No, I've never had that problem, but I did replace my sending unit some years ago. If it's never been replaced, perhaps your sending unit is slowly headed south? Hard to say.
Fuel Gauge question
So, I saw that there had been a recall on some gas gauges, but I seem to have a different problem. The first 1/2 of my gauge accounts for about 65 miles of driving, and the second 1/2 manages to last another 300 miles. Does anyone else have a gauge that is that far off when it comes to showing actual tank level?
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Mine's a '13 so it might be completely different for all I know. But mine seems reasonably accurate. I get to about 100 miles on the first 1/4, 200 on the second 1/4 and 300 on the 3rd quarter.So, I saw that there had been a recall on some gas gauges, but I seem to have a different problem. The first 1/2 of my gauge accounts for about 65 miles of driving, and the second 1/2 manages to last another 300 miles. Does anyone else have a gauge that is that far off when it comes to showing actual tank level?
Mine has the opposite problem. The first half is 200 miles and the last is 100 miles. My fuel level sender is bad and causes the empty light and SES light to come on every fill up for 20 miles and 120 miles respectively. I would say the fuel level sender is a safe bed for the problem.
My gen2 is about like that.Mine's a '13 so it might be completely different for all I know. But mine seems reasonably accurate. I get to about 100 miles on the first 1/4, 200 on the second 1/4 and 300 on the 3rd quarter.
My gen1, if I fill up, it shows 3/4 tank for the first 40 miles, then moves to full and starts moving down from there. 100 miles at 3/4 full, 200 miles at 1/2 tank, 275 at 1/4 tank, 300 low fuel light.
Just out of curiosity, anyone have any idea how much gas is left in the tank when the light comes on? I have never actually had the light come on but if I stop when the gauge is showing in between empty and 1/4 it seems to take 15 gallons or so, meaning there were still more than 6 gallons in there.My gen2 is about like that.
My gen1, if I fill up, it shows 3/4 tank for the first 40 miles, then moves to full and starts moving down from there. 100 miles at 3/4 full, 200 miles at 1/2 tank, 275 at 1/4 tank, 300 low fuel light.
The fuel tank in our trucks holds 21 1/8 gal. The owners manual doesn't list an amount that's left when the low fuel light comes on, but an overall average for most vehicles would be 2-3 gallons, enough to drive 50-60 miles, depending on the vehicle.Just out of curiosity, anyone have any idea how much gas is left in the tank when the light comes on? I have never actually had the light come on but if I stop when the gauge is showing in between empty and 1/4 it seems to take 15 gallons or so, meaning there were still more than 6 gallons in there.
My fuel light had come on a few times before my fuel level sender started showing signs of going out. It had about 4 gallons left each time.
my 2008 never had fuel light come on, but at 1/8 tank it took 18.5 gal after that I always fill up at about 1/4 tank
Yea I was going to say this except mine is more like 150 for the first half, 100 for the 2nd.. 250 is about all mine goes. This actually almost got me in trouble when I went to Dumont last weekend. I saved a 1/4 tank to get back to the gas station from Dumont. It took slightly less than a 1/4 to get there on a full tank but the last 1/4 is nothing like the first 1/4! We had to divert to Parhump and we drove WAY longer with the fuel light on than I ever have before. The needle was WELL below the E mark when we got to the Parhump station.Mine has the opposite problem. The first half is 200 miles and the last is 100 miles. My fuel level sender is bad and causes the empty light and SES light to come on every fill up for 20 miles and 120 miles respectively. I would say the fuel level sender is a safe bed for the problem.
You guys! Math!
80 litres of fuel. Fill it as soon as the light comes on. How many litres go in? The difference is how much you had left.
Physics! Math! Science! Astrology!
80 litres of fuel. Fill it as soon as the light comes on. How many litres go in? The difference is how much you had left.
Physics! Math! Science! Astrology!
Wow I would have never guessed that. The day we ran it well below empty I put in 17.5 gallons. On E it takes about 16 and 1/2ish. According to that I still had 2 gallons to go!2003 3.3 V6 CC FUEL TANK CAPACITY 19.4 gal.
You never really want to run it that low, though. The fuel pump relies on the fuel to help get rid of some of the heat it produces. If you are constantly running it almost dry, you could cause a premature failure from heat.Wow I would have never guessed that. The day we ran it well below empty I put in 17.5 gallons. On E it takes about 16 and 1/2ish. According to that I still had 2 gallons to go!
I have also heard rumors that it can cause any dirt and gunk in the bottom of the tank to be sucked up by the pump. Personally, the only issue I could see that causing is the fuel filter getting clogged earlier than normal. Either way, I would rather not find out.
