Thread: gas light trigger?

hey fellas, i was curious if anybody knows exactly how much fuel is in the tank when the light triggers? 1/2 gal? 1 gal? 2 gal? im on a mile to mile basis so knowing when this light comes on would be a great great help and stress relief.

i have a 96 3.1 gp se 4 door sedan.

Originally Posted by codyAK

Put gas in it and not worry?

i dont have a job and am only supplied with x amount of gas every week so im trying to figure out exactly how far i can go every weeks without running out.

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

if you can afford to fill the tank as soon as the light comes on, you know you have like a 17 gal tank, so just do the math, but as said before its no science and may come on due to a sharp turn or hard stop as the gas thats left shifts in the tank and the float reacts to level changes.

my last truck had a 34 gal tank, when the light came on i had 4 gals left, @ 10 miles to the gal i knew i had at most 40 miles worth of driving left.

"my last truck had a 34 gal tank, when the light came on i had 4 gals left, @ 10 miles to the gal i knew i had at most 40 miles worth of driving left"

this is specifically what im trying to do, i want to know about how far i can go before i run out. lol

Originally Posted by zildjian102

when my gas light comes on and i fill it it usually only gets 13-14 gallons in the tank to full.. maybe less.

this is helpfull, thank you!

Originally Posted by Fivefingerdeathpunch

depending on how big your tank is, think of it this way, when the light comes on, you got about 3 gallons left give or take. And really you should not let it run down past 1-2 gallons left, the fuel cools the pump, so with less fuel to cool it, the faster it can burn out.

if im not mistaken the fuel pump on my vehicle is not inside the tank, therefore i dont think the amount of fuel inside the tank matters, even if i had 1/10 of a gallon i believe the pump has as much fuel in it as if i had a full tank. the only instance where i could see the pump being effected is if i am literally running out of fuel and the engine is sputtering in which case i shut the car off obviously because im out of gas lmao.

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

rule of thumb is put more gas in when its low, regardless of where your fuel pump is there is crap in your tank and it clogs up the filter and kills the pump.

i only needed this info because i used to do a LOT of highway driving (2 to 300 per day) and needed to know if i could make it to the next station.

and a oil change every month, i don't miss that job so much. although they did buy my gas and give me 5,000 a year to use my truck.

well honestly its not like your fancy and special and you can find out and i cant because my reason for wanting to know isnt good enough. all im asking is if anyone knows the amount of fuel in the tank when the light triggers. heres a rule of thumb for you, if you dont know the answer...dont post.
thanks.

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

i think we all understand what your asking, i don't think any one here is rich, and we all fall on hard times but as stated above in other posts every car is different so mine will not be same as yours, the only way for YOU to figure this out is to fill the tank, and do the math. good luck

fair enough, thank you.