Fuel Gauge Failure - LotusTalk

David · 06-20-2005, 09:02 PM

Last Thursday, I ran out of gas because my fuel gauge gave me a false reading. This was on the way to my daughter's eighth grade promotion ceremony. The gauge was showing one car. No yellow light. The loss of power certainly felt like I'd run out of gas, so after the ceremony, I got a gallon of gas and put it in the car, thinking that maybe it was a gauge failure. But it still didn't turn over, so I called AAA.

By the time it was delivered to the service department, it was apparently working fine. I told them that something must have malfunctioned in the gauge, but without being able to reproduce the problem, they couldn't offer to repair the gauge. (It's an excellent service department, btw.)

So now I know this about my gas gauge: it almost always works.

MattG · 06-20-2005, 09:39 PM

Were you driving hard around the time of failure? The gauge doesn't update if, for example, you're driving on a track (hopefully your driving wasn't quite that extreme on the way to your daughter's event!).

David · 06-20-2005, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattG

Were you driving hard around the time of failure? The gauge doesn't update if, for example, you're driving on a track (hopefully your driving wasn't quite that extreme on the way to your daughter's event!).

No, it was pretty normal driving. The engine was warm, I was driving along with traffic. Nothing extraordinary.

aiken · 06-21-2005, 10:49 PM

Well, mine errs in the other direction, apparently. I'd been having so much fun with the new car that I was way out in the boonies when the light came on. By the time I made it to a gas station, I had about half of the last bar left.

It took 8.1 gallons.

I guess it's just natural variation in lovingly hand-built cars.

-b

soulmn · 06-22-2005, 05:39 AM

Sorry to hear about it. This happened to me in a previous car. I developed the habit of tracking the milage along with watching the fuel gage. I now do this in all my cars.

soulman

Joetz · 06-22-2005, 09:03 PM

This is why I fill up when I'm at two solid bars. I almost ran out of gas once and don't really trust the gauge anymore.

David · 06-22-2005, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soulmn

Sorry to hear about it. This happened to me in a previous car. I developed the habit of tracking the milage along with watching the fuel gage. I now do this in all my cars.

soulman

This will be my practice from now on. Joe's two bar solution sounds like a good idea, too.

Zeede · 06-27-2005, 05:29 PM

To echo others, I tracked the mileage in my MINI Cooper for the first year I had it, so I can tell at a glance how much further I can expect to go, red light or no red light

06-20-2005, 09:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
David Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Kali Sud Posts: 636 Images: 31	Fuel Gauge Failure Last Thursday, I ran out of gas because my fuel gauge gave me a false reading. This was on the way to my daughter's eighth grade promotion ceremony. The gauge was showing one car. No yellow light. The loss of power certainly felt like I'd run out of gas, so after the ceremony, I got a gallon of gas and put it in the car, thinking that maybe it was a gauge failure. But it still didn't turn over, so I called AAA. By the time it was delivered to the service department, it was apparently working fine. I told them that something must have malfunctioned in the gauge, but without being able to reproduce the problem, they couldn't offer to repair the gauge. (It's an excellent service department, btw.) So now I know this about my gas gauge: it almost always works.

06-20-2005, 09:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
MattG insert clever title here Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Living above the clouds in Colorado Posts: 7,676 Images: 11	Were you driving hard around the time of failure? The gauge doesn't update if, for example, you're driving on a track (hopefully your driving wasn't quite that extreme on the way to your daughter's event!). __________________ '05 Elise, Magnetic Blue / Biscuit / Hardtop / http://eliseinfo.com Radar detector mounting brackets for sale here

06-21-2005, 10:49 PM	#4 (permalink)
aiken Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 30	Well, mine errs in the other direction, apparently. I'd been having so much fun with the new car that I was way out in the boonies when the light came on. By the time I made it to a gas station, I had about half of the last bar left. It took 8.1 gallons. I guess it's just natural variation in lovingly hand-built cars. -b __________________ 2005 Lotus Elise #3230, BRP, LSS, TP, HT

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06-22-2005, 05:39 AM	#5 (permalink)
soulmn Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Dover, DE Posts: 435	Sorry to hear about it. This happened to me in a previous car. I developed the habit of tracking the milage along with watching the fuel gage. I now do this in all my cars. soulman

06-22-2005, 09:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
Joetz Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Stamford CT Posts: 379	This is why I fill up when I'm at two solid bars. I almost ran out of gas once and don't really trust the gauge anymore.

06-27-2005, 05:29 PM	#8 (permalink)
Zeede Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 366	To echo others, I tracked the mileage in my MINI Cooper for the first year I had it, so I can tell at a glance how much further I can expect to go, red light or no red light

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