Gas gauge help please.... Car died

wh1te370z · 10-12-2010, 01:08 PM

So td on my way back to wrk on my lunch break my car decided to die. awesome right? so i call the dealer and explain to him that i got off an exit ramp went to accelerate and the car had no power. then i pushed the clutch in and the car died.. so he says heres a dumb question, do u have gas... so i go yea i put 20 in last night... turn on my car and i have nooo gas... no warning light no beeps nothing. no gas and my range is flashing 76 miles. so apparently SOMEHOW i went through about a 1/4 tank of gas in about 50 miles... i dont see that being possible. so i put gas in the car, it starts up and drives..

I live 10 miles from work and i had 3 dots on my gas gauge. way more than enought to go 10 miles. i dont have a gas leak that i see yet. im bringing it to the dealer tn and they are going to look at it tm..

So does anyone have any ideas? bad gauge? bad fuel level sender?

My car only has 5200 on it

Jeffblue · 10-12-2010, 01:11 PM

fuel starvation? was it a steep banked exit ramp?

shabarivas · 10-12-2010, 01:21 PM

This has happened a couple of times to me - there is a slightly graded ramp that I take home sometimes which I can take pretty fast if no cars are around me - If my gas is down to about less than 4-5 leds then when i gun it out of the apex as I start climbing uphill the car gets some fuel starvation. Now - the first time i didnt know what was going on so i turned the car off - and that was stupid. The next time I just came to a stop in neutral and waited a while for the car to get leveled - put it in gear and it was ok all the way to the gas station.

Due to this - after every track session I gas up to a full tank

TravisJB has def dealt w/ this issue - and i believe has a fix for it

wh1te370z · 10-12-2010, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffblue

fuel starvation? was it a steep banked exit ramp?

Nah it was a faily level exit ramp. ive took exit ramps doing 75 with 2 dots and climbed hills with 2 dots and never had it starv

Quote:

Originally Posted by shabarivas

This has happened a couple of times to me - there is a slightly graded ramp that I take home sometimes which I can take pretty fast if no cars are around me - If my gas is down to about less than 4-5 leds then when i gun it out of the apex as I start climbing uphill the car gets some fuel starvation. Now - the first time i didnt know what was going on so i turned the car off - and that was stupid. The next time I just came to a stop in neutral and waited a while for the car to get leveled - put it in gear and it was ok all the way to the gas station.

Due to this - after every track session I gas up to a full tank

TravisJB has def dealt w/ this issue - and i believe has a fix for it

thats what i thought at first. it sat for about 30 min and still didnt start and my gas level never went back up.. the gas gauge is the only thing i dont like about the car. i knew it was going to be a problem. lol

zcar_dad · 10-12-2010, 01:55 PM

My experience was during an autocross. I arrived with 5 dots. After three runs it was showing two dots and flashing xx miles left. After two more runs I left to get gas. Driving on normal roads and under no twisting or hard braking it returned to 4 dots and quit flashing. I filled up with 16 gallons. I figured with all of the sloshing around the fuel gauge pickup wasn't reading the fuel properly. No issues since.

03Z33 · 10-12-2010, 02:02 PM

Same thing happened to me last week. Had 3 LED's lit on the fuel gauge, around 60-70 mile range indicated. Took a long sweeping freeway on-ramp and accelerated up to 70MPH before the accelerator stopped responding. Pulled over to the shoulder, car cranks but doesn't fire.

AAA dropped in a gallon of gas, fired right up. I've been trying to keep no less than 1/2 tank in it since..

wh1te370z · 10-12-2010, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 03Z33

Same thing happened to me last week. Had 3 LED's lit on the fuel gauge, around 60-70 mile range indicated. Took a long sweeping freeway on-ramp and accelerated up to 70MPH before the accelerator stopped responding. Pulled over to the shoulder, car cranks but doesn't fire.

AAA dropped in a gallon of gas, fired right up. I've been trying to keep no less than 1/2 tank in it since..

