Today I proved conclusively that my fuel warning light does not work.

[flutes]

And I proved this on George St in the middle of the Sydney CBD, at around lunch time.

(My first post in a while - hey everyone)

[calvin streeting]

opps....

I recon you can test the two halfs, first remove the plug from the fuel sender and short the wires to see if the warning light comes on. and second remove the sender to see if it sends the right single..

not sure which wires, would have to look in the service manual wireing diag.

[Big_Richard]

wow - how embarrassment

I use a 2 fold attack - I reset the trip meter at every tank fillup so i know how many k's till im in the danger zone and never proceed into it 

My fuel sender currently is satisfactory, though at just under half way the needle goes mental so i think theres a dead spot developing.  At 1/3rd mark it settles down again.

I've only ever run out of fuel once in my life, and that was in my first car, because i was a pov and couldnt afford to buy fuel - Farther dearest allowed me to use what was left in the lawnmower can to get me home

[TJ 450]

Running out of fuel is not cool... if I recall correctly, I've only done it once, but have come close on a few occasions.

My reserve light comes on frequently, because I only fill the 6.9 up when I'm going to drive it, normally. It has a half tank at the moment though.

Unfortunately, there isn't a test mode for the light, so the only way of knowing if it works is to run the tank right down.

Tim

[nathan]

that is very sad indeed.  nothing worse than suffering such inglorious episodes in front of the masses.
i too have only done this once, in my wifes former craphole ford laser which didnt have a working gauge!

im with MT here, reset the odo on every tank so you know how much you have. i fyou dont fill your tank up everytime, this is your fault!

[flutes]

Embarrassment indeed.  Can't remember having run out of fuel since broke university days...

Absolutely my own dumb fault, as I haven't gotten around to fixing my speedo cable yet so odo reading wasn't helpful.  I was thinking to myself "it's been an unusually long time since I've filled the tank up".  I do like to run the tank right down and refill completely but this was going a little too far.

Also making it interesting - I was blocking traffic about 3 metres before a bus stop, and attracted the attention of an undercover police car.   I think they just did a license plate check and realised I wasn't an obvious threat to humanity as they sped off without getting out of the car.  When the NRMA guy turned up I started to get into an argument with him about putting regular petrol in but thought it best not to push that one.

One positive - I finally got to use the warning sign in the boot!

[thysonsacclaim]

Re the fuel level sending unit, I was looking at the cost and they were relatively steep ($150+?). I'd read on here somewhere of someone dismantling and cleaning the metal contacts in theirs. Dunno how well it works. I took mine apart, but the car has been in pieces since then so I've not been able to test.

I considered completely tearing the unit down and finding out what metal is used and fabricating new parts since this is surely the part which wears out. As long as the float moves up and down, it should be OK, but if the metal is badly corroded obviously no signal is going to get through.

My trip set doesn't work so I just put in as much gas as possible, as often as possible, til the nozzle clicks off  

[Mforcer]

And I proved this on George St in the middle of the Sydney CBD, at around lunch time.

If I knew you were stuck on George Street, I would have come to visit!

I did the same recently on Anzac Parade It is a long and lonely walk to the nearest fuel station.

I usually rely on resetting the trip meter but I simply misjudged with too many other things happening. It can often be months between visits to the petrol station and the distance each tank lasts depends on the kind of driving.

One positive - I finally got to use the warning sign in the boot!

Awesome!