A little worried about my gas tank..

#1 03-21-2002, 08:20 AM

okay, i'm a little bit worried here.

Not only has my fuel economy recently plunged from about 275 miles before the needle hits E to about 220, but the little orange gas pump light has started coming on when the needle indicates a quarter of a tank remaining.

I think I can explain the drop in fuel economy: a combination of driving like a bastard at the recent new england meet and a couple of bad weather days driving at 40mph in 2nd gear for a somewhat extended period of time..

But the indicator light completely escapes me..

any thoughts?

-adam

Mr. Pockets · #2 03-21-2002, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by alacrity024
okay, i'm a little bit worried here.

Not only has my fuel economy recently plunged from about 275 miles before the needle hits E to about 220, but the little orange gas pump light has started coming on when the needle indicates a quarter of a tank remaining.

I think I can explain the drop in fuel economy: a combination of driving like a bastard at the recent new england meet and a couple of bad weather days driving at 40mph in 2nd gear for a somewhat extended period of time..

But the indicator light completely escapes me..

any thoughts?

-adam

Is the light actually coming on when you have a quarter tank left - or just when the needle SAYS you have a quarter tank left?

#3 03-21-2002, 11:11 AM

well the light comes on when the needle says there's a quarter tank left. It will go out and come back on unpredictably.. being on a hill or flat surface doesn't seem to have much effect on it..

#4 03-21-2002, 12:37 PM

I think what he was wondering was... if you go get gas when the needle reads a quarter tank and the light comes on, do you get like 17 gallons in, or like 12?

The gas tank has two seperate sensors in it, one to control the gas gauge, and a seperate one to control the "low fuel light". They're different style sensors as well, and the low fuel light seems to be the more accurate of the two.

If you can get 17 gallons in it when the light comes on and the needle reads a quarter, that would point to problems with the gauge, if you can only get like 12 in, that would point to a problem with the low fuel light sensor.

Or maybe I'm just totally confused...

#5 03-21-2002, 01:01 PM

okay, sorry for any confusion.. i'll try to clear things up a bit and give a play-by-play

I fill my gas tank up and reset the trip meter.. usually it takes like 13 gallons because i like to fill it when the needle is on or near E

I drive the car for awhile, anticipating the needle to hit the halfway mark right about the same time the trip meter reads 150. No problem. Then, the needle gets down to about the quarter-tank mark. My trip meter shows 200 miles and the fuel warning light comes on.

So even if I have been running the engine a little high and using a little more fuel than normal, I know that I've still got plenty of gas. However the fuel warning light is still on. I can't understand it. Sith, you said that there were two different sensors?

When the fuel light is on and I'm still a little bit above 'E' I can fit about 12, maybe 13 gallons into the tank. So my guess is that the sensor which is hooked up to the fuel warning light has got something a little funky going on.

Any ideas on how to fix it/clean it off?

-Adam

vkykam · #6 03-21-2002, 01:15 PM

When the light comes on, you can usually put in about 15 gallons.

The tank is an 18 gallon tank, and the fuel gauge is persistantly pessimistic.

I drive it until the light turns on all the time, since I usually go through about 25 gallons a week, and I'm too lazy to visit the station every day.

VK

#7 03-21-2002, 01:51 PM

I know about the pessimestic gauge.. I know about the tank's capacity. Just imagine driving around and seeing your needle on the quarter tank mark and your trip meter tells you that you've got at LEAST another 75 miles left before you should tank up again and the warning light goes on. You've OBVIOUSLY got PLENTY of gas left--far more than it usually takes to turn that light on..

-a

#8 03-21-2002, 07:10 PM

I know there are definatly two different sensors, each of a different style, one for the light and one for the gauge. I know i've seen a diagram of the gas tank showing that, but I can't find it anywhere. Does anybody else have a copy of that?

In any case, from what you've described, it sounds like the warning light is the flakey one, and the gauge itself is still accurate. I'm guessing the cost to repair a problem of that sort (since it seems to be the sensor itself) would be pretty extreme. You may want to lean towards the "tape on the light" solution (or pulling the wire).

Of course, I might be totally wrong...

Beav · #9 03-21-2002, 08:39 PM

Yup, there's two units the main and the 'sub'. The fuel tank is like two saddle tanks and each side has a sending unit. The main unit includes the low fuel sender along with the gauge unit. The sub unit on the other side is just a gauge sender.

Here's the fun part (grab your socks now) the main unit lists for $156 and the sub unit is $31. Kinda makes Sith's suggestion hold a little merit now, doesn't it?

Look in my locker for a diagram.

Beav