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Is my fuel warning light not working?

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:22 am
by mxysxy
Here is my fuel indicator,
Image
I did 460kms so far, since the tank was full, and still there is no low fuel light on the dash, didnt even blink ones.
How far does this indicator goes below "E"(empty) before the light comes on?

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 12:12 pm
by fto617
u tiptronic?
mine goes a little below the E and light comes up
i can do probably 450 before light comes up

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 12:22 pm
by mxysxy
Yep, it is tiptronic,
fto617, are you saying that where the indicator is now, the light should already come on?
Also, where is your indicator showing when you fill up the tank full? is it over the "F" line, or just under?
Mine stays just under, when it is fully full.

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 12:35 pm
by ruchi
It drops down past the letter "E".

To help reassure yourself, remember that the FTO has a 60L fuel tank. If you fill up now you'll get an idea of how many litres you had left.

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 12:42 pm
by mxysxy
Ruchi,
I assume your fuel warning light comes on when the indicator is approximitaly on the letter "E"?

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 12:45 pm
by ruchi
Below the "E" from memory.

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 1:46 pm
by Boris
Does any one know how many liters are left in the tank when the actual light comes on? I have driven once on the fuel light for so long that I filled up 57.7 liters in my tank :roll:

My light comes in bout the middles for the "E", so don't stress... and then i still keep on driving for like 30/50 km's :)

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 2:17 pm
by mxysxy
57.7 liters
thats crazy :lol:

What happens if run out of petrol, except getting stuck in the middle of the punt road... perhaps there is a good chance fuel pump might go off, anything else?

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 2:39 pm
by andie066
i drive a Tip and my light dosnt come on untill the pin goes half way down the letter "E" hehe

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 2:42 pm
by G_A_V
I thought usually the fuel light comes on when there is 10l left

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 6:57 pm
by D-TRAIN
G_A_V wrote:I thought usually the fuel light comes on when there is 10l left
That was my understanding as well.

And the fuel warning light does come on after the needle has been E for awhile. I'm not sure if the needle drops much below E.

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 8:42 pm
by fto617
mine drops like way below the E before light start to come on and off
like when your on a slope it comes on
and goes away when your on a flat rd
i think it comes on when it has 8-10 L left
its a orange light
i think its on the right i cant remember

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 8:55 pm
by ruchi
From memory (as I haven't let the fuel go that low for a long time) the light first comes on around 10 litres left, but normally stays on when it's around 6-8L left.

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 9:05 pm
by wildfaye
Actually, I think the needle is knackered!

When she was still a new car and filled up full, the needle will go beyond
the F mark. and i could get 280-300 and 1/2 tank.
When i hit E, she has travelled 460-500 and i top up ard 50L.
It usually lights up and u have 10L left

Now she's 6yrs old and when i fill her up, the needle just rests at F, not over. and i get 230-260 at 1/2 tank.
gets 460 at the same point u get in that pic, lights up ard 480 and top up 50+Litres.

Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 5:57 pm
by SchumieFan
I filled mine up last week till the pump said my tank was full, i did 297.7 kms till it reached the half way on the indicator, and ive done 150kms to get from 1/2 to the E... whats with this? is the top half of the tank larger or is the indicator rigged to give you enough warning and time to fill it up so you dont run out?

i have never seen the fuel warning light, and ive only ever had it a couple of mill below the E mark, im a bit scared to go any further to see if it will come on incase it doesnt.

btw... i got backed into today in a carpark :evil: NOT AMUSED! new rear bumper and new left tail light... and the bastard took off so im left with the bill :( such as life

Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 10:32 am
by paladin
my 2c

I can get it way past like yours is now before hte light comes on, then 50 k or so latter it starts flashing and then i put in about 54L.

i find i get much better econamy from BP then shell as well

Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 9:00 pm
by D-TRAIN
wildfaye wrote:When she was still a new car and filled up full, the needle will go beyond the F mark. and i could get 280-300 and 1/2 tank.
When i hit E, she has travelled 460-500 and i top up ard 50L.
It usually lights up and u have 10L left
I get exactly that. Mine's a 1997 model. But I guess it really depends how and where you drive (ie short stop start trips vs highway trips). I probably do 50/50 in that regard.

As for BP vs Shell, I can't say the economy rate is noticeably better (I recently switched from Shell to BP - after a couple of full tanks). Engine running wise seems the same to me also. But I'm hoping it'll assist in engine maintanence for the long run - with the fewer toxic addictive - so they tell me anyways.

Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 1:15 am
by RedlineGX
I've got a 97 GX Tip. I can get as much as 300km when the needle reaches half and I reliably get between 460-480 before the light comes on. It stays below E for I would say maybe 40km before my light comes on and even when it does come on it only blinks on hills etc. I too thought my needle was broken when i first got the car since it didnt even move by the time i had done 90km!!![/u]

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 2:04 am
by Boris
Ok guys, I can assure you that our fuel tank is 60L... :wink:

After a busy day, and not finding time to drive 10k's to the closest BP my car was getting very close to almost starving to death. I even literaly had the car spluttering and almost stalling when I cornered or accelarated a bit too fast...

At that stage I put exactly 2L into the fuel tank from a trusty emergency bottle I have (knowing my history). After driving those 10km's... and after filling up I got 57.51L into my thirsty baby...

So at 0.5L left in your tank your car will probably hate you... your fuel gauge needle should be around the middle of the E...

So learn... ppl.... I'm going to wash my baby tomorow and hopefully she will forgive me... :P

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 1:20 pm
by D-TRAIN
Yup it's a 60L tank but I would try not to ran the tank so low.

It was explained to me that you could potentially start picking up deposits you have at the bottom of the fuel tank.

I also have been guilty in running down the tank, and I had similar symptoms Boris. Never did it again....too scary!