I was starting with a known empty tank & put 20 gal in & the gauge showed a little less than half a tank - so seems pretty accurate as far as fuel gauges go.

Let us know if you try the vent check valve. My mechanic suggested putting a vertical loop (or two) in the vent line just below the thru-hull to prevent sloshing out the vent - said he does this on his autocross cars. I haven't tried either method.

[TitanTn]

I considered that overflow device when I was rebuilding my Saltare last winter. I ended up replacing the deck fill with one that has a fuel return so that any overflow is dumped back into the tank. Much better than just dumping down the side of the boat.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=112253&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=10111&subdeptNum=10636&classNum=10639

[jzelt]

That deck fill is in our 04.
It is much better than the old vent on the side on our Chap. Less embarrassing and messy, But just like a vehicle, it will still run down the side between the nozzle and cap if you fill it too full. I was looking thru DIM's catalog and wondered how that vent would do and if it would fail if we still had the Chap?
Most of the time, I can hear it gettting full after knowing roughly how much to put in.

Would think there would be a better design somehow. But then it would turn into the "environmental gas cans" that I spill more out now of than the old unrestricted ones.

[wotan2525]

But then it would turn into the "environmental gas cans" that I spill more out now of than the old unrestricted ones.

Is that who to blame for those AWFUL AWFUL STINKIN AWFUL THINGS?!

[Blackntan90]

cadunkle, I too got tired of fuel shooting out of the vent as the last few gallons went in. I purchased the fuel/air seperator pictured in your post, and following the directions closely, I no longer have fuel going out the vent. This device says it seperates the fuel from the vapors(air) and it does work well. The only thing to be aware of is that now the fuel will come back up the fill pipe- they even include a warning label with the seperator. I placed my label by the rest of the warning labels at the helm- I did not want it to mar an otherwise nice boat!

[Blackntan90]

I almost forgot! You can remove the wire at the sender, ground it to the engine block and turn the key to 'run'. You should see the gauge peg at the'full' mark. This checks all the wiring and the gauge. I did this with one of my old cars back in the day to check the system, I put a nail into the sender end of the wire. You may need a jumper wire to get to a good ground. This method rules out everything but the sender! Let us know what you find.

[cadunkle]

Thanks for all the info. I might end up waiting until I'm done using the boat for the season for this, which would be Nov/Dec, but either way I'll let you guys know how it works out. I think with the info on the fuel/air seperator I might do that for the vent. If I'm not careful fuel will surge out the fill tube anyhow. Usually I can do about 3/4 or a bit more full, then pump real slow until full. If I go real slow at the end and take brief breaks to let it breathe the pump will click off without a mess, but even then will sometimes spit some out the breather. Hopefully this will fix that without introducing a mess at the fill side.