Low Petrol & Red light started flashing!!

mossyj

Hey All,

Maybe someone could put my mind at ease here....

My car has been in the red for a few miles now + the red light changed from static to flashing just as i pulled into work this morning.

the digital petrol gauge is saying ive got 24K left but this is the first time ive seen the warning light actually start flashing.

Anyone have any idea if i could run dry getting to a station?

its 5K to the nearest petrol station btw!

oh + the car is an 2.0 ltr opel astra opc.


any advice much appreciated!

no smart ass remarks either plz:)

woodseb

i reckon if your car is telling you that you have 24km left you should be ok, but drive economically to be safe

listermint

woodseb wrote: »

i reckon if your car is telling you that you have 24km left you should be ok, but drive economically to be safe

+1

bbability

That's basically telling you to get to a petrol station asap!! WTF are you letting the tank run so low for? Do you know how many problems that can cause to the fuel system? Your basically running the car on the dirt at the bottom of the fuel tank. Get some petrol. Their maybe enough fuel to get you 5km up the road. Bring a reserve tank just in case!! Its good practice to keep at least a 1/4 tank of fuel in the car. I try a fill it nearer to 1/2.

Just to clarify a yellow warning light is a gentle reminder. A red warning light should never be ignored.

mossyj

thats what i was hoping too but its quite heavy traffic between me and the petrol station! i gotta go from the port - Dublin 1 to clontarf! id say ill have to free wheel as much as i can

id die if i thought i was one of those guys whos holding up traffic cos of an empty petrol tank!!!

cbyrne

I drove about 5k after my BMW told me I had zero miles left (the miles left display actually switched itself off!) mind you it was a white knuckle 5kms.. much of it coasting down hills!!

Seth Brundle

mossyj wrote: »

...24K...

cbyrne wrote: »

...5k...

K = thousand
Km = Kilometre (thousand metres!)

beerbaron

bbability wrote: »

Your basically running the car on the dirt at the bottom of the fuel tank.

I could understand dirt in an 8-10 yr old car but
Given that its a relatively new car, Could there be much ?

chris85

kbannon wrote: »

K = thousand
Km = Kilometre (thousand metres!)

like it kbannon

LarWright

mossyj wrote: »

Hey All,

Maybe someone could put my mind at ease here....

My car has been in the red for a few miles now + the red light changed from static to flashing just as i pulled into work this morning.

the digital petrol gauge is saying ive got 24K left but this is the first time ive seen the warning light actually start flashing.

Anyone have any idea if i could run dry getting to a station?

its 5K to the nearest petrol station btw!

oh + the car is an 2.0 ltr opel astra opc.


any advice much appreciated!

no smart ass remarks either plz:)

You should be ok Mossy, 5km is nothing... I have an OPC too and at 50km the display changes to "!! RANGE !!" and the light comes on... at around 10km the light starts flashing (on mine anyway)... Easiest thing to do, don't let it go that low.... I'm always weary of it with dirt in petrol tank sitting at the bottom just incase it get sucked into the engine etc...

The Range counter is just a guide, I never take it that seriously. When I fill up, mine tells me I have around 590km in the tank, but I sometimes get more out of it, sometimes alot less... Depends how you drive I guess... (and that Sport button makes it drink petrol!)

beerbaron wrote: »

I could understand dirt in an 8-10 yr old car but
Given that its a relatively new car, Could there be much ?

Petrol (most of it, perhaps all, I'm not sure) comes from the middle east.... They have LOTS of sand, and as seen as you have to drill into the sand to get the oil, there's tons of the stuff in it..... Yeah they filter it etc... but you'd be amazed at what sits at the bottom of a tank after a few months!

(CH3)2CHOH

LarWright wrote: »

You should be ok Mossy, 5km is nothing... I have an OPC too and at 50km the display changes to "!! RANGE !!" and the light comes on... at around 10km the light starts flashing (on mine anyway)... Easiest thing to do, don't let it go that low.... I'm always weary of it with dirt in petrol tank sitting at the bottom just incase it get sucked into the engine etc...

The Range counter is just a guide, I never take it that seriously. When I fill up, mine tells me I have around 590km in the tank, but I sometimes get more out of it, sometimes alot less... Depends how you drive I guess... (and that Sport button makes it drink petrol!)



Petrol (most of it, perhaps all, I'm not sure) comes from the middle east.... They have LOTS of sand, and as seen as you have to drill into the sand to get the oil, there's tons of the stuff in it..... Yeah they filter it etc... but you'd be amazed at what sits at the bottom of a tank after a few months!

Errr.....

The crude oil comes from the Middle East, but the Petrol comes out of an Oil refinery. Since the Petrol is extracted from the oil by distillation ( Boiling) I seriously doubt the sand is still there:rolleyes:

Marcus.Aurelius

(CH3)2CHOH wrote: »

Errr.....

