does "empty" on the fuel gauge mean empty

[poppa smurf]

I had a few times when my BA was screaming at me for more fuel on our last trip, 80 kilometre warning and then a 50 kilometre panic attack from within the dash at one point I got down to 35 k's left according to the computer whatsit

my question.......how much is left in the tank or are the warnings correct

I've had vehicles in the past that have had as much as 50 miles (or roughly 90 kilometres) in reserve

does the BA tell fibs and is she keeping a little in reserve or is she about to run on fumes

fantastic trip by the way.....5,000 kilometres in glorious weather (apart from the wind)....BA ran like a charm and never missed a beat returning roughly 18 ltrs per 100 km

what a glorious country we are blessed with!!

[Winter XR8]

I drove my car from Darwin to Perth and rolled into Pt Hedland with 8km left on the DTE. When I fuelled up, I got 59 litres in the 68 litre tank. I was always under the impression that the DTE only counted the first 60 litres and when you get to 0, there is 8 litres in reserve. I don't recommend running that low though.

[ford71V8]

I've had my BA down to 9km warning.

Not sure what happened there that day, I normally wouldn't run the risk.

Like I say to the wife, 'relax, its just a gauge'

[poppa smurf]

I tried to calm the trouble and strife down but unfortunately there was something about the persistent alarm that kept going off that troubled her......seemed to think that pushing a Falcon with an 1800 kilo van attached may be a bit of a problem

no sense of adventure these women!! LOL!.........never mind, the bruises will come out of my left shoulder after a while and the ringing in my ears are only temporary I'm sure

[devilcv8]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

seemed to think that pushing a Falcon with an 1800 kilo van attached may be a bit of a problem

I was more concerned with your 18L/100, but now it makes sense.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by devilcv8

I was more concerned with your 18L/100, but now it makes sense.

yeah! should have said I was towing.........that was average but I seen 45ltrs per 100 a couple of times

running free she returns around 8ltrs per 100

[my_gxl]

I have run it to 0 DTE, then the needle off the bottom off the guage as well.

Its set up for dumb people i reckon.

The problem is the fuel pump doesn't get a constant supply a bit below 1/4 tank.

I have a BA ute tank in the shed I have been using when the lovely 18c fuel dockets are around, so i can get my full 150L.

There is heaps in the tank when you can tell there pump stops putting out is max.

That little under 1/4 was just not quite enough around lakeside in my sedan once as well...too much slosh.

Every car I have ever owned I have taken a jerry can with me and tested just where dead actually is on the guage-just in case i need to know in certain circumstances.

[XR6_661]

"Empty"

That's got to be a clue.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by XR6_661

"Empty"

That's got to be a clue.

ah! you see thats where you're wrong......empty does not necessarily mean empty in the complete term

gauges can be, and more often than not, incorrect ...so where does your "empty" come from

the readout on the instant fuel usage relies on a lot of input from various factors like road speed, terrain, windage to determine flow rate through injectors to give a "possible" distance remaining certainly not reliable

changes all the time

I guess the only possible "reliable" way to tell is with a dipping stick!.......takes me back to my trucking days

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

In my opinion, and if you are comfortable in doing so, run the car to a point where you are comfortable (10kms to empty, for example) and head straight to the petrol station. Fill it up, noting the number of litres it takes to fill. Using the number of litres left in the tank (capacity - fuel used to top up) and your average consumption, you can quickly calculate how many kilometres you have left after the DTE reaches zero.

I have used this method in both my BA XR8 and now the FG. IIRC correctly, I estimated I was able to get 100km after the DTE reached zero in the BA and the same in the FG.

And, whilst I appreciate the theory of never getting towards the bottom of the tank because of debris, etc, I have NEVER run out of fuel using this method. Once I pushed it a little in the FG and the car started to lose power, but that was going up fairly steep hills on the way to the servo in Melbourne. Still made it though.

