ScanGuageII to replace dead fuel gauge?

[99to05Stang]

I have an 05 V6 and the fuel gauge is dead on the cluster. The dealer quoted me 612 to replace and an additional 110 to re code a key.

I don't have that kind of cash... Was thinking about getting a ScanGuageII to replicate the features. Will this work to tell me how much fuel I have left.

Any other options if the ScanGuageII isn't the right way to go???

 

[mrv8outboard]

There are companies that repair instrument clusters. That way you do not have to reprogram.

 

[mrv8outboard]

Did you have it diagnosed? Make sure it is the gauge and not the sender or the like.

 

[99to05Stang]

mrv8outboard - I had it diagnosed at my local ford dealership. They looked at it for several hours before confirming it is the cluster. From what I have been reading, it may be the stepper motor that has failed for the fuel guage.

Im not sure whether to trust the local speedo repair shops, most of em have a bunch of bad reviews on the net

 

[Kraw]

I somehow googled my way to this. I have a scangauge in my 01 due to a dead temp and fuel gauge. Works great.

 

[SirCorey50]

mrv8outboard - I had it diagnosed at my local ford dealership. They looked at it for several hours before confirming it is the cluster. From what I have been reading, it may be the stepper motor that has failed for the fuel guage.

Im not sure whether to trust the local speedo repair shops, most of em have a bunch of bad reviews on the net

I realize this post is 3 years old but I am having the same problem in my 05 GT but it only happens when temperature drops below 45 degrees. In Florida it's not all that often and so I've been getting the runaround because they say if it doesn't throw a fault code we can't submit paperwork to the warranty company.
Does anyone know if a bad stepper motor actually throws a fault code? If so, do you have the fault code information? How was the dealer able to narrow it down to a bad stepper motor?
The reason I'm asking is, they won't authorize repair if they can't find a code. I doubt if there is a such a code for a mechanical stepper motor failure for a fuel gauge. The low fuel light doesn't come on, it's just the needle doesn't move on cold days.

 

[ummduh]

Man if you happen to live in the CA Bay area I'd swap the stepper motor for you. It's pretty easy. The first motor I did took about 20 minutes to figure out, the other 5 took about 5 minutes each. I do believe I've got about 30 bucks into the fix.

The hardest part by far was resyncing the gauge needles, not the soldering.

And no, I don't believe a bad stepper motor will set any sort of code. There are a few ways to test them though. If you have access to a higher end diagnostic tool, you can make each motor do a sweep or make them show 25/50/75/100 percent stops. If they don't respond to that there's a pretty good chance they're dead, or you can see them jerk around as they hit broken teeth.