Low fuel warning light
04-23-2008, 01:18 PM
#26
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Interesting... I get light at about 225 miles, drive another 20 and then fill it up which takes 13.5-14 gallons. The manual says 60 liters or ~15.85 gals so I figured I always have 1.5-2 gals at fillup, and around 3 gals (45-60 miles to go) when the light comes on. I drive about 70-30 hwy/city mix.
Now, b-Eight says it took him 15.33 gals from bone dry to Full, so we gotta figure a 0.5 gals variance. Then, when one gets a light it's about 2.5 gals left or 35-50 miles, depending on driving style and environment.
That confirms Demon's obervation of 40-45 miles max. I guess we should err on the side of caution and never run on faith... these are good hard numbers to know.
Now, b-Eight says it took him 15.33 gals from bone dry to Full, so we gotta figure a 0.5 gals variance. Then, when one gets a light it's about 2.5 gals left or 35-50 miles, depending on driving style and environment.
That confirms Demon's obervation of 40-45 miles max. I guess we should err on the side of caution and never run on faith... these are good hard numbers to know.
04-23-2008, 01:41 PM
#27
Vtak just kicked in yo!!
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I don't know why everyone keeps asking how far can you go after the light goes on before I run out of gas. This is bad practice to run any car with low fuel for a number of reasons.
1st you suck up any impurities and crap from the bottom of the tank and ruin your motor.
2nd your fuel pump on most cars (not sure of the 8s) is inside the tank and is cooled by the fuel and could burn itself out and need replaced earlier than necessary.
3rd it cost the same for 8 gallons of gas at half a tank as 8 gallons when your on E
4th you could run out of gas and look like a dumb *** on the side of the road.
Just my 2 cents worth so take it or leave it.
1st you suck up any impurities and crap from the bottom of the tank and ruin your motor.
2nd your fuel pump on most cars (not sure of the 8s) is inside the tank and is cooled by the fuel and could burn itself out and need replaced earlier than necessary.
3rd it cost the same for 8 gallons of gas at half a tank as 8 gallons when your on E
4th you could run out of gas and look like a dumb *** on the side of the road.
Just my 2 cents worth so take it or leave it.
04-23-2008, 03:54 PM
#28
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Uh, the fuel pickup is at the bottom of the tank, so whatever might be at the bottom is the first to head towards the engine. Also, there's a very nice fuel filter between the fuel supply and the engine to catch the debris.
1.3L
1.3L
04-23-2008, 05:09 PM
#29
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regarding the impurities off the bottom of the tank... doesn't the pump always draw from the bottom even when full? I find it kinda hard to believe the inlet that draws the fuel in somehow floats happily off the bottom until the tank gets low, although please correct me if i'm wrong
04-23-2008, 05:29 PM
#31
I got nothing good to say
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How much crap are you people putting into your gas tank that you would worry about this so much?! The car has not been sitting around for 20 yrs, so I'd wager that you'd be surprised how little "crap" is in there. And the more you cycle through your fuel, the cleaner it's going to stay.
I'm not advocating for anyone to follow what I do, I'm just sharing what works for me - which is that I know there's roughly 3 gallons in the tank (which is at least a 45 mile range for me) when the fuel light comes on, I know I'm rarely more than a few miles from a gas station, and I know what kind of mileage I'm getting. The times I did run out (it happend twice - once when I had only had the car for a short while, and both times I just completely forgot about the low fuel) it was around 45 miles after the light came on from my calculations, although probably a few miles more.
What I do advocate is for people to gather information and make an informed decision on their own.
EDIT: When I say "you" I'm not pointing to anyone in particular, but "you" in general.
I'm not advocating for anyone to follow what I do, I'm just sharing what works for me - which is that I know there's roughly 3 gallons in the tank (which is at least a 45 mile range for me) when the fuel light comes on, I know I'm rarely more than a few miles from a gas station, and I know what kind of mileage I'm getting. The times I did run out (it happend twice - once when I had only had the car for a short while, and both times I just completely forgot about the low fuel) it was around 45 miles after the light came on from my calculations, although probably a few miles more.
What I do advocate is for people to gather information and make an informed decision on their own.
EDIT: When I say "you" I'm not pointing to anyone in particular, but "you" in general.
04-24-2008, 03:58 AM
#32
more quick answer.
when the light goes on you have very close to 2.5 us gallons in the tank.
how far you can go depends on the mpg of that tank you are getting and how you are driving at the time..
i can state this as almost fact as i have logged mpg for almost 90k miles.. and i have pushed it and run out of gas twice. or was it three times..
every time it was within 300 yards of a gas station.
beers
when the light goes on you have very close to 2.5 us gallons in the tank.
how far you can go depends on the mpg of that tank you are getting and how you are driving at the time..
i can state this as almost fact as i have logged mpg for almost 90k miles.. and i have pushed it and run out of gas twice. or was it three times..
every time it was within 300 yards of a gas station.beers
04-24-2008, 10:56 AM
#33
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1. not all debris floats.
2. I doubt much debris gets into the gas tank in the first place.
3. fuel pickup tubes in gas tanks typically have a screen that prevents larger
debris from going through the fuel pump.
4. finally, regardless of whether the debris sinks or floats, the fuel filter will trap
the debris.
1.3L
2. I doubt much debris gets into the gas tank in the first place.
3. fuel pickup tubes in gas tanks typically have a screen that prevents larger
debris from going through the fuel pump.
4. finally, regardless of whether the debris sinks or floats, the fuel filter will trap
the debris.
1.3L
04-24-2008, 03:15 PM
#35
i ignore the light on mine and don't stop for gas until it's 1/2 through the E and about to break off or I hit 300 miles on the tripmeter, whichever comes first.
04 75K miles and doing fine...
04 75K miles and doing fine...
04-24-2008, 04:46 PM
#36
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04-24-2008, 07:48 PM
#37
I actually fill up as soon as the light comes on, but I did see something on the news the other day talking about this. They recomended only filling a half tank at each fill up to save on gas, but I don't think that the results would be noticable. Besides, I feel like I'm at the gas station enough, don't want to double it. I fill'er all the way up.
04-24-2008, 09:26 PM
#38
93.5 octane
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get in the habit of filling up when you are around 1/4 tank. you never know when you may have to get in the car and drive with no time to stop at a gas station.
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