Low Fuel light

[mitch500]

furthest ive gone was about 50-60 kms with the light on.... yeah i know its bad for the pump, but there wasnt a gas station and i was driving threw the mountains in canada thinking i would make it.... so 50 kms is about 25 miles.

[Adrian_Visser]

Just to chime in, its not good for your fuel pump to run the tank dry. I mean sure you wanna know if the light comes on thats all good and great. Just keep in mind that running the tank dry means your fuel pump and filter are going to suck up all the rust and sediment in the bottom of the tank. Also the fuel pump is lubricated by the fuel it pumps through itself 30 seconds of dry running is enough to kill it, seeing as it costs upwards of $250 for a new pump i think running the tank completely dry is a piss poor idea

[monoaural]

When my comes on, i hit 1000 and zero buttons on the mfa, tells me I have 6 liters left. So about a gallon and a half.

[Knockenwelle]

I almost got the light to come on today, I think. The gauge was ON the white line, but I drove past a convenient Chevron and proceeded to fill up with 13.7 gal. So yeah, I'd buy the ~2 gal to go.

[jintermont]

my fuel gauge doesnt work but my light comes on, then i have about 35 miles till i run dry

[Burning2nd]

12.3 here and thats pushing it in to the pump....

last i got to was 11.6 and the light still didnt come on... so maybe my bulb on the dash along with all the other out lights have finaly shitted out?

87, 30

[dubdub]

Yea, couldn't you test this by pulling the sender out of the tank, and turing the car on (not starting)? Wouldn't that simulate an empty tank?

Hmmm... wonder if there is enough slack in the wires/lines... probably not, huh?

[itsbrokeagain]

Ive actually done the same thing...I can only get 12.3 gallons on fill up. My gas light used to work when the cluster was all fubar but now that I fixed all the solder joints, Ive let the gauge come down right to the white line at the very end and the light still refused to come on..I got 12.8 gallons..I still had 3 left! lol.

Im going to suck it down good one of these days before I change out the pump and put a new filter in.

[AdironRider]

I run mine to the light all the time. It often doesnt come on for me (Ive got a m42 so I can go longer I suppose) until like 30-40 miles past the empty mark, and then I get another 40-50 miles or so. My pops always told me when I first get a car to run it dry with a 5 gallon fill up tank in my trunk just so I know these things. Has proven to be mighty helpful in dire straights actually.

[jrobie79]

its supposed to come on a 1.6 gallons IIRC from reading the owners manual

[ivo316]

Mine has been on twice since i have the car, and the needle is AT the white dash when it comes on, you could also drive your car to empty (or close) and park it on a grade, also racing it from standstill and braking hard will get it to turn on (if your are very close to the "empty" dash).

[Mike325]

All you have to do is take the cover off the rear seat and pull up the level sensor. It fills with gas and tells you what your remaining fuel supply is. Just pull it out of a tank with around 1/4 left and see if the light comes on. You will be 100% empty by doing this.

It also keeps you from running out of gas, letting all the crud in your tank get sucked to the engine and also will prevent the pumps from getting too hot. It is not a good idea to let your tank get this dry.:tsk:

[325iCabrio]

Yeah, you really have to press your luck for the light to come on. Mine doesn't come on until the gauge says the tank is completely empty. When that happens, I'll fill it up with 14 gallons, so the two gallon rule that Backtrail said sounds right.

[JeffR116]

so your light DOES come on. I guess I'll brave it and wait for the "white dash"...

I do know, however, that when I replaced my fuel pump that the tank has a dent in it under the sender/pump that required me to push it back out (the dent) a bit to get the fuel pump back in...

So, all being said, my light may never come on if the sender's wack.

'just asking when I would normally expect it to come on.

thanks all.

No I'm saying I fill it up once it hits the white dash mark. The light never comes on. But I believe I'm just not pushing it far enough.

[Jean]

You could just drain the fuel tank and check it that way, simple enough and you won't get stuck somewhere in traffic..