Fuel Light Bingo - Do you play?

Undercoverguy

Hey Guys!!

Okay for those of you who dont know what fuel light bingo is....
Its when the the 'Low Fuel' light comes on but you fail to obey it and instead try get every last dribble of petrol in the tank used before going to get ripped off at the pump again lol

Yesterday my numbers came up :rolleyes:
I dont really ever play this game with my own car but when its either the company car or a courtesy car i'll try run on fumes Ran out yesterday on the M1 between Dundalk North and Dundalk South.... Felt guilty calling the AA out for something this silly but ah well!!

So my question is as above - Do ya play fuel light bingo and leave it on until the last second and have ya ever been caught out?

Anan1

No, I just fill when I need to. Are you really, really mean?;)

peasant

useless morsel of information ...

If you break down on a German motorway because you ran out of fuel (and get caught) you will get fined !

NBar

Don't have a fuel light so just keep looking at the needle and hope for the best

mike65

I pretty much always run the tank very low, the fuel indicator/trip computer tends to be pessimistic so I've not run the Audi dry and you do get fair warning as the fuel pump makes rather unpleasent noise when sucking on fumes. The visual warning shows at 80 miles left which is ridiculously early.

Once, years back I ended up thumbing into Thomastown having gambled and lost.

Mike

Atomic Pineapple

have got up to 50miles out of the tank of a 1.4 focus from when the light comes on so its pretty hard to let it run out completely, usually fill it up after about 20miles of the light coming on

Gary ITR

I call it the redline game... I have a company car so have to refuel at esso. Although we've now been issued with statoil cards also cos of the decline in esso stations

_Kaiser_

My Passat starts warning about filling up when she gets to 60 miles left, but I generally don't let it get to running on fumes before she gets a drink

That said though there was one morning when I made it to work (25 miles away) with the computer saying "5 miles" for half of that

Rovi

'Running on fumes' gamblers should also bear in mind the fact that many cars have their (high pressure injection) fuel pump inside the tank these days, and the fuel has a very considerable cooling effect on these pumps.
I have heard it said that running the tank down to the dregs has a big part to play in premature pump failures.
I've never come across it myself, just throwing the information out there for what it's worth.

Stark

My parents insisted we play that game before. I'd never let it run below the red before so wasn't sure if the fuel light actually worked. Turned out it didn't. Ended up taxi-ing it home from Cobh to Cork with my dad and driving back with a fuel can.

My mother is definitely the "drive it till it's running on fumes, then pass it off to someone else and let them fill it up" type.

Stephen

I normally fill up as soon as possible after the light comes on. I've only driven about 20 miles or so after it came on and haven't run dry yet

mike65

Should be said that running low these days carries an exra risk, you may have a long way to go till the next station. Sadly the village/crossroads pump
is becoming a thing of the past.

Mike.

Guy:Incognito

When my fuel light coems on i a guys voice comes on, mutes the radio and says "warning, fuel level low". It only happens once, but if you turn the ignition of and back on again he says it again . IT's gets annoyign if you are doign a few small hops, but in a good way becaus eit makes you stop and get petrol.

The light/voice comes on when the computer says theres 30 miles left of fuel.

unkel

When the light comes on, I have enough left for about 100km (depending on circumstances)

When the computer beeps, I have enough left for 50km. I tend to get petrol around now. Worst ever was that the computer indicated I had 25km left. Filled it up with 82.5l of petrol. Tank is 85l. I've never paid €100 to fill it up, but I've come very close :eek:

Dilbert75

Normally do play a bit - usually get 400-odd miles from a tank, light could starting coming on after 250 (dodgy sender), but only once got caught out, when I let it go to 440 miles. By good fortune, I'd walked about a hundred metres when one of my mates pulled up, gave me a lift to a petrol station and then back to the car to make sure I got it running.:o

zilog_jones

My car was not equipped with such luxuries as this "light"
I've noticed if I fill it at the red line I can only get about 30 litres in it, so there must be a good bit left as it's a 40 litre tank (though after 9 years I wonder how many litres of dirt are in it by now?).

zuutroy

Mine gives about 100km with the light on, but I've only driven about 50 max. I do so little driving here and petrol is so expensive that the light is on more than its off

tuxy

I have heard a few people say that letting the tank run too low is bad for the car. Is there any truth to this?

zuutroy

In old cars they talk about sediment in the tank causing trouble but surely the fuel filter stops that from getting into the chambers. I'd say its just urban legend.

ctc_celtic

zuutroy wrote:

In old cars they talk about sediment in the tank causing trouble but surely the fuel filter stops that from getting into the chambers. I'd say its just urban legend.

is it not that the fuel filter gets all clogged up and dirty and needs replacing sooner?

