brightwell

My fuel gauge has started behaving as if it is sticky. I turn on and start up and the needle doesn't move; sometimes the orange light is on at the some time but not always. Switching off and back on sometimes makes it behave normally; other times after I have been driving a few minutes the gauge springs into life. I use BP Ultimate unleaded, and I had just filled the tank before I noticed this for the first time. I have read that W202 senders are known for this problem; also that using Redex or similar cleaners can cure it, although that seems to apply mostly in cases when people have been using supermarket fuel.

Is it a DIY job to remove and clean the sender? What about fire and explosion risks when working on the fuel tank? Is there a writeup with photos showing how to do this? On a scale of 1 to 5 (five being the most), how difficult is this job?

Thanks.

timmyj51

May not be the sender unit. MB put out a TSB on faulty fuel gauges for
the C220 and pointed out that the sender unit wire often became pinched
or broken where it threads under the back seat. Would check that
first.