hi everyone i just bought my first escort cos on saturday, but my fuel gauge is all over the place and some times its not on atall, where shall i start to look? i'm guessing it may be a earth problem , ive lifted the rear seats and there a connector on the left side and the right side, what are these? i think it may be the sender cables but not sure, any help would be great. cheers james

 

To get to it you need to drop the tank, unless you've got a motorsport edition, in which case you can remove a lid in the boot...

 

As Jan has said matey, drop the tank and the majority of the wiring will become visable.
over time some of the connectors may get very dirty and/or suffer a little corrosion so they may not work so well, as they are almost exposed to the elements all year round - start with these and check they are ok, or replace them etc as you go.

 

Mine is now doing the same after having the tank removed last month, going to drop the tank and check the connections also tempted to cut a hatch to save the hassel in the future.
Does anyone have pics of cars with the motorsport pannel in the boot floor?

 

I just had to drill out the rivets and give it a few knocks from the underside as it was stuck with all sorts of sealant stuff... Does make things a lot easier for later though And my fuel gauge is dead too, wires are fine. So probably need to change the whole unit to sort the problem.

 

Thanks think i may well do this next time the tank is out such a simple idea that makes life a lot easyer wonder why they wernt all like that?

 

It definately is, and yes they should have come like that. Its really awkward to get the tank down with fuel lines etc.

 

ok i'll have a look tomoz is there any tips to geting the tank out, i'm a bit nerveous about work on this expensive car!!!! never worried with the saph!!!

cheers for replys
james

 

When you drop it down, stick a jack under it or something, be carful so you dont rip any wires or fuel lines off The fuel filler breather is a bastard to get back on

 

Steve scott cut mine out several years ago, and then fitted a raised enclosure to house a swirl pot/fuel pump etc, all in te same place as Jan's.

 

Have you checked the wiring that's clipped onto the back panel behind the rear bumper? If the problem lies here it will save you dropping the tank...

 

sorted!!! grease on the connector probes on the top of the tank!! the tank took 15mins to drop, easy lucky fix!!

 

New toy then fella?!... what's happened to the saff?