Andrewf20

I never fill the car up more than about 50%. Car feels nippier on a light fuel load.

cyrusdvirus

I always fill my car up at the weekend. There's an esso petrol station near me that drops his petrol by 2/3c per litre at the weekend. So even though i have a little over a half tank in the car today, I'll be filling her up on the way home from work. 2 or 3 c doesn't sound like a lot when your putting in 10 litres but on an 85l car, it can save you a pretty penny.

And it's not just me being a stingy sod, in my job I can (and have been) sent all over the cuntry at a moments notice, so a full tank means a trip down and back without having to worry about getting screwed at the pumps elsewhere.

If I am running low though I'd pop in €10, when the light comes on.

brianomurphy

Fuel light not working on the dashboard, have old style moving needle, when i brake, car looks like it's full, when accelarating looks less than empty.

It's a daily struggle with the ole Fuel light bingo

Our man in Havana

On my 00 Escort the light comes on when you have 8 litres left. I reckon about 50 miles but I am not a gambler and I am not prepared to find out.

Blitzkrieger

Try to let it run down to the empty mark to reduce the amount of fill ups I have to do but it depends on my schedule. If I know I won't have time to stop tomorrow and know that I'll need more fuel I'll fill it up - I've enough to be worrying about without that. I also like to leave enough in it to at least get as far as the hospital - you never know........

Came very close to running out a couple of times. Once I was driving accross France in the early hours of the morning. The needle hit empty and I saw a sign for 24hr services about 20 miles ahead (whatever that was in km). I get there and it's unmanned and only takes French fuel cards. Wouldn't even take a freaking credit card which I thought was odd as there was a phone booth there that did. Didn't fancy getting stuck at the side of the motorway in France at 4am but thankfully I managed to drive the 50-odd miles to the next service station. I put 63 litres into the car - the manual says it holds 53.

mike65

You must have a "reserve" tank some cars do.

Mike.

Rowley Birkin QC

There was a running joke in my family for years that if my grandad's car was ever stolen it would be found 10 miles down the road as the fuel light was constantly on.

As it turned out this wasnt a bad estimate, the car was stolen and turned up the following morning 17.1 miles away from where it was stolen, bone dry.

crosstownk

I usually just fill up once the light comes on. But lately, now that I have an Opel, the light is a two stage affair. Once the needle hits the red zone it comes on, then halfway through the zone the light starts to flash - at this point I generally tank up.

Only once have I been caught out in my old Golf which had no low fuel light. Damn thing ran out of juice in the middle of the evening rush hour at Butt Bridge, stopped at the lights in the middle lane of traffic. I had to use the starter to get the car to the kerb and then get a bus to Ushers Quay rip off service station.

byte

If the light comes on, I will refuel ASAP.

Our man in Havana

byte wrote:

If the light comes on, I will refuel ASAP.

Ditto

zuutroy

Blitzkrieger wrote:

Once I was driving accross France in the early hours of the morning. The needle hit empty and I saw a sign for 24hr services about 20 miles ahead (whatever that was in km). I get there and it's unmanned and only takes French fuel cards. Wouldn't even take a freaking credit card which I thought was odd as there was a phone booth there that did. Didn't fancy getting stuck at the side of the motorway in France at 4am but thankfully I managed to drive the 50-odd miles to the next service station. I put 63 litres into the car - the manual says it holds 53.

Man I know that experience....scary isn't it....

LostinBlanch

peasant wrote:

useless morsel of information ...

If you break down on a German motorway because you ran out of fuel (and get caught) you will get fined !

Wasn't there a truck that did this on the M50. It ran out just before the toll bridge and caused a huge tailback. The guards came, got yer man some diesel then charged him with careless driving. Proper order too.

DermoMIO

i leave it to very last moment get paid once a month so fill up once a month dnt put any petrol in it until the needle is as close to the bottom as the red i can get it.

Savman

Crazy habit you people have. I never ever wait for any red lights to appear thank you very much, precisely what you gain from doing so is a bit of a mystery.
Vehicles needs fuel. My refill point is usually when the needle gets to the 20% mark.

rebel.ranter

Used to do it quite a lot when I was a student. Not any more though, I normally fill it up once it dips below 1/4 full. The cost of a fill is less scary that way too! Also agree that it is getting harder to get petrol as well, lots of my regular haunts with the VW Beetle are now closed, well gone.

I normally find that it's the times that you let it slide, i.e. not bother to fill up & light is on, these are the times you get caught out. e.g. You are on the way home in the evening, pass the petrol station, think "ah sure I'll get it in the morning". Then the next morning you are normally running wildly late & are delayed even more getting bloody petrol
These days I normally fill it up completely. I know some people that will only put, say, €35 in regardless, i.e. they will not fill it, ever. Even someone I know with a fuel card from work does this! Another odd one I guess.

prospect

I was always told not to run the car low on fuel, something to do with contaminants settling to the bottom of the tank??