Thats EXACTLY what happened to me. i just dont feel like filling up every couple days.... yea im lazy haha

Pelican170 · 10-12-2010, 03:34 PM

Lovely, just put my car in the garage after a road trip with 2 LED's left on and it showing about 44 miles left. haha, I hope its accurate so I can get it to a gas station!

KaienZ34 · 10-12-2010, 03:48 PM

I've never had this problem but for the 1st 6 months or so when i would fill up the 1st LED would not light up but tank was full. I said if this kept up i'd bring it in after i hit about 3K miles it never happened again.

VCuomo · 10-13-2010, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaienZ34

I've never had this problem but for the 1st 6 months or so when i would fill up the 1st LED would not light up but tank was full. I said if this kept up i'd bring it in after i hit about 3K miles it never happened again.

Mine didn't start doing that until after 8K miles!

FERRARI · 10-16-2010, 01:21 PM

Every time I get a new car, within the first week, I carry a 2 gallon plastic gas container and run out of fuel on purpose just to see what the gauge indicates and how the car acts when it runs out of fuel. I also fill the tank to the limit every time I refuel and set the trip meter.....and figure my mileage on every tank so I will know where the gauge is when it runs out.....this way you should know how many miles you have left before you run out......comes in very handy when you are traveling and between exits on the interstate. I have found out that most gauges are what I call "Top Loaded". By that I mean the top half tank will give you 200 miles and the bottom half will give only 160 miles.

IDZRVIT · 11-13-2010, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FERRARI

Every time I get a new car, within the first week, I carry a 2 gallon plastic gas container and run out of fuel on purpose just to see what the gauge indicates and how the car acts when it runs out of fuel. I also fill the tank to the limit every time I refuel and set the trip meter.....and figure my mileage on every tank so I will know where the gauge is when it runs out.....this way you should know how many miles you have left before you run out......comes in very handy when you are traveling and between exits on the interstate. I have found out that most gauges are what I call "Top Loaded". By that I mean the top half tank will give you 200 miles and the bottom half will give only 160 miles.

Running yourself out of gas on purpose or not is not a good idea. The fuel also cools/lubricates the fuel pump. If it overheats.....BOOM!!!! No, just kidding. But you could do damage to your fuel pump.

FERRARI · 11-14-2010, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IDZRVIT

Running yourself out of gas on purpose or not is not a good idea. The fuel also cools/lubricates the fuel pump. If it overheats.....BOOM!!!! No, just kidding. But you could do damage to your fuel pump.

I have been doing this for more than 40 years .....on about 10 cars....never have I ever had any problem.......

Pelican170 · 11-13-2010, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaienZ34

I've never had this problem but for the 1st 6 months or so when i would fill up the 1st LED would not light up but tank was full. I said if this kept up i'd bring it in after i hit about 3K miles it never happened again.

Any fix to this? i have like 2,300 miles on mine, went to fill it up to winterize it and of course the last LED isnt lighting up. I thought maybe i didnt fill it all the way, went back and pumped more and poured gas on the car. I am not a happy camper....

hdskull · 10-12-2010, 07:06 PM

I feel like I always only get like 70 miles or so for the last quarter tank.

10-12-2010, 01:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
wh1te370z Track Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: New York, Long Island Posts: 559 Drives: PW Base Sport 6 Spd Rep Power: 16	Gas gauge help please.... Car died So td on my way back to wrk on my lunch break my car decided to die. awesome right? so i call the dealer and explain to him that i got off an exit ramp went to accelerate and the car had no power. then i pushed the clutch in and the car died.. so he says heres a dumb question, do u have gas... so i go yea i put 20 in last night... turn on my car and i have nooo gas... no warning light no beeps nothing. no gas and my range is flashing 76 miles. so apparently SOMEHOW i went through about a 1/4 tank of gas in about 50 miles... i dont see that being possible. so i put gas in the car, it starts up and drives.. I live 10 miles from work and i had 3 dots on my gas gauge. way more than enought to go 10 miles. i dont have a gas leak that i see yet. im bringing it to the dealer tn and they are going to look at it tm.. So does anyone have any ideas? bad gauge? bad fuel level sender? My car only has 5200 on it __________________ 1998 BMW 328is... Track Build 2010 White 370z.... sold

