Q2 and Q3: Running out of diesel

[davidjmiller]

My other daft questions for today are:-

Q2. if you run of diesel is it true that you can't just fill up and move on?? I think I once read that you have to bleed something???

Q3. this morning going to work my low fuel warning light came on which was odd as I was half way between 1/4 full and red. it stayed on for the duration of the 13 mile journey so I thought I'd better go and fil up at lunchtime (see Q1!) but driving to the garage it never came on!! can anybody offer any explanation??

Cheers,

David

[william127]

ive run out of diesel in my mk3 hilux and 200tdi defender :doh: and they both started fine with a litle bit of accelerator, not that id recomend it!
although 300 tdi autos have an ecu i think, so theyed probably make more fuss

[SteveGoodz]

My other daft questions for today are:-

Q2. if you run of diesel is it true that you can't just fill up and move on?? I think I once read that you have to bleed something???

I will own up to running out a couple of times, once in a 300Tdi manual and once in my current 300Tdi auto. On both ocassions I the engine actually dies as I got to the filling station and I coasted to an empty pump - that's one not being used rather than one with no fuel in it  [-X  Both times the engine fired up pretty quickly without having to bleed the fuel pump.

Q3. this morning going to work my low fuel warning light came on which was odd as I was half way between 1/4 full and red. it stayed on for the duration of the 13 mile journey so I thought I'd better go and fil up at lunchtime (see Q1!) but driving to the garage it never came on!! can anybody offer any explanation??

Cheers,

David

This happens all the time David. I've never been able to fathom it out except that on a couple of ocassions it came on when the vehicle was at a bit of an angle and stayed on for some time before going out again ... so maybe there's a degree of hysterisis in the sender unit or the relay that puts the light on gets latched up until the voltage drops when the ignition is switched off?

[JIMBOBLY]

if it wont start after running out,you need to fill the filter up with diesel by priming it,if it still wont start after that,just crack off no 1 and no 3 injector pipes at the injector,wind it over untill the diesel starts to come through,do the pipes up,then it should start,as for your light,it is the sender in the tank,although your gauge is reading ok,there is also a sender that puts the light on,hope this helps :-k

[davidjmiller]

My other daft questions for today are:-

Q2. if you run of diesel is it true that you can't just fill up and move on?? I think I once read that you have to bleed something???

I will own up to running out a couple of times, once in a 300Tdi manual and once in my current 300Tdi auto. On both ocassions I the engine actually dies as I got to the filling station and I coasted to an empty pump - that's one not being used rather than one with no fuel in it  [-X  Both times the engine fired up pretty quickly without having to bleed the fuel pump.

Q3. this morning going to work my low fuel warning light came on which was odd as I was half way between 1/4 full and red. it stayed on for the duration of the 13 mile journey so I thought I'd better go and fil up at lunchtime (see Q1!) but driving to the garage it never came on!! can anybody offer any explanation??

Cheers,

David

This happens all the time David. I've never been able to fathom it out except that on a couple of ocassions it came on when the vehicle was at a bit of an angle and stayed on for some time before going out again ... so maybe there's a degree of hysterisis in the sender unit or the relay that puts the light on gets latched up until the voltage drops when the ignition is switched off?

Thanks, so if it happens again do you think I should trust the light (no?) or trust the needle and how much I've used since last filling up??

[davidjmiller]

if it wont start after running out,you need to fill the filter up with diesel by priming it,if it still wont start after that,just crack off no 1 and no 3 injector pipes at the injector,wind it over untill the diesel starts to come through,do the pipes up,then it should start,as for your light,it is the sender in the tank,although your gauge is reading ok,there is also a sender that puts the light on,hope this helps :-k

Thanks for the post Jimbobly but you've gone way over my technical epxertise (which is virtually non-existant) - that's why I want to avoid running out!!!

Have a great xmas, guys.

David

[Range Rover Blues]

The warning light isn't accurate plus remember it shares the instruments panel with the V8 RRC soft dash, and only having 3 gallons left DOES constitute an emergency :lol:

I wouldn't advise running the tank dry as you'll hoover up all the debris and dump it in the filter.  The lift pump should have a mechanical arm to help prime it if it does run dry but typically with a good battery I seldom need it.

Out of interest, if it were a Ford then it would have to start within 30 seconds after having run empty, whether parked on a kerb or not and having only 5 litres of fuel (jerry can) added.  They all get tested for it.

[stageonesimmo]

Personally, I wouldn't rely on the light or the gauge.

I reason it out this way - 84 (?) liter tank - 1/4 is about 20L - on that mine goes over 100 miles, so if I put in over 20L I'd be filliing it up again at the 100 mile mark to be safe and like RRB says, it'l hopefully stop it hoovering up the rubbish from the bottom of the tank.

PS I ride a motorbike as well so I'm used to ignoring the gauge as I dont have one on the bike and just filling up from the mileage  :lol:

[SteveGoodz]

Thanks, so if it happens again do you think I should trust the light (no?) or trust the needle and how much I've used since last filling up??

Personally I never rely on the light. I work on how many miles I've driven since I last filled up plus I get a fairly consistent 100 miles from the last 1/4 of a tank.

HTH