Dirt and gunk will probably gum up your pre-screen filter on the base of the pump before anything else (it's there to screen out the rocks and alligators, as my auto teacher once said). I would imagine the increased strain on the pump to pull fuel past that kind of obstruction would shorten its life significantly. Though, I wonder, how much gunk is in the bottom of a gas tank? Are we filling up with mud? Don't the fuel pumps at the gas station have filters? How many dead rats are floating in my gas tank RIGHT NOW? Seriously, though. Is this gunk that everyone is always worried about actually a thing? Or just urban myth (i.e. Don't fill up while the trucks are filling the fuel reservoir because it stirs up the "gunk")?You never really want to run it that low, though. The fuel pump relies on the fuel to help get rid of some of the heat it produces. If you are constantly running it almost dry, you could cause a premature failure from heat.
I have also heard rumors that it can cause any dirt and gunk in the bottom of the tank to be sucked up by the pump. Personally, the only issue I could see that causing is the fuel filter getting clogged earlier than normal. Either way, I would rather not find out.
Dang it! The stars! I forgot to calculate the stars!You guys! Math!
80 litres of fuel. Fill it as soon as the light comes on. How many litres go in? The difference is how much you had left.
Physics! Math! Science! Astrology!
Mine reads linear, I'm going to stop there and not jinx myself though.
the Firebird however...chronic problem with 4th gen F bodies: the gauge always reads about 1/4 tank high. by the time the needle hits the F tick mark, you're at 3/4. 3/4=1/2, 1/2=1/4, 1/4= might not make it to a gas station. every single one from the day they came off the assembly line. many claim it's due to the odd-shaped tank but since it's linear, not progressive I think they just got the ohms calibration off and didn't bother to fix it for 10 years cuz GM.
the Firebird however...chronic problem with 4th gen F bodies: the gauge always reads about 1/4 tank high. by the time the needle hits the F tick mark, you're at 3/4. 3/4=1/2, 1/2=1/4, 1/4= might not make it to a gas station. every single one from the day they came off the assembly line. many claim it's due to the odd-shaped tank but since it's linear, not progressive I think they just got the ohms calibration off and didn't bother to fix it for 10 years cuz GM.
Lol I didn't say anything about stars. Astrology is about your horoscope. If you're an aquarius, like me, you get better mileage.Dang it! The stars! I forgot to calculate the stars!
My 2ndgen 2008 has the low fuel light come on at exactly 17.5 gallons of fuel used as I have filled it a number of times as soon as the light came on. So its a 21.13 gallon tank (US gallons) and that means I had about 3.63 gallons of gas left in the tank when the light came on. I have a 4 cylinder and average 22mpg so that 3.63 gallons could get me approx. another 80 miles down the road before running dry. Hope that helps.
Ah, but Astro is Greek for star, logy is Greek for "the study of," and your horoscope is based entirely on what star-sign you were born under, and it's relation to the planets as they orbit the sun. Which is why it's so dicy for you aquariuses when Mercury is in retrograde.Lol I didn't say anything about stars. Astrology is about your horoscope. If you're an aquarius, like me, you get better mileage.
Now here's the real star question... If it is nighttime where you are and there is a full solar eclipse occuring on the exact opposite side of the planet, during the perihelion, is the increased gravity on your vehicle enough to adversely affect your gas mileage? And what of the people on the opposite side of the planet? Are they reaping what you have lost? And THEN would my gas gauge read correctly?
My 2015 SV 4x4 seems to have a reserve of about 5 gallons. This makes it almost useless as a convenience device. The dealer tells me this is normal. Sounds to me like the use of a standardized part that doesn't really fit the SV application.
I actually had a bit of a development since this thread started. I knew I wasn't nearly emptying my tank whenever I refueled at 300 miles (where my gauge pin sat on the bottom of the E). So, the next time I needed gas, I drove about 325 miles before I filled up. My gas light came on about 285 as usual, and the needle sat on the pin for that last 25 miles. However, now, my gauge doesn't seem quite as far off. Now my light is coming on at about 300 miles, and the gauge isn't dropping through the first 1/2 nearly as fast. I calculated my terminal mileage based on average economy multiplied by known fuel capacity (18.5mpg * 21.2gal = ~392.2mi), so it's still way off, but now I'm wondering if there's some linkage (probaly somewhere connected to the float) that is loose, and by running it below where it 'thought' empty was, it forced a slight adjustment. I'm tempted to run my tank quite a bit lower and see if affects another change in the gauge performance, but I definitely don't want to run it dry.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
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