Fuel Gauge Challange!

mike65

Come on then who's done it? Who's watched the needle sink through the red zone and said to themselves "ah I'll make it" and then failed to.

Its only happened to me once many years back heading towards Thomastown Co Kilkenny, I swept though Mullinavat and Ballyhale convinced I'd get to the next village. I spluttered to a halt about 2 miles short of my target. Luckily I had a fuel can and some money and a chap stopped to pick me up bearly a moment after I started my walk. So it turned out to be not too traumatic.

Also do all fuel gauges read on the pessimistic side? If so by accident or design?

Mike.

Anan1

I did it once, about 10 years ago. To be honest, I think it's the kind of thing that most people do once, but that most people do only once.

Redrocket

i can do 50 miles once the red light comes on... not sure how much more i want to push it without can of diesel in the boot

colm_mcm

I went from Ennis to Galway and back with the light on in a Punto Sporting

unnameduser

Was in a van once where it ran out of diesel. Went to a filling station and got some diesel but the van wouldnt start. Turned out to be an air lock something and a mechanic had to come and start it. Bummer.

colm_mcm

usually a button on the fuel filter that you can prime to remove air from the system.

Töpher

Nearly happened the other night coming back from Derry to Dublin. Low enough fuel leaving Derry at 10PMish, every station closed until Monaghan! Was in in the red for a fair whack of the way (though obviously not all).

I was ****ting myself, a car full of lads in Irish club jerseys in a D reg car, running out of petrol in Strabane or the like was not top of the wish list!

Fabritzo

stevenk wrote:

i can do 50 miles once the red light comes on... not sure how much more i want to push it without can of diesel in the boot

The time Clarkson did that economy run in the Audi A6 diesel he said he'd have to flush the system if it ran out, that's not the case with all diesels then?

mike65

Audi A8 actually! When a tank runs dry there is a chance of debris running into the fuel injectors etc. A flush might be wise esp on an older vehicle.

Mike.

deman

Did it TWICE!!!

First time I was in County Monaghan and in the middle of nowhere. I ran out of petrol after half an hour driving around looking for a petrol station. Luckily I had 4 passengers who were able to push the car that last mile.

Second time I was 100 metres from me Da's place. Didn't have my wallet with me so no cash. Borrowed the cash and took his car down the road to the Petrol Station.

mondeoman

Fabritzo wrote:

The time Clarkson did that economy run in the Audi A6 diesel he said he'd have to flush the system if it ran out, that's not the case with all diesels then?

he drove an AUDI 'A8' v8 diesel not A6;)

colm_mcm

mondeoman wrote:

he drove an AUDI 'A8' v8 diesel not A6;)

YOu're 2 minutes late there

mondeoman

colm_mcm wrote:

YOu're 2 minutes late there

i know i just noticed:o

Alun

I believe most modern diesels will actually cut out before that happens. It's deliberately programmed into the electronics.

Max_Damage

Happened to me once, ran out of petrol on Clanbrassil Street last year. Talk about a crap place to go dry, not a petrol station for miles either (or at least not that I know of)!

Squirrel

Never run out. There's me and my 21 year old brother who drive the car so it's time to play the "petrol game". Whereby you run it down and don't fill it up, and hopefully the other person gets nervous that they'll stop before you. The 5 or 6 times we've done it my mam got in the car to go to work and filled up. It's not that we can't afford it, it's just neither of us wants to pay so the other person will run it down. Stupid really but things like that happen.

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

Budd

Did it 6 times in my student days. Whats more incredible is that every time I still managed to roll to my destination or a petrol station.

Anan1

Squirrel wrote:

Never run out. There's me and my 21 year old brother who drive the car so it's time to play the "petrol game". Whereby you run it down and don't fill it up, and hopefully the other person gets nervous that they'll stop before you. The 5 or 6 times we've done it my mam got in the car to go to work and filled up. It's not that we can't afford it, it's just neither of us wants to pay so the other person will run it down. Stupid really but things like that happen.

There's a name for that, it's called mean.;)

Squirrel

Anan1 wrote:

There's a name for that, it's called mean.;)

Ah yeah I'm aware of that, but I figured I drive a quarter the distance he does and I pay for half the petrol so it doesn't add up. Not an excuse I know but we've been lucky so far, and it's fun.

DMC

colm_mcm wrote:

I went from Ennis to Galway and back with the light on in a Punto Sporting

Did the needle go back up when you went around bends??