I could do the same in the Territory, but the wifey predominantly drives that and she sounds a little like yours in that she won't let it go under 100kms DTE 'just in case'.

Each to their own, really.

Craig H

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by XR6_661

"Empty"

That's got to be a clue.

Damn....I did a trip from S.A to QLD and my fuel gauge stayed on empty....Strangely enough I didn't run out of fuel....Just topped it every 200 kays, just to make sure.

When I returned from my adventure, I replaced the sender unit, now it tells me how much fuel is in the tank...Don't know why....

[flappist]

Empty means "If you don't give me a drink soon I will stop soon and you will have to walk".

Yes they are conservative, mostly because there is always the moron who will try to drive until it says 0 because the price of petrol has gone up and he does not want to waste any of the cheap stuff or whatever and will scream like a stuck pig on internet forums threatening legal action (until he finds out that he has to pay for it) and dobbing to ACA (until he finds out that even they have a lower limit on stupidity) if the car actually runs dry while the DTE gauge still displays 1 and was 10 cm short of displaying 0.

Do not underestimate fuel usage as air temperature and wind can make a huge difference to range. DTE works on a lot of assumptions and starting a 500km journey with 600 DTE does not mean that you will have 350 DTE after 250km.
If I am ever going anywhere that requires more than 3/4 of a tank on normal operation and has no alternates I always take a jerrycan. In 30 years I have only used it twice, once at Jabiru when the nice people lied about availability of PULP and offered LRP as "it's the same stuff mate" and the other on the Barkly as there was a 25kt head wind and my fuel calculations were getting a bit to close to "oops".

[xisled]

Both my BA's I have ran to 0ks left many times. My BA XT, would surge when it needed fuel.

My BA GT, does not really do anything, just beeps. I have never ran out of fuel when either of the cars hit 0.

[wookie836]

I have my RTV on dual fuel, many times ive switched on gas when the fuel light had come on and 80 to go, it seems to keep counting down to zero, then when i start it and have it on fuel itll reassess how much fuel i have left and give me a new reading. I dont know how it calculates the fuel thats left, it probably has a sensor at ~8l in the tank and calculates how quick youll use it by your average fuel consumption.

ive been caught out once though on running fuel and going past the 40 warning [as i often would], over about 2km the car started slowing up and then died, it wouldnt start, empty with 38 to go on the read out. luckily i turned the gas on and made it to the nearest servo on some fumes at the gas tank was meant to be empty too.

[MercurySilver]

before my ba xr8 ute i had a vs v8
can remember driving home from work which is only a 16 min drive and when i started the car it had 9kms left
i made it to the top of my road doing about 40 and it was showing zero
luckily had enough fuel for the mower in the shed to get the car to a local servo the next morning
got the turbo down to 40kms yesterday before whacking fuel in

[poppa smurf]

I've been trying to get away from carrying jerry cans but I cant see any way out of it.....I dont let the vehicle get too low on fuel on purpose but it has caught me short a couple of times on this trip because of bad weather, or I should say wind,

one run cut me back from a "normal" 300 - 350 k range to under 200, on one instance I barely scraped 175, which left it very tight for fuel, of course as the alarms were sounding and the range was dwindling (wife panicking) the thought struck me that there must be a little left

or it may be wishful thinking.......to be honest I never took notice of how much went in, I just paid the $87.00

from memory the price was around the $1.60 per litre mark.....which gives a rubbery total of 54.3 litres so it must have had some 10 litres, give or take, in reserve

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

This whole scenario is just a simple risk management issue. Risk is a function of proabability of the event occuring and the consequence if it did occur. For some, the consequences are much higher than others (those who live in remote areas would have a much higher consequence than those who live in the city, for example).

For me, the consequence is not that great. Most of my driving is done along the nations number on highway. For work purposes, 70 of my 110km daily return trip is on that highway, and I'm no more than 15kms away from the nearest servo. Most of my weekend trips are to Melbourne, again along that same highway, where I'm no more than, maybe, 30kms away from a servo. And, of course, I can always rely on the magic of modern technology (the mobile phone) to call wifey to get her to come and pick me up. On top of that, there's generally always traffic atround that I couls scab a lift off if I needed to.

