:?: [/b] I have a 92 SSE and I found a service bulletin that addresses my faulty gas gauge. The gauge reads empty after filling the tank and only reads properly after about 30 or so miles. Anyway, the service bulletin says to solder a 2k resistor between the black and purple wires in the harness under the left rear seat. The problem is, there are about 4 purple and 6 black wires in the bundle. How can I locate the right wires without going to the dealer? If anyone has completed this task, please mail me at mtrunz@aol.com. Thanks!

There is also the "Shell Gas" fiasco too to think about! If you've been using Shell gas, that may be your actual problem & not the resistor TSB.

Deathrat, I've never heard of any gasoline(Shell in particular) that would be the main cause of problems with ones gas gauge. Can you please enlighten me/us about the problems with Shell Gas?

on my 92 if i fill it right up to the top when i go for a trip some where the gas gauge flips over to show dead empty....after 30-50 miles it flips back...i never felt it was worth fixing or even looking into it....is it hurting anything? i would think not.

I added the 2k resistor on my '92 SSE */c, and I still have the problem occasionally. It seems to have something to do with the shutoff sensor at each gas station, too, and maybe also the reformulation of the summer/winter versions of pump gas here in So. Ca., because it hasn't happened in the last 6 weeks or so. When I fill the tank and the gage doesn't read 1/4" beyond the full mark on the gage, the problem doesn't occur...but I always latch the pump nozzle for automatic shutoff, so it'* up to the sensor in the pump nozzle to control how full the tank can get.

I thought about changing the resistor value from 2.0K to 1.8K, which is the minimum recommended value, but I haven't done that yet. Figuring out which wires was easy, and I followed the instructions in the TSB.

By the way, this problem has never happened on our '93 SSEi, and the '93 SSEi also has never had the problem with power loss on right turns when the fuel tank is 1/4 tank or so, so I don't believe GM'* claim that these problems are related to "corrosion" in the fuel pump/sending unit assembly.

billha,
You said you followed instructions in the TSB to add the 2k r. The bulletin I got from the club tech section isn't as clear apparrently. Can you email me a copy of the TSB you used? Or at least tell me how to identify one purple wire from the others? The only thing I saw to help ID the purple was a caution not to use the purple/white stripe in place of the solid purple. That still left me with multiple solid purple wires to choose from. I'm not sure it matters which black wire you use since they're all grounds. But if it does then I need to ID it as well. Is that the sending unit under the seat that the wire loom goes to? Maybe I just find which purple goes to it? Thanks.

Here' the applicable info about the 2 wires:
Locate the conduit on the left side of the car and expose the Purple (circuit #30) and Black/White (circuit #803) wires. Be careful to get the correct wires since there is also a purple/white wire in the opposite bundle.
The correct purple and black/white wires are in the wiring bundle that has the clear level ride line (ELC) in it.

Good luck. I hope it fixes the problem with yours; as I said, it didn't correct the problem on my '92.

As for the Shell gas problem.. yes I have heard of it too.. ithad to deal with certain additives they've used in the gas that gunks up the fuel sensor within the fuel.. this was even on the news last summer.. that'* why in Canada.. most Shell gas station will ALWAYS sell gas a lil cheaper then the competitor next door.. even though it'* like.1 or so of a cent.. they're still trying to win back the market they've lost since.

Can't speak for Shell in Canada or California, but I haven't had probs with Shell in 186,000 miles.

Matter of fact, in just about every comparison I've read Shell comes out on top for quality.

Let'* see some proof...references, test trial results, etc. before we get a big rumor going. Put some valid info where your comments are! Let'* read it and then form valid opinions.

Is this enough?
http://www.kleinlyons.com/shell/intro.html
GM Canada was forced to only to tell people to change fuel brands because of this btw!
I've personally seen numerous reports of this problem over the last year.