Fail inside: Flat battery...

[guysy]

Not that i want to admit to this but im still beating myself up for being so stupid, I was late for work and I left my xenon lights on (I presume these sap the battery quickly) on for a good 5 hours, In a hurry i jumped out of the car, even looked back as i locked it but the sun stopped me from seeing my lights where still on, I returned to my car which wouldnt blip open.

I used the passengers lock to open the car and try and start it whilst the alarm deafened me trying to turn the car over and stop the alarm, it wouldnt, my petrol light wasnt on when i left the car but i could tell it would be when I drove home and planned to get petrol, however when turning it over the light was on... so im not sure how much was in the tank but the car was on a fairly steep hill facing downwards.

My dad came and I tried to jump start the car, again alarm blaring until i had enough battery to blip the car open, still wouldn't fire up... went and got a petrol bottle and filled it up 5L and it still took about 7 trys until it fired up.

The thing is im sure there was enough petrol in it, it was -2... but it started in the end, haven't had any trouble with the car otherwise, its got a new bosch battery in it too, I think it was the combo of very cold, very flat battery, hill and low petrol.

No need for flaming please I know how stupid it was but a simple mistake, I was in a rush. Have given the car half a tank of petrol now and ran it for a good distance and it seems fine.

Would i have caused any damage?

 

[Chapster5]

Wouldnt have thought so, think the worst done would be sucked up any crap in the bottom of your petrol tank into the fuel filter... but thats what its there for. Cant see anything else being damaged.

Nick

 

[Hugo-]

I thought the lights automatically turned off when the ignition was switched off.

 

[guysy]

They do if you have your auto lights on but i dont like them so turned them off.

 

[DrR]

Wouldnt have thought so, think the worst done would be sucked up any crap in the bottom of your petrol tank into the fuel filter... but thats what its there for. Cant see anything else being damaged.

Nick

Always makes me wonder this, why would there be crap in there, and how does a car suck fuel from anything other than the bottom of the fuel tank, it can't suck it from the top.

 

[Chapster5]

Always makes me wonder this, why would there be crap in there, and how does a car suck fuel from anything other than the bottom of the fuel tank, it can't suck it from the top.

Im not sure myself, ive just been warned not to let my car get that low or it could, I guess it might be where it sucks fuel up the fuel line as it stretches out through the pipes it breaks the vacuum making it fall back into the tank making anything in the bottom slosh about in it? where it then continues in a big cycle for as long as the engine is running the fuel system.

Im not expert cant you tell

Nick

 

[poriordan]

Always makes me wonder this, why would there be crap in there, and how does a car suck fuel from anything other than the bottom of the fuel tank, it can't suck it from the top.[/QUOTE]

agreed

 

[guysy]

Yeah im not sure how the crap in the bottom of the tank thing works, but i know its not a good thing. But I didnt let it run low whilst the engine was running, the car drove there fine it just wouldn't fire up with just jump leads, the battery must have been drained dead seeing as the xenon's where draining the power.

Im not sure i found a good chassis point the first time trying to get the car to fire up so that could have been the problem and not that It was petrol being so low... the second time round with petrol i used metal brace above the alternator and after a few turns it fired up.

Wont make that mistake again hopefully!

The alarm made everything 10x worse, parked on a quiet natured road etc... curtains twitching, is there any way to turn the alarm off other than blip the key fob? it wouldn't respond obviously when the battery was flat and only after i managed to turn the car over with jump leads a few times did it turn the f**k off!