Sure, it's an inconvenience that wouldn't go down well (especially with wifey) but it's a consequence that I'm prepared to accept if it ever happens (touch lots of wood here ). And on the probability aspect, it hasn't happened yet (after nearly 200,00kms of travelling0 so I think the probability is pretty low (better touch that wood again I think )

Again, each to their own.

Craig H

[Andy777]

when i bought my fg xr6t the previous owner left me with 0km in the range (nice guy) closest servo was about 5km away and made it with no problems.. that said i usually fill up with 50-80km left in the range

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Andy777

when i bought my fg xr6t the previous owner left me with 0km in the range (nice guy) closest servo was about 5km away and made it with no problems.. that said i usually fill up with 50-80km left in the range

i wouldn't go by the dte on a FG, esp an earlier one. the beauty of the FG's though, is they also have a 'fuel used' function, and many of us on here have found this to be extremely accurate.

my dte normally hits 0 at around the 53 - 55L used mark. i run to 60L used and then fill. around town its always within 1-2L of what the guage has said i've used. on the highway, its almost spot on every fill.

my ba and bf2 were both reasonably accurate on the dte. i never ran them below about 50km to go though.

if your car isn't that accurate, the easy thing is to just take note of how much fuel you are putting in. i believe the guages are very consistant so you can soon work out how accurate it is. if at 50L to go on the dte, you are putting in only 40L, then its safe to assume you can run it a bit lower. if you are mostly putting in over 50L, then its probably about right, and in some cases, it could be out the other way and you might find you could put in over 60L. after 2-3 tanks you should be able to work out your own situation.

[paulb351]

Originally Posted by prydey

i wouldn't go by the dte on a FG, esp an earlier one. the beauty of the FG's though, is they also have a 'fuel used' function, and many of us on here have found this to be extremely accurate.

my dte normally hits 0 at around the 53 - 55L used mark. i run to 60L used and then fill. around town its always within 1-2L of what the guage has said i've used. on the highway, its almost spot on every fill.

my ba and bf2 were both reasonably accurate on the dte.
.

I guess my FG is the exception. Fuel used is under reported by approx 8% generally and at date=0 I only get 62 litres in if if fill over the 2nd or 3rd cutout of the bowser so guess 8 litres left. Computer also reports consumption as 8% lower than actual when calculated using km travelled and bowser litres.

[The Yeti]

I've had the work car to 00:00 on the DTE gauge

[revcore]

Originally Posted by The Yeti

I've had the work car to 00:00 on the DTE gauge

image

Love that Seinfeld episode...One of the best.

[poppa smurf]

bit of a worry for the copilot when there is 80k to the next fuel station, DTE reading 85k, declining, to empty and she's pulling 35ltrs per 100 uphill and head wind in the middle of no-where.......thats when i wonder just how much is in reserve, if any.......never mind, makes the trip exciting I guess.....

I reckon a rear bar with a couple of jerries back there may be the go......may knock one up when i get the time

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

bit of a worry for the copilot when there is 80k to the next fuel station, DTE reading 85k, declining, to empty and she's pulling 35ltrs per 100 uphill and head wind in the middle of no-where.......thats when i wonder just how much is in reserve, if any.......never mind, makes the trip exciting I guess.....

I reckon a rear bar with a couple of jerries back there may be the go......may knock one up when i get the time

The issue is, the fuel "drains" away from the sender, therefore creating a false reading as to what is actually in the tank....This is more prevaliant especially when you have a load on the back of the car....Then you can factor in, going up and down hills creating this false reading too...

So to err on the side of caution, when travelling distances as you appear to do a bit of, definately carry a couple of jerry's, just in case...The added benefit is, fuel is more expensive down the road, you can offset the cost by using what is in the jerry/s before topping up....Just remember to top 1 or both when you get to another "cheap" fuel stop...

