a method for collecting liquid temperature data from a fuel tank id achieved by providing a thermal sensitive resistive element that produces a value proportional to the liquid &# 39 ; s temperature , a capacitor for storing a charge representative of this value , and a resistor through which the capacitor is discharged . circuitry and software is provided that compares the voltage across the resistor to a reference as the capacitor discharges , determines the number of clock counts for which a predetermined relationship exists between the voltage across the resistor and the reference , then consults a table to determine an absolute temperature based on this clock count .