10-12-2010, 01:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
zcar_dad Base Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 126 Drives: 2009 Nismo 370 #67 Rep Power: 15	My experience was during an autocross. I arrived with 5 dots. After three runs it was showing two dots and flashing xx miles left. After two more runs I left to get gas. Driving on normal roads and under no twisting or hard braking it returned to 4 dots and quit flashing. I filled up with 16 gallons. I figured with all of the sloshing around the fuel gauge pickup wasn't reading the fuel properly. No issues since. __________________ 2009 Nismo 370Z #0067, Brillant Silver

10-12-2010, 03:48 PM	#9 (permalink)
KaienZ34 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: LA. not L.a. Posts: 21,652 Drives: Z34 Tour/Sport Rep Power: 178	I've never had this problem but for the 1st 6 months or so when i would fill up the 1st LED would not light up but tank was full. I said if this kept up i'd bring it in after i hit about 3K miles it never happened again. __________________ *"These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends"* http://www.the370z.com/members/kaienz34-albums-z34.html

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10-12-2010, 01:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jeffblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: NY Age: 37 Posts: 9,192 Drives: Z32TT & 335xi Coupe Rep Power: 38	fuel starvation? was it a steep banked exit ramp?

10-12-2010, 01:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
shabarivas A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,188 Drives: 370z MB 6mt Rep Power: 914	This has happened a couple of times to me - there is a slightly graded ramp that I take home sometimes which I can take pretty fast if no cars are around me - If my gas is down to about less than 4-5 leds then when i gun it out of the apex as I start climbing uphill the car gets some fuel starvation. Now - the first time i didnt know what was going on so i turned the car off - and that was stupid. The next time I just came to a stop in neutral and waited a while for the car to get leveled - put it in gear and it was ok all the way to the gas station. Due to this - after every track session I gas up to a full tank TravisJB has def dealt w/ this issue - and i believe has a fix for it

10-12-2010, 02:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
03Z33 Base Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: socal Posts: 232 Drives: BRZ Rep Power: 16	Same thing happened to me last week. Had 3 LED's lit on the fuel gauge, around 60-70 mile range indicated. Took a long sweeping freeway on-ramp and accelerated up to 70MPH before the accelerator stopped responding. Pulled over to the shoulder, car cranks but doesn't fire. AAA dropped in a gallon of gas, fired right up. I've been trying to keep no less than 1/2 tank in it since..

10-12-2010, 03:34 PM	#8 (permalink)
Pelican170 Track Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sandy Hook, CT Posts: 972 Drives: Nissan 370z Nismo Rep Power: 16	Lovely, just put my car in the garage after a road trip with 2 LED's left on and it showing about 44 miles left. haha, I hope its accurate so I can get it to a gas station!

10-16-2010, 01:21 PM	#11 (permalink)
FERRARI Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee Posts: 324 Drives: PERFECTION Rep Power: 493	Every time I get a new car, within the first week, I carry a 2 gallon plastic gas container and run out of fuel on purpose just to see what the gauge indicates and how the car acts when it runs out of fuel. I also fill the tank to the limit every time I refuel and set the trip meter.....and figure my mileage on every tank so I will know where the gauge is when it runs out.....this way you should know how many miles you have left before you run out......comes in very handy when you are traveling and between exits on the interstate. I have found out that most gauges are what I call "Top Loaded". By that I mean the top half tank will give you 200 miles and the bottom half will give only 160 miles.

10-12-2010, 07:06 PM	#15 (permalink)
hdskull Track Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: San Diego Posts: 680 Drives: '10 Black 370Z 6MT Rep Power: 17	I feel like I always only get like 70 miles or so for the last quarter tank.