rodg

Just purchased a used 1992 Crown Vic LX in good condition, which I'm pretty
impressed with, except for the Digital Dash. For one, when you fill it up,
it gives you a CO in the right cluster and the fuel guage has two dashes
at the top and two at the bottom. The owners manual says this is an
"error" code and to take it to the dealer. The previous owner says he had
the fuel pump/gas guage assembly replaced and it did the same thing.
Obviously, I don't want to redo that again if it won't help. Does anyone
know if this is a digital dash problem, a onboard computer problem or ???
Thanks for any help.
Rod

GTD

On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 01:18:26 -0400, "rodg" <rodgottula@cmlc.us> wrote:

>Just purchased a used 1992 Crown Vic LX in good condition, which I'm pretty
>impressed with, except for the Digital Dash. For one, when you fill it up,
>it gives you a CO in the right cluster and the fuel guage has two dashes
>at the top and two at the bottom. The owners manual says this is an
>"error" code and to take it to the dealer. The previous owner says he had
>the fuel pump/gas guage assembly replaced and it did the same thing.
>Obviously, I don't want to redo that again if it won't help. Does anyone
>know if this is a digital dash problem, a onboard computer problem or ???
>Thanks for any help.
>Rod

Are you leaving the engine running while you fill it? I wonder if this
is anything like GM's "Your gas cap is not on tightly enough" trouble
code. All one gets in the check engine light, great for those of us
that live in rural Alaska and the local mechanic goes moose hunting
for 3 weeks the day before this happens... I drove 200 miles
round-trip to get told the wife limp-wristed the stupid cap.....

Paul of Dayton

CO means Circuit Open. Very likely, the sending unit in the tank has a dead
spot near the top and when it's full, it doesn't send a signal. If you had
a mechanical dash, the guage would peg at one extreme or the other.

Do you "top off" the tank after the pump shuts off? I just wonder if it
happens when the tank is full to the shut-off...? When it returns to
normal, how full does it show?

PoD


"rodg" <rodgottula@cmlc.us> wrote in message
news:46011611ba8c97dd4dfbe61443f3ba32@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...
> Just purchased a used 1992 Crown Vic LX in good condition, which I'm
> pretty
> impressed with, except for the Digital Dash. For one, when you fill it up,
> it gives you a CO in the right cluster and the fuel guage has two dashes
> at the top and two at the bottom. The owners manual says this is an
> "error" code and to take it to the dealer. The previous owner says he had
> the fuel pump/gas guage assembly replaced and it did the same thing.
> Obviously, I don't want to redo that again if it won't help. Does anyone
> know if this is a digital dash problem, a onboard computer problem or ???
> Thanks for any help.
> Rod
>

Sharon K.Cooke

rodg wrote:
>
> Just purchased a used 1992 Crown Vic LX in good condition, which I'm pretty
> impressed with, except for the Digital Dash. For one, when you fill it up,
> it gives you a CO in the right cluster and the fuel guage has two dashes
> at the top and two at the bottom. The owners manual says this is an
> "error" code and to take it to the dealer. The previous owner says he had
> the fuel pump/gas guage assembly replaced and it did the same thing.
> Obviously, I don't want to redo that again if it won't help. Does anyone
> know if this is a digital dash problem, a onboard computer problem or ???
> Thanks for any help.
> Rod

CO = Circuit Open. This usually means a bad connection at the sending unit, or a
bad ground in the wiring for that circuit.

trainfan1

rodg wrote:
> Just purchased a used 1992 Crown Vic LX in good condition, which I'm pretty
> impressed with, except for the Digital Dash. For one, when you fill it up,
> it gives you a CO in the right cluster and the fuel guage has two dashes
> at the top and two at the bottom. The owners manual says this is an
> "error" code and to take it to the dealer. The previous owner says he had
> the fuel pump/gas guage assembly replaced and it did the same thing.
> Obviously, I don't want to redo that again if it won't help. Does anyone
> know if this is a digital dash problem, a onboard computer problem or ???
> Thanks for any help.
> Rod
>

"Circuit Open"

It's a sending unit problem, nothing wrong with the display. Ignore it
if you have a good idea of how much fuel you have on board, or if it
works OK when it comes off full.

Rob

Paul of Dayton

I agree - ignore it if it is OK after it's off full.

PoD


"trainfan1" <lmsearing@usdatanet.net> wrote in message
news:ed-dnftOG5B8dF7fRVn-tw@usadatanet.net...
> rodg wrote:
>> Just purchased a used 1992 Crown Vic LX in good condition, which I'm
>> pretty
>> impressed with, except for the Digital Dash. For one, when you fill it
>> up,
>> it gives you a CO in the right cluster and the fuel guage has two dashes
>> at the top and two at the bottom. The owners manual says this is an
>> "error" code and to take it to the dealer. The previous owner says he
>> had
>> the fuel pump/gas guage assembly replaced and it did the same thing.
>> Obviously, I don't want to redo that again if it won't help. Does anyone
>> know if this is a digital dash problem, a onboard computer problem or ???
>> Thanks for any help.
>> Rod
>>
>
> "Circuit Open"
>
> It's a sending unit problem, nothing wrong with the display. Ignore it if
> you have a good idea of how much fuel you have on board, or if it works OK
> when it comes off full.
>
> Rob

rodg

Thanks for the feedback. It isn't gas cap. Doesn't make a difference if I
top it off or not. It doesn't seem like the guage is accurate either once
tank starts to empty either, so for right now, I just set the trip odometer
at zero when I fill and refill at 250-300 miles.
thanks
Rod

Sharon K.Cooke

rodg wrote:
>
> Thanks for the feedback. It isn't gas cap. Doesn't make a difference if I
> top it off or not. It doesn't seem like the guage is accurate either once
> tank starts to empty either, so for right now, I just set the trip odometer
> at zero when I fill and refill at 250-300 miles.
> thanks
> Rod

CO = Circuit Open
This is usually caused by a bad connection, ground or even a break somewhere in
the sender wire.

Paul of Dayton

There is either a poor connection between the sending unit in the tank or
the sending unit itself is bad. I do not think there is a problem with the
digital dash itself. Personally, I think the digital dash may be a bit more
reliable than a mechanical one but I may have just had good luch with the
three I've had. Since the in-tank assembly was relpaced with no change,
look for bad wiring. There is a whole troubleshooting proceedure in the
Ford shop manual to determine the cause of a "CO" indication. A Ford dealer
can probably fix it - or you could buy a Ford Shop Manual (don't get a
generic one, it won't have the info you need). Manuals in paper or on CD
are sometimes on Ebay...

PoD



"rodg" <rodgottula@cmlc.us> wrote in message
news:afc2a3a4ecb407d28c1dd86760a52a1c@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...
> Thanks for the feedback. It isn't gas cap. Doesn't make a difference if I
> top it off or not. It doesn't seem like the guage is accurate either once
> tank starts to empty either, so for right now, I just set the trip
> odometer
> at zero when I fill and refill at 250-300 miles.
> thanks
> Rod
>