[mik]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

bit of a worry for the copilot when there is 80k to the next fuel station, DTE reading 85k, declining, to empty and she's pulling 35ltrs per 100 uphill and head wind in the middle of no-where.......thats when i wonder just how much is in reserve, if any.......never mind, makes the trip exciting I guess.....

I reckon a rear bar with a couple of jerries back there may be the go......may knock one up when i get the time

it`s nice to have a reserve, especially if your touring, it sucks to arrive at the servo out in sticks as they "say sorry locking up for the night", and you have to sleep/park next to the bowser until the morning(next servo 200 k`s), my old patrol had a 60 litre auxiliary tank and 60 litre jerry rack/supply, gives you a lot more range and choice of servo.
On my AU , i must confess to getting caught out one day low in fuel in a nasty traffic jam(ah Melb), by the time i got mobile and to a servo i was down to a few k`s dte, i would`nt like to press my luck further, but i suspect it may have had a few more litres in the tank.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by mik

it`s nice to have a reserve, especially if your touring, it sucks to arrive at the servo out in sticks as they "say sorry locking up for the night", and you have to sleep/park next to the bowser until the morning(next servo 200 k`s), my old patrol had a 60 litre auxiliary tank and 60 litre jerry rack/supply, gives you a lot more range and choice of servo.
On my AU , i must confess to getting caught out one day low in fuel in a nasty traffic jam(ah Melb), by the time i got mobile and to a servo i was down to a few k`s dte, i would`nt like to press my luck further, but i suspect it may have had a few more litres in the tank.

it was the head wind that knocked my economy around, I had allowed a fair "margin" of roughly 100km's but the weather had different ideas

on one run a normal distance of 350 klm expected fuel run was reduced to less than 170 klm........no fuel stations in between to sleep in front of

I dont normally allow the tank to get below between quarter and half when travelling or at home

never mind a bit of light hearted conversation about inane subjects never hurts anyone

I have begun construction of a rear bar to hold a couple of jerries "just in case"

which in itself can be the subject of yet more non constructive, time wasting, light conversation to annoy the less humorous amongst us

what's your thoughts on carrying jerries on the back of vans .........Bwah haha!!

[Charliewool]

BA and BF I owned always had 10-12 litres left when the 80 warning sounded.
My FG has left me stranded 3 times since Xmas.. Last time was Monday this week. Gauge read just under a 1/4 and DTE showed 104kms... Chug Chug, and roll to a stop.
And I've also put 84 litres in the tank heaps of times, when I thought these things only hold 80?
Why the gauge and DTE's gone haywire in the last 5 or 6 months I have no idea... I've owned this ute for 2 1/2 years and it used to ALWAYS take around 73 litres when 80 warning came on.

[poppa smurf]

10 - 12 ltr's remaining would make sense to me.....after doing a bit of detective work on known fuel prices and bank deductions it would seem to backup these figures

when the DTE was showing <50k remaining the needle on the fuel gauge sat, and remained fixed, at a centre point between 1/4 and empty.....did not want to fall below

no noticeable change in engine operation to signify starvation of any kind

[robbyj]

I have driven my car to DTE 0 coming home from melbourne, and another 20 kms to get home, then to fuel station the next day.so 23 ish k's on DTE 0.

I'v also been coming home from Albury and DTE said 44k's left.. nek minnut.. dies on me. RACV Free to Go to the rescue! free 5 liters of fuel!

Don't trust the gauges.

[AndyXR6T]

I've had to take a Gerry can out to a mate in his XR8 and F6 a couple of times

Sometimes it goes way past "0" until it actually clonks out, and other times it will say anywhere from "3" - "25" Kms till it runs out.

Personally I think it's stupid to let it run any lower than 30 because who knows how accurate these things can be. Doesn't the fuel sender float around? Sitting on a steep hill can give false readings