fuel warning light....

[rich_g85]

right, on my mk1 1.4 RT, there is a light next to the fuel gauge, according to the haynes book this is a low-fuel warning light.

with the key in position 2 when you get all the warning lights on, eg handbrake, oil pressure and no charge light i would expect this light to come on to prove it works just like the coolant temperature light. however it doesnt. at my major service last week i asked them to replace this but either they did and nothing changed or they didnt do it. so i had a go myself this afternoon. eventually got the instrument cluster out and swapped the bulb over with one that i knew works. turned the key and still nothing. now i am confused! this light never even comes on when the tank is running on fumes. does this light work on your car?

now to add to my problems, when i plugged it all in again nothing apart from a couple of lights and the speedo works. i can post what works and what doesnt if it helps.

any ideas, help, comments would be appreciated!

 

[Daz]

yes it works, but only when your low on petrol..

Now, dont use the guage for when the light should be on - my guage can be on the lowest mark and still go for 10 - 20miles before the light comes on.. and then run for another 15miles with it on..

As for nothing working, take all the dash out again and make sure all the connections are ok - Im thinking it might be the smallest of the lot, cus if I remember, thats the one which supplies power to the whole cluster.

 

[rich_g85]

cheers for the advice, i will have another go at it in the morning!

 

[Chris_H]

The light comes on when theres 1 gallon on the tank.

It wont come on until the petrol drops to 1 gallon. You can get it on if you corner quickly from about an 1/8th of a tank.

 

[BRUN]

you shouldnt be tryin to get the warnin light on anywayz !

runnin your car to empty all the time is bad for it...

 

[rich_g85]

why, what happens?

 

[Daz]

I always run mine right down.. haha..

 

[BRUN]

Quote: Originally posted by rich_g85 on 01 June 2003

why, what happens?

it drags all the sh*t off the bottom of the tank which in turn clogs your fuel filter, something which most people seem to forget to replace at regular intervals

 

[billabong]

I always fill mine to the brim then run it until the light comes on then a bit more then I fill it up again, what damage does doing this do then? bearing in mind its brand new?

 

[rich_g85]

mine was replaced last week!

 

[Jim172CUP]

hows sh*t going to get into your tank? its seal aint it? Not unless petrol station put crap in the fuel, wouldnt surprise me in the slightest.

 

[Rousey]

does ne1 know y the onboard comp that tells ya how many miles u got left stops when u get to 30, does my brain in lol, cos it bin quite accurate and i wanna know exactly when im fuked and do u guys think that 23.9 mpg is bad ?

 

[billabong]

Mine onboard computer stops at 40 miles which does my head in to!

 

[Rousey]

yea on the mileage counter it carrys on going which i only discovered today lol, strangeeeee

 

[DTWD]

I have had my rt for a few years now, and I was getting concerned lately that the fuel light might be faulty. The warning light has not been on in over 2 years. So the other week I decided to see when it would. The tank was reading empty so I decided it wasnt working and I went to get some petrol. On the way I went around a round about a bit quicker than usual (about 20 mph quicker) and the g-forces must have moved the fuel around enough to make the light blink on then off again. Didnt do it again, then I filled it up. So at least I know it still works. It can get worrying because unless you test it you cant trust that it will come on at all and you might end up running out of fuel.



Paul

 

[rich_g85]

turns out the busted dashboard was due to a blown fuse!!

 

[Daz]

My fuel guage has been on empty for about 15 miles now.. still no light - probably come on, on my next journey.