Fuel Sensor Failed - Code 0463

[K-Dawg]

So on my '16 Rebel with 47K miles, I got a Fuel Sensor Fail with fuel gauge pegged on E (tank full).

Happened about 100 miles after a fill-up (couple days), while out doing errands. Would work for a few minutes then fail again. This continued for several stops (20 miles or more) until I got to a place where I could do something.

I removed the fuel tank cap, cleaned it and the filler neck with WD-40, replaced the cap. On the way to my friendly neighborhood Advance Auto Parts, it continued it's intermittent failure....but then about 2 miles before the auto-parts store, it went to normal operation.

Had the fault code read (0463) and then reset by the diagnostic tool.

Been driving it for another 100 miles over the past few days and no further failure.

Question for those more learned here than I. Is there any way this fault code can be associated with a dirty fuel filler cap? Or is this sensor on borrowed time?

I'm taking the truck from PA to southern Florida on vacation in a couple weeks. If it fails again on the trip I'm reasonably sure I could manange my fuel capacity by keeping track of my distance, but I'll be towing a small trailer (less than 2000 lbs) and my fuel mileage will be tough to guess ( get 17 on average, 21 on highway). Not sure what I'll get with 2000lb tow on highway. So I'm hoping somebody here says the fuel cap can be linked and I fixed it by cleaning it.

 

[Tim Garceau]

I had this intermittently starting around 50k miles, it would pop the light right around 1/2 tank. Through testing different fuel stations determined it was ethanol/gas quality related and haven’t had an issue in 10k more miles.

It is the level sensing unit that sticks due to water related to stale ethanol, but this is just my opinion corn lovers. Don’t replace the entire pump, it’s a $100 component and a couple hours of labor to drop the tank/lift the bed.

 

[K-Dawg]

Since this code is a false High signal (sensor indicating higher tank level than what's possible, based on fuel consumption since the fill-up and flow readings), what's the chance that the float-arm just stuck in the high position, and as the tank level dropped the alarm hit. Then as the fuel sloshed around it would stick then break free, stick then break free....and now that the level is down around 3/4 tank, it no longer sticks at the high level?

I guess the next time I fill up, I'll be able to see if this repeats.

 

[Tach_tech]

The high portion of the dtc doesn’t mean the fuel level sensor is stuck in the highest position. It means circuit high, which is usually an open circuit in the level sending unit.

 

[K-Dawg]

So I just returned from a 2400 mile round trip from Western PA to southwest FLA, and here's what happened.

After the original failure went away, it worked fine driving around for daily commute in Western PA for a couple weeks. No problems on the first 1/2 of the trip (fill-ups in WV and NC) until about 70 miles after a fill-up in South Carolina (Rock Hill area). The sensor failure came back and continued until the next fill-up in GA. Worked good until about 65 miles after fill up, and then began intermittent failure all the way to Jacksonville. Filled up in Jacksonville, worked good until about 65 miles after fill-up then intermittent failure all the way to Ocala. Filled up in Ocala and the sensor worked fine all the way to Ft. Meyers. After the truck sat all week at the beach, I started it up to leave, and the sensor failure was back. On the way home, I refueled in Ocala, Jacksonville, and Savannah. Same issue every tank. Fuel sensor works until 60-70 miles after fill-up. At one point after the Ocala fill-up, with the failure occurring, I jostled around on some uneven pavement, and the failure went away. This seemed to back up my "sticking float" theory. But after this it failed again after fillups in Jacksonville and Savannah. Then I refueled in Charlotte. And the sensor did not fail after 60-70 miles. Worked all the way to WV, another refuel, no problems. Worked all the way to Washington, PA, no failure. And after the PA fill-up, no failure.

It's entirely obvious to me that this failure is not electrical in anyway and is completely related to a sticking float or other mechanically moving part, caused by whatever crap they put in the gas in SC, GA, and FL. (Corn-meal? Boiled Peanut water? Klansmen's tears?) Since the original failure (which did happen in PA), The only times it failed was after fill-ups in those states. I got one good tank of gas at a Pilot on I-75 in Ocala, but every other fill-up I got in SC, GA, and FL resulted in fuel sensor failure. After every fill-up in NC, WV and PA (I didn't stop in VA on either leg of the trip), I've had zero problems.

I did not attempt to correlate the malfunction to brands of gasoline. I stopped mostly at Pilots, Exxon and BP travel marts in all states. Maybe one or two local named travel-marts. One Marathon in PA.

If I continue the rest of the summer in Western PA with no further failures, my hypothesis will be verified, and I'll just reserve my self to travelling with a 6-pack of sea-foam if I ever take my Rebel through the heart-of-Dixie again.

 

[K-Dawg]

Two weeks and two tanks of fuel later, the fuel sensor started acting up, for the first time outside of SC, GA, FLA, since the initial failure. It wold appear as though the lack of failure in NC, WV, PA on my trip was circumstantial. After about 100 miles of intermittent operation, it went low and never came back. Solid failure now.

I'm scheduled in at the dealer for a repair next Friday. As long as I can keep them away from the CPU (flashing any firmware), perhaps I'll get out of there with a still partially functional UConnect and a truck I can move with the door open.

 

[gofishn]

Let us know what they find.
Tried Techron CHevron additive yet?

 

[K-Dawg]

$610 later, and we're as good as new. Damn shame they put a crappy $2 fuel level sensor in these $50K trucks. I looked at lots of video blogs on this sensor, and I've seen better rheostats on $100 toy remote control cars (before they went all digital). On a $50K truck, I should have a radar or ultra-sonic level detector....or at least a toilet bowl float that doesn't stick. Hell, make the tank out of translucent plastic so I can see how much fuel is in it. Any thing is better than a $600 replacement every 50K miles.