As said before, if IO see a station selling fuel at a lower price than average, i will top up, even if it is only a fiver.

jhegarty

I have gotten to 64.5 miles so far... never lost (yet)....

wet-paint

I never let it get below a quarter of a tank. Sin é.

stovelid

Undercoverguy wrote:

Felt guilty calling the AA out for something this silly but ah well!!

Don't feel guilty. What else would they be doing otherwise except looking after genuine...oh

Stark

You're wasting AA time when they could be out jumpstarting cars that were parked with their lights on!

Pherekydes

Two years ago I was going to France via England. The petrol prices in England are pretty ridiculous, so I filled up in Palmerstown with the intention of driving from Holyhead to Folkstone and filling up in Calais after getting off the Train.

Well, the light came on at about the Dartford Tunnel (London) and I still had 60 miles to go! This was real gambling. I went for it! The needle seemed to bottom out about 20 miles from the tunnel, but I kept going. At this stage I was doing about 50 on the (empty) motorway. Got to the tunnel and killed the engine at every opportunity, no idling whatsoever. Coming off the train, I was the last to start up, and I drove straight into the first available station. Wheeeeeew! Balls of steel, I tells ya.

I put 66 litres into my tank which holds 65 according to the manual.

Never again.

Except I did the very same thing on the way home!! :rolleyes:

Our man in Havana

Slow coach wrote:

Two years ago I was going to France via England. The petrol prices in England are pretty ridiculous, so I filled up in Palmerstown with the intention of driving from Holyhead to Folkstone and filling up in Calais after getting off the Train.

Well, the light came on at about the Dartford Tunnel (London) and I still had 60 miles to go! This was real gambling. I went for it! The needle seemed to bottom out about 20 miles from the tunnel, but I kept going. At this stage I was doing about 50 on the (empty) motorway. Got to the tunnel and killed the engine at every opportunity, no idling whatsoever. Coming off the train, I was the last to start up, and I drove straight into the first available station. Wheeeeeew! Balls of steel, I tells ya.

I put 66 litres into my tank which holds 65 according to the manual.

Never again.

Except I did the very same thing on the way home!! :rolleyes:

Did you win on the way home?

I would have just put a fiver in the tank in England which would have been a good insurance policy. Or else the gallon in a can in the boot!

bjmotors

the petrol light bulb in my car blew from constantly being in and out of the reserve.:D so now i just guess it. i never have more than a 1/4 of a tank but hav never run out either. but im sure il be caught out 1 day.

tc20

I have played this game in the past... I found out that on the previuos model Corsa, when you get to your reserve tank, the little red light comes on, no big deal there i hear you say..i got approx 60miles on the red light before the
light starts to blink!! then you're onto vapours!!

Also happened in my old merc, a '72 with a low fuel light, and the usual old merc 'wobbly fuel gauge needle' syndrome. Now i wasnt playing the bingo game with the merc, but i did run out once, on the N11 south, just before the Belfield flyover. Luckily enough theres a petrol station there, so i bought a petrol can and keep it in the boot. I usually reset the trip switch to zero and gauge on mileage how soon i need to top up.

Pherekydes

Bond-007 wrote:

Did you win on the way home?

I would have just put a fiver in the tank in England which would have been a good insurance policy. Or else the gallon in a can in the boot!

Yes, of course. I was confident at that point. :cool: I was so confident I drove home to Lucan and got petrol there, rather than straight off the boat. It was a Sunday morning, so I picked the shortest route, rather than the quickest, and had loads of fuel to spare. (At least 0.5l )

Blitzkrieger

Bond-007 wrote:

Or else the gallon in a can in the boot!

Not allowed bring those on a ferry. Even if it's empty for some reason.

R.O.R

Managed to snap the gearbox mounting on my car one night so got a lift in to work the next morning and borrowed a demo Zafira 1.9CDTi (150ps of course) we had for a few days. Trip computer reckoned there were about 65km left in the tank and it's about 70km home - all Motorway so I don't pass a fuel station until the Applegreen in Gormanstown. No Choice on the M50 but to inch forward, but stuck to 90km (56mph) all the way up the M1. Managed to get to the fuel station with 8km left on the Trip Computer!

Funny thing was that after I'd put some fuel in the trip never re-set itself and kept counting down. Was expecting it to come to a shuddering halt when it hit 0 but it just kept on going and stayed at 0 for the next 3 days - another quality Opel product ;-)

mik_da_man

I play a game with my trip computer and GPS
Mainly when I am going somewhere I don't know I let the tank run low and use GPS to a find petrol station nearby.

I got the trip computer down to 1KM left once on the way to portlaoise
Was pretty Sh1tting it all rite that time

Gatster

Played a few times when I had a big engined car as a younger man, and lost on a few occasions, but the bug for the game has stuck with me - had a scare stuck on the M50 the other day and pulled off at Liffey Valley with my prayers answered :rolleyes: Probably the closest I've got it 10 years, but for some reason I never play when in large engined cars nowadays...