Advice needed on petrol gauge

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Munkee

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Joined
May 23, 2004
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59
It may sound like a silly question but when the needle on the petrol gauge is touching E (Empty), how many more mile can I squeeze out of it without damaging the engine. I have a '95 E200 (2 litre engine) if that makes any difference.

Thanx in advance

Munkee
 
When the little light comes on you have about 9 litres of fuel left. 9 litres is about 2 gallons so assuming 20 miles per gallon you'd get about 40-50 miles from when the light first comes on... in theory! :)
I have driven a short way with the needle resting on the pin at the bottom of the gauge, so it's enough to get to a nearby petrol station. I also find that even if I appear to have some fuel left when I get out of the car, sometimes I start it up from cold and the needle has fallen a bit.

EDIT: also I don't think you can damage a petrol engine by running out of fuel. Diesels might be a different story though.
 
My hand book says a 70 Litre tank has a 9 Litre reserve.
However I filled up today and it only took 56 Litres.....
The warning light was coming on going around corners but went off along the straights.
 
The most distance I've ever chanced is about 35 miles from when the low fuel warning light illuminated.

However, I have read that people think it's best not to run the tank so low in order to minimise the risk of dragging sludge up the fuel line and into the engine.

S.
 
A couple of weekends ago I was driving back from up north, the low fuel warning light came on as I drove past Sandbach services. I filled up at Kettering some 90 odd miles later!!! (I was starting to worry on the M6 toll but kept going anyway)

I blame it on Clarkson, I was reading one of his articles where he described how he likes to play 'Fuel Gauge Roulette', he managed to drive from Newcastle to Hemel in a Audi A6 TDi with the warning light on.
 
silverarrow said:
never run out in a cdi engine the system has to bleed

Good advice for any diesel car. It's not too difficult to bleed, just not what you want to do on the side of the motorway. I wonder if the sender units can be re-calibrated? A 100+ mile reserve is a bit excessive, means I have been going to the filling station more often than needed :mad:
 
My advise is not to go that low anyway, as any sediment in the tank is going to be sucked up into the system. Not a good idea at all guys. :crazy: :crazy:
 
Rule of thumb used to be that the "reserve" amount in most cars would take you at least 50 miles. I dimly recall my Dad having a car where you had to use a manual fuel tap to switch to a 2 gallon reserve tank, a source of constant pleasure since he always seemed to run on a fairly low fuel level anyway.

Ran out of fuel once in darkest Wales thanks to a duff sender unit. Having hungry, bored children (and a very unimpressed wife) on board, the experience was so grim that ever since tried to keep the tank above one third full just in case!
 
If you run out of petrol in a car with a cat, it'll probably destroy it as fresh air rushes through causing it to get white hot. Something like that anyway.
 
Thanks everyone for the good advice. I might play the fuel gauge roulette game one day Jimmy, not with my car ofcourse - too precious. I'll probably rent one on a fake name and ditch it if it goes tits up!!

Thanx again evryone
 
Last edited:
Shude said:
I also find that even if I appear to have some fuel left when I get out of the car, sometimes I start it up from cold and the needle has fallen a bit.
And I thought I was the only
one who suffered from 'disappearing fuel' overnight.
But the thing that really annoys me is that different 1/4's of the fuel tank 'hold' different amounts of fuel, and that includes the bit 'above' the top quarter. My gauge sits at the top for about 70 miles, then drops like a stone, and noticeably hovers around the middle before resuming its downward journey.
Rgds
Les
 
All this talk of "sludge from the bottom of the tank being sucked into the engine..."

Well, my car has a fuel filter (or two, cannot remember) to be replaced periodically.

Having fitted a filter to an old car I once had, it did surprise me how much cack accumulated in it, but I really wouldn't worry about it.

Has anyone got any horror stories about sludge getting sucked into engines? I'm all ears...
 
Can I fit one those fuel filters to a '95 E200 - W124. Sounds like a good thing to have.
 
I think you will find all cars have fuel filters. The petrol models have theirs mounted near the fuel tank, underneath the car, usually quite close to the fuel pump.
 

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