AUSTRALIAN X-TRAIL FORUM :: T31 PETROL X-Trail :: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

Australian X-Trail Forum T31 PETROL X-Trail
Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

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BarneyB Profile
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Date Registered: 11-2008
Location: Blakeview, Adelaide SA
TOTAL POSTS: 183

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

Had my sender units replaced under warranty last month, best I have seen on distance to empty display since then was 814 klm.

---
Regards,
Barney X1047 (c)

2008 ST31, CVT, Flint, Towbar, Cargo mat, Headlight protectors, Dashmat, LED kick steps. Bonnet protector

4/Dec/2012, 9:29 pm

NavG Profile
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Date Registered: 03-2013
TOTAL POSTS: 6

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

My XTrail was at 185,000km when the fuel sensor stopped working. I have cleaned the sensors as per this thread. I have some pics and additional information that my be useful.

Note: I have only cleaned the side with the sensor only (not the fuel pump) and this has fixed the issue for me for now. I will clean the other side in the near future anyway.

Access
Easy access under seats. Use plyers (not screwdriver) to open the 4 plastic stops holding down the cover under the seats. Just twist (Only twists in one direction not 360 degrees).

Open Cap
To open the cap, you can buy a tool (I searched SuperCheap, Repco and AutoOne with not much luck) Repco said they could order a tool for $25.
I ended up opening the cap using a rubber mallet (to tap against a blunt ended hammer) to slowly tap the cap open.
I would recommend using a permanent market pen or a block of wood and then using the rubber mallet to slowly tap the cap open.
It is tight all the way so i had to tap it until it was almost fully unscrewed, not just to loosen it.
Initially i used a screw driver with the rubber mallet but this damaged one of the grips on the cap.

The Assembly
The pics in the post were close ups of the resistance part of the sensor. he whole thing looks like:

There is a cover that need to be pryed open from where the metal arm connected to the float is connected.

I used a screw driver to first pry open the top end of the sensor (towards the main cap).
After the cap is removed you can see the circuit board that needs to be cleaned:

Cleaning
I just sprayed it with a contact cleaner and used a cloth to wipe it clean:

The cleaned circuit board (notice the difference with the dirty board above:

And you are done. Put it all back together and hopefully it is fixed. If not clean the sensor on the side with the fuel pump. I have not done this yet but should be a very similar process.

Resistance
Just a note on the resistance:
When the float lever was up (full tank) I was getting about 1.5 Ohms:

When the float lever was down (empty tank) I was getting about 41 Ohms:

This did not appear to change much by the cleaning, maybe it was getting better contact because of the orintation i was hoilding it (gavity)

Anyway hope this has helped someone.

Naveed

Last edited by NavG, 11/Apr/2013, 11:50 am

11/Apr/2013, 11:28 am

mrhox Profile
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Date Registered: 04-2012
TOTAL POSTS: 27

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

Great work, Naveed.

I haven't forgotten this thread. Every time I fill up my wife's xtrail and see those missing segments, I get reminded!

Is yours a T31? 185,000 kms seems reasonably high k's. (My wife's 2008 T31 Series 2 has 136Kkm)
I also noticed your sender unit is different to mine. Makes me even more curious.

Cheers...

18/Apr/2013, 10:35 pm

NavG Profile
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X-TRAIL NEWBIE

Date Registered: 03-2013
TOTAL POSTS: 6

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

Mine is a T30. but similar. This seamed the right place to put this information as it has the most complete set of information. I linked this to a post in the T30 area.

I have still not cleaned the side with the pump, but all working so "no need to fix it if it ain't broke"

23/Apr/2013, 9:45 am

Uphil Profile
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Date Registered: 05-2013
Location: Ulverstone, Tas
TOTAL POSTS: 77

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

T31 90k on the clock, took it apart this morning for some "preventative maintenance" but the wiper and the pcb tracks were as clean as !

When re-installing the screw retaining cap, which holds the sender down, I sprayed the thread with some silicon lubricant... it makes it a lot easier than the struggle to get it off !!!

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Phil (X-3105)
Ulverstone, Tas

2009 T31 Srs 2, ST ;Nudge Bar; IPF Driving Lights; Fog Lights;Towbar
Roof Bars;Weathershield; GPS/DVD; Sony Speakers; K&N air filter; LED parkers; Cree reverse lights;Cobalt ally rims; Gas hood struts

21/May/2013, 5:40 pm

mrhox Profile
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X-TRAIL NEWBIE

Date Registered: 04-2012
TOTAL POSTS: 27

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

The 'silicone' tip: wished I'd thought of that one. Get's tight, doesn't it? emoticon

'Preventative Maintainence': do/did you have the symptoms of this topic?
By chance, have you measured the total resistance of the senders with a(n absolutely) full tank?
(Refer to:

)

UPDATE: I'm evaluating a 'black box' fuel sender translator this weekend (Melbourne weather permitting).
It reads the value of the dodgy fuel sender's resistance and simulates a properly-working unit for the on-board computer to read.
Naturally, I'll post results here.

Does anyone know if any other Nissan uses the same dodgy fuel sender units as per this topic?

(I found out the Dualis shares the same display and the American 'Rogue' has a very similar display, but not sure if the fuel senders are shared between all three models.)

For interest, yesterday, Bayside Nissan in Frankston (Vic) quoted me $1250.00 to do the job.
Anybody had any different quotes?
...

Last edited by mrhox, 28/May/2013, 10:20 pm

24/May/2013, 9:19 pm

Uphil Profile
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X-TRAIL NEWBIE

Date Registered: 05-2013
Location: Ulverstone, Tas
TOTAL POSTS: 77

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

And the nice thing... Silicon is not reactive and the fuel washes it away.

Guage still not registering right to the top. Perhaps I'm being too fussy.

Phil

31/May/2013, 6:45 pm

mrhox Profile
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Date Registered: 04-2012
TOTAL POSTS: 27

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

"Perhaps I'm being too fussy"

Nope. It was on these forums I confirmed the fuel sender fault of my wife's T31 Series 2 (2008). It (apparently) affects both Series 1 & 2 models.

Which leads me to another post you made indicating yours is a Series *3*. Can you confirm this?

So,
(a) were you unlucky to get a 'left overs' (from the Series 1 & 2 parts bin) for your fuel sender(s), or;
(b) does this defect actually extend to the Series 3 *as well*, this 'fact' not being previously disclosed?

...

31/May/2013, 8:53 pm

jalalski Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: SUTHERLAND, SYDNEY
TOTAL POSTS: 29100

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

quote:
mrhox wrote:
I would LOVE a close-up photo of the Series 3, 4 or 5 sender unit wipers to see what Nissan did to 'fix' the problem.

They changed the whole dash and got rid of the digital fuel level display to fix it, so it's back to the analogue fuel level now for the Series 3, 4 and 5.

I have't had any problems with mine (Series 4) at all. It's been perfect from day 1.

---

31/May/2013, 9:00 pm

mrhox Profile
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X-TRAIL NEWBIE

Date Registered: 04-2012
TOTAL POSTS: 27

Re: Series (1 &?) 2 fuel gauge wrong display on full tank defect: fix

Thanks, jalalski, for that clarification.

Based on uphil's comments, seems like some unlucky Series 3 owners still have a valid issue, too.

...

31/May/2013, 9:45 pm

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