An electromechanical servo gauge includes a displacer on a wire from a drum for causing a torque on the drum, a servo motor coupled by a drive shaft for rotating the drum, wherein a change in a liquid level moves the ESG out of balance, and a force transducer is positioned for measuring the torque on the drum and converting the torque into a physical quantity. The processor implements an automatic friction determination algorithm. A first move moves the displacer in a first direction for ≥1 motor step(s) to a first position and first physical quantity data including a first physical quantity (Q1) is measured by the transducer. Second moving moves the displacer in an opposite direction ≥1 step(s) to reach a second displacer position and second physical quantity data including a second physical quantity (Q2) is measured. A hysteresis measure is determined from the first and second physical quantity.