SO i just bought an 02 Lancer as a go to work and back car.. i found out the hard way my gas gauge doesnt work. It just fluctuates between 3/4 and full no matter how much gas i have. I am not car savy at all and was wondering what might cause this issue?

The float on the sending unit is probably stuck

Probably this, I would just do easy math/Trip calc it. Figure out what you get per tank (fill up, run 200 Miles Fill up and repeat. Avg it out) And then just know every 250 miles you need to fill up.

if possible remove the sending unit out of the tank, plug it to a multimeter, check resistance while moving the float...

if its acting up and no linear try cleaning it with electronic cleaner (spray)

This post was edited by BiG_BeN on Nov 13 2017 04:31pm

Never messed with these but if the sending unit is NOT a part of the fuel pump then they are usually pretty cheap to replace

this is exactly what i do

this sounds like id have to be car savy