Fuel gauge on 2008 SANTE reads empty even with fuel

[Ski_Keuka]

Troubleshooting tips for a newbie to dealing with this kind of problem?

[wakejunky]

If you can pull the connection from the back of the guage and it's still reads full then it's the guage...more than likely not. Best option is to gain access to the fuel cell and disconnect the connection there, still reading full then it's something between the fuel sender and the guage. Pull the fuel sender and move the level sensor float up and down to see if the guage reacts to the change, if so, it's the sender.

[Ski_Keuka]

I was thinking it's probably an issue with the float, ethanol, and it getting stuck on the sender stem. I've never gotten into that system before and am told I need to remove the cockpit deck. What am I looking at exactly to remove the deck? Does the driver seat need to be removed to get there, or is it easier than that?

[Infinity]

How far off is the guage? Most boats are intentionally set up to show 1/4 tank more than they have.....On full it will show it but when it shows 1/4 tank you actually have half tank and at empty....you have a 1/4 tank left. Obviously tough to rely on that till you know your boat, but that is how my boat is and many others have said similar. The thot is that you should not run a boat below a quarter tank and since you get a lot of bow up/down action, it keeps enough fuel in there to run. Its a theory anyways....

[billywro]

Do you get a digital reading for "hours of fuel remaining" from the readout on the tachometer? I have the same issue on the "analog" fuel and temp gauges on my 2008 SANTE 220, but can track both via this method for the time being. I suspect I have a ground issue that I will work to de-bug this upcoming weekend.