[Grace]

I have a 2001 CVT Insight and back in December I had an encounter with a Toyota Tacoma. 44 days later, I finally have my car back from the body shop. One thing that was not fixed is that the fuel gauge shows empty, although I know that the tank is nearly full.

I was hit on the passenger side just below the side mirror. I am guessing that some wire got loosened or disconnected. While insurance should cover this repair as hidden damage, I want to do my homework before I take it anywhere. As a petite female, most shop owners talk at me like a 5-year-old, and do their absolute best to rip me off. A call to the Honda dealer service center was unproductive - they would not give me any information and said I would have to bring it in and have it looked at (to the tune of $110) just to find the problem.

My questions:
1) Can anyone tell me where in the car all the wires/hardware that have to do with the fuel sensor and fuel gauge are located? Any links to any diagrams or photos online would be great.
2) Anyone have any recommendations of auto shops in the San Francisco Bay Area that know what they're doing on an Insight?

Thank you! I'm so happy to be reunited with my little car!!

Grace

 

[Yves M.]

I have no experience in this but here goes:

The gas tank is under the car, under the IMA system.

The electric fuel gauge and pump wires are on top through a big white round plug.

Check this site:
http://ev.whitecape.org/insight/

There is a like for a view of the IMA system installed:
http://ev.whitecape.org/insight/P0001727.JPG

The to top the gas tank where the wires are at the white plug:
http://ev.whitecape.org/insight/P0001740.JPG

The IMA removed shows where the top of the tank arrives where the black 90 degree tube is:
http://ev.whitecape.org/insight/P0001740.JPG

The tank removed, a view from under the car:
http://ev.whitecape.org/insight/P0001742.JPG

You probably need to unbolt the tank fron uner the car, lower it and gain access tothe top of the tank to work on the gauge wires or the gauge itself.

Good luck

 

[Grace]

Thank you for the info and the links Yves! Looks a little too complicated for my rudimentary automotive abilites -- guess I'll leave it to the professionals!



Grace

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Hi Grace,

Welcome to the forum.

The books you _need_ for your education are the Honda factory Service manual and the Factory Electrical Troubleshooting manual.

Based on your description and my similar experience I'd guess its the sending unit in the tank. I was rear ended and the gauge stopped working as a result. No damage to the tank but the jolt was apparently sufficient. The sender is integrated with the pump assembly and is accessible from the top. But it requires a moderately time consuming removal of some of the panels around the IMA case.

With the proper tools (a resistance substitution box about $200) you can simulate the electric function of the sender and therefore "diagnose" the remainder of the system from the wires at the pump access cover.

If the fault lies with the sender then have them neatly tuck the carpet back over this slightly disassembled area while parts are on order to save some labor and your time waiting.

Still there _could_ be several other different causes but in my mind this is usually the best place to start.

Please take the time to reply when the problem is correctly solved in this thread

HTH!

 

[Allnighte]

how weird. I was hit from behind about 3 years ago and have the same problem (though it's actually getting worse. it used to read about 1/5 on fillup, now I only get a single bar). Only body panels were damaged, and some repair folk said it would need to be a big hit for the gauge to go bad, but now it looks like this is the case.
I didn't have the time to get it fixed, and now I'm out of warranty, and I doubt the insurance company would want this fixed on their dime.

Now if only I had the time and know-how to fix this myself

/edit
trekker: are those the steps you took to fixing it yourself? or did you have someone else do it? (or are you lazy like me and just going off your gas receipts and mileage readouts? )

 

[Insightful Trekker]

<snip>

trekker: are those the steps you took to fixing it yourself? or did you have someone else do it? (or are you lazy like me and just going off your gas receipts and mileage readouts? )

It's a loooooong narrative. If your gonna be a mechanic when you grow-up, you'll need the text book. Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Mine was DIY, but its not a novice task. Perhaps the hardest part is tightening the plastic ring on the pump assembly as it fits in the tank while not pinching the gasket.
You ask How do I know? Well, you know the old saying, "Experience is the best teacher."

Left mine in a pinched condition and was constantly "attacked" with gasoline fume odor. Had to do it over again :!: Now that I've effectively done the job 3 times I'm pretty good at it

And your "near" the 3 phase 144v lines where they connect to the IMA pack. I didn't meter them to see if they were off with the IMA breaker off, but made sure I didn't touch them :!:

HTH!

 

[Grace]

Thank you Insightful Trekker and Allnighte. I will take the information you provided in with me, which should give them a starting point to find the problem. Fortunately, the insurance company said I could just take it to the Honda service center, so hopefully they can get it right, or at least not cause any further damage!

I won't be able to take it in until next week because, on the subject of further damage, the body shop that did the initial collision repair (Boyd's Body Shop in Emeryville - avoid at all costs!), broke my windshield when they removed it to straighten the frame. They put in a cheap replacement windshield, which appears to not be exactly the right size/shape, and the molding is about 1/4 inch off the glass on the driver's side, as well as along the bottom. So I need to take it back to them. Sigh. I was hoping to never have to have contact with them again.

Anyways, I will post again with the results of the fuel gauge issue when it is fixed! Thank you again!

Grace

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Windshield breakage on removal is a likely consequence. Not fitting a replacement correctly is sloppy work. Honda moldings _always_ (well almost always) break on removal and _must_ be replaced for a good fit. Sounds like they need some education in this regard. :|

Thank you for your final (summary) post in reply.