Fuel gauge woes!

bass2reds

Weapon of bass destruction
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Plantation, Florida, United States
Boat
Back Country 151 ProGuide
#1
I am reaching out to you all to get some ideas. About a month ago, 3 of my gauges started acting weird so I thought it might be a bad ground issue to my panel. My PSI Gauge, Fuel Gauge and Volt gauge we're screwed up on the same trip. My RPM and other gauges worked fine. Fuel shows empty even though I have a 3/4 tank. Volts show 18 when I turn on the key and water pressure shows zero when running even though the motor is pissing fine and the temp gauge registers at 120 degrees.
I pulled all the wires, cleaned the contacts, blew air through the water line from the powerhead to the gauge and unclogged the corrosion in the water gauge nipple. Now the PSI gauge works but no fuel registering and the volt gauge still jumps to 18 volts when I turn the key. It used to never go past 14 volts when running or charging.
Also, I opened the porthole to the fuel tank and was going to check the fuel sending unit but the wires are sealed in a factory connection and there is only about 2 inches of clearance to remove the sender which I could with an Allen wrench but would have to somehow pull the new sender's wires thru the PVC conduit back to my dash, risky in a small boat with little access underneath. The fuel gauge needle moves a little when I turn the key so I don't think the gauge is bad since it's getting power enough to make it move.
So now the only thing not working is the fuel gauge and volt meter seeming too high. I'm happy my PSI is now working but losing sleep over the other stuff. Giving up for now since I spent 3 hours contorting myself into positions only circus performers can achieve and am now on a ice pack rejuvenating my back!