AMurphy

mike65 wrote:

Come on then who's done it? Who's watched the needle sink through the red zone and said to themselves "ah I'll make it" and then failed to.

......

Also do all fuel gauges read on the pessimistic side? If so by accident or design?

Mike.

Has happened several times. However I have been lucky and the furthest I was from a gas station was about 50 yds. The other times I astually coasted into the pumps. Even managed that stunt in Irl with my bros Jetta. Took forever to start thereafter. Much easier to cope with than locking the keys in the car.

Tipsy Mac

Hasn't happened to me yet, touch wood

I heard it's very bad in petrol cars to run out as it damages the catalytic convertor, not sure why?

Blue850

Happened to me a couple of times in a Lancia Dedra which had the most optimistic fuel guage I've ever seen, mind you it also had the most pessimistic warning lights, according to them the car never had any oil or water in it:D

Gatster

Happened to me twice when I was 18 and I had a car I really couldn't afford to run at the time. Both times I was quite near my house so was rescued by either my sister or mum who appeared with 2 wine bottles filled with petrol...

R.O.R

Gatster wrote:

Both times I was quite near my house so was rescued by either my sister or mum who appeared with 2 wine bottles filled with petrol...

You can tell the posh folk.....;)


Would have been a Vimto bottle around our way

ballooba

Max_Damage wrote:

Happened to me once, ran out of petrol on Clanbrassil Street last year. Talk about a crap place to go dry, not a petrol station for miles either (or at least not that I know of)!

There's a Shell there on the canal.

(My ex-gf lives next to it, watch out for her, total psycho)

Fabritzo

Oh it was an A8, bigger diesel tank, they're a very rare car.

I have the fuel thing down to almost a fine art, the last two times it happened me on the bike I managed to chug to the petrol station on Dublin's quays.

The problem with that is I only buy €5 worth of petrol because it's still €1.35 a litre...that gets me home and back into work again, but then I have to go to the same petrol station again becuase I was in a hurry to work and didn't get petrol, it's a viscous circle.

fletch

Fabritzo wrote:

Oh it was an A8, bigger diesel tank, they're a very rare car.

I actually saw a Dublin registered one two days ago.....didn't think there would be any in Ireland

Fabritzo wrote:

The problem with that is I only buy €5 worth of petrol because it's still €1.35 a litre...that gets me home and back into work again, but then I have to go to the same petrol station again becuase I was in a hurry to work and didn't get petrol, it's a viscous circle.

OMG I can't understand why anybody would stop in that garage on the quays.....what a complete RIPOFF!

cormie

I was running really low and decided I'd fill up in the Esso near Superquin in Bray instead of the Statoil on the Dublin Road in Bray because I think it was 1c cheaper per litre, the distance between the two is about 400 metres and about 50 metres past the Statoil I came to a halt:rolleyes:

prospect

Has not yet happened to me. Although I usually keep topping up the car when I see a good fuel price when passing a petrol station.

A lot of years ago, a frien of mine ran out of petrol late one night coming home from work. What is hillarious about this is, he worked in the Esso on the Naas road.....

AMurphy

Tipsy Mac wrote:

Hasn't happened to me yet, touch wood

I heard it's very bad in petrol cars to run out as it damages the catalytic convertor, not sure why?

Cannot be true cause every time you switch off the engine, or coast to a stop, the fuel is effectively cut off, just like you ran out of petrol....
May... only may, ruin your fuel pump if it is running dry, or your starter/battery if it does nto start up quickly, but again that is unlikely.

damo605

Used to often run out in my student days when it was a choice between beer tonight or petrol tomorrow :rolleyes:
My mother rang me yesterday and I answered the Phone "How's it going?", reply: "It's not going!"... Says she came out from a shop and car won't start so I think to myself it's a Yaris and the only reason a toyota won't start is either a dead battery or no petrol so ask did she leave the lights on, answer definite no. Is there petrol in it, answer: I never thought of that :rolleyes:
"The petrol thingy is flashing, does that mean it's out of petrol?"
Her excuse was that my father normally fills it.... He hadn't driven the car in nearly 6 months and last time he did he filled it because the petrol guage was flashing then too
How long does petrol take to "go off" ?:eek:

parsi

Not quite the same but..

Last week I was driving our 307SW and at whilst waiting to turnup the Well Road from Douglas the light came on. 300 metres later the car ground to a halt - no movement until we topped her up.