The crude oil comes from the Middle East, but the Petrol comes out of an Oil refinery. Since the Petrol is extracted from the oil by distillation ( Boiling) I seriously doubt the sand is still there:rolleyes:

isopropanol, i doubt you've ever been to the Qatari oil refineries, and their QA/QC is hardly equivalent. Have you ever seen the sediment in a petrol tank after a few refills?

Most of it from the surface of the inside of the tank, dirt, dust etc., brought from outside. Larwright may in fact be right.

:rolleyes:

Stark

Take it for a spin on the M50. There hasn't been a "breakdown" there for over a day now.

(CH3)2CHOH

maoleary wrote: »

isopropanol, i doubt you've ever been to the Qatari oil refineries, and their QA/QC is hardly equivalent. Have you ever seen the sediment in a petrol tank after a few refills?

Most of it from the surface of the inside of the tank, dirt, dust etc., brought from outside. Larwright may in fact be right.

:rolleyes:

Actually I worked for Shell, BP and Texaco in practically all there UK refinery's back in the 80's and 90's.

If you really think thats Arabian sand fine......

LarWright

(CH3)2CHOH wrote: »

Actually I worked for Shell, BP and Texaco in practically all there UK refinery's back in the 80's and 90's.

If you really think thats Arabian sand fine......

Well, lets face it, Petrol isn't exactly clean.... maybe it's not sand that get's stuck, but it's still dirty!

Councils filter water from resouvoirs, I still get lots of lime coming out of my taps!

mossyj

LarWright wrote: »

You should be ok Mossy, 5km is nothing... I have an OPC too and at 50km the display changes to "!! RANGE !!" and the light comes on... at around 10km the light starts flashing (on mine anyway)... Easiest thing to do, don't let it go that low.... I'm always weary of it with dirt in petrol tank sitting at the bottom just incase it get sucked into the engine etc...

The Range counter is just a guide, I never take it that seriously. When I fill up, mine tells me I have around 590km in the tank, but I sometimes get more out of it, sometimes alot less... Depends how you drive I guess... (and that Sport button makes it drink petrol!)

i left for work this morning with the display saying there was 34Km left and said to myself id fill up on the way home. I made sure to drive very easily too, practically zero acceleration! now the display says 24Km left. I think i should be just about ok cos the station is less than 5km away, the only thing that is really worrying me is if traffic is heavy:(

anyhoo - lesson learned, i wont let it get this low again!

kona

the car is more eficient in gear due to momentum, it will use more petrol just freewheeling and idling, my advice is to drive as normal, and change gears at the last possible moment.

LarWright

Why don't ya shoot up to Clontarf at lunchtime??? East Wall Road won't be as bad then as it will at 5 ish!?

mossyj

LarWright wrote: »

Why don't ya shoot up to Clontarf at lunchtime??? East Wall Road won't be as bad then as it will at 5 ish!?

i might just do that! actually - how do you find your opc? any complaints?

dingding

Hope your nearest station is not Statoil on Ushers Quay

LarWright

mossyj wrote: »

i might just do that! actually - how do you find your opc? any complaints?

Love it... starting to clock the miles up, 55000 kms now, and it's 2006, so to combat this, I've just ordered my second one! Should be here in 8-10 weeks.
Arden Blue, 19's, AFL Xenons, Cruise Control, Bluetooth.... YUM!

dingding wrote: »

Hope your nearest station is not Statoil on Ushers Quay

LOL, that'd be my worst nightmare!! I'd sooner run out of petrol than buy it in there! Thieving B@stids!

IrishRover

LarWright wrote: »

Well, lets face it, Petrol isn't exactly clean.... maybe it's not sand that get's stuck, but it's still dirty!

Councils filter water from resouvoirs, I still get lots of lime coming out of my taps!

I often see people mention this idea of sediment in the bottom of the fuel tank, but I think it is a myth.

I removed a fuel tank from a 16 year old Rover and it was clinically clean inside. I'm not sure if that's just because Rover fuel tanks are really reliable or something though.

mossyj

LarWright wrote: »

Love it... starting to clock the miles up, 55000 kms now, and it's 2006, so to combat this, I've just ordered my second one! Should be here in 8-10 weeks.
Arden Blue, 19's, AFL Xenons, Cruise Control, Bluetooth.... YUM!

sounds sweet

mine is 2006 also but doesnt have al the bells + whistles

Black, 18's 1/2 leather etc etc....

Im really happy with it too! I traded in my Rx-8 hi power for the opc, some people said i was mad to do it but ive never looked back! RWD was nice though:rolleyes:!

Oh + btw, i made it to that petrol station at lunch and im good to go again!!:D