My fuel gauge isn't very accurate

[Tropical Pete]

Hi there,
I have a 1984 watercooled T25, the fuel gauge is very dubious. I actually ran out of fuel yesterday and had to do some pushing because the gauge read as though it had just entered the red zone when in fact it was bone dry. I've now put 30litres in it and the gauge shows that its about a quarter full. Any suggestions on how to get a more accurate reading?
Cheers

[Mocki]

they are usually more accurate than that .....

clean the contacts on the dash pod, the blue circuit foil to the actual gauge and make sure all the electrical connections at the tank are clean and not all green and furry .
is the temp gauge and the clock ( if you have one) working correctly , could be the voltage regulator on the back of the dash pod ?
has the van been stood a while ?
if so you may find with use it will improve as the wiper for the gauge moves up and down the contact in the tank

[Tropical Pete]

Hi there,
Yes it's done a lot of standing around. I'll run it this week and see how it goes and then have a tinker about next weekend when I get chance. Thanks for the help.

[Tropical Pete]

It doesnt have a clock. Ive not really noticed the temperature gauge. The LED comes on momentarily just before startup and then goes out.

[Ant-t]

The flashing temp gauge on startup is a system test which is normal.

[ajsimmo]

I had one which ran out when reading the same as yours. It was the sender. I took it out the tank and had a look at the rheostat. It had a notch worn in it caused by the PO keeping the fuel level just above the red at all times for years.
I used a bit of fine wet n dry to smooth away the step, and bent the sweeper arm ever so slightly to run on a new path. Put it all back together and it worked perfectly, all the way down to empty (and full read full).
Bad news is it's a tank out job to do it.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[Tropical Pete]

Thanks for the replies chaps, most helpful

[R0B]

Check your fuel filter whilst you're at it, as you might have sucked up crap if you ran the tank right down.