Low Fuel Warning Light
 

My 86 Accord low fuel warning light has always illuminated at about 220
miles after filling and I could count on 75-100 miles remaining on the tank.

I have had a 99 Accord for 2 years, and the fuel light has come on 4-5
times, but at inconsistent mileage, and I usually fill up when I think the
gage is reading too low to go further. This weekend I ran out of gas, and
the low fuel light never came on. The gage was below empty, but I had a can
of gas in the trunk, so I drove to see if the light would ever come on.

Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
newer Honda?


John

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

news.west.earthlink.net wrote:
> Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
> newer Honda?

I don't know, but my 2001 Civic's fuel light is worthless, I don't even
pay any attention to it whatsoever. And the fuel gauge is very
inconsistent too.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

news.west.earthlink.net wrote:
> Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
> newer Honda?

I don't know, but my 2001 Civic's fuel light is worthless, I don't even
pay any attention to it whatsoever. And the fuel gauge is very
inconsistent too.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

news.west.earthlink.net wrote:
> Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
> newer Honda?

I don't know, but my 2001 Civic's fuel light is worthless, I don't even
pay any attention to it whatsoever. And the fuel gauge is very
inconsistent too.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:59:05 GMT, "news.west.earthlink.net"
<anon@nowhere.net> wrote:

>My 86 Accord low fuel warning light has always illuminated at about 220
>miles after filling and I could count on 75-100 miles remaining on the tank.
>
>I have had a 99 Accord for 2 years, and the fuel light has come on 4-5
>times, but at inconsistent mileage, and I usually fill up when I think the
>gage is reading too low to go further. This weekend I ran out of gas, and
>the low fuel light never came on. The gage was below empty, but I had a can
>of gas in the trunk, so I drove to see if the light would ever come on.
>
>Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
>newer Honda?

I forget the behavior of my 87 Accord, I think the light went on
rather late, but all the Hondas I've had since, the light always went
on with 2 to 3 gallons left, generally closer to 3, and never failed
to go on AFAIK.

J.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:59:05 GMT, "news.west.earthlink.net"
<anon@nowhere.net> wrote:

>My 86 Accord low fuel warning light has always illuminated at about 220
>miles after filling and I could count on 75-100 miles remaining on the tank.
>
>I have had a 99 Accord for 2 years, and the fuel light has come on 4-5
>times, but at inconsistent mileage, and I usually fill up when I think the
>gage is reading too low to go further. This weekend I ran out of gas, and
>the low fuel light never came on. The gage was below empty, but I had a can
>of gas in the trunk, so I drove to see if the light would ever come on.
>
>Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
>newer Honda?

I forget the behavior of my 87 Accord, I think the light went on
rather late, but all the Hondas I've had since, the light always went
on with 2 to 3 gallons left, generally closer to 3, and never failed
to go on AFAIK.

J.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:59:05 GMT, "news.west.earthlink.net"
<anon@nowhere.net> wrote:

>My 86 Accord low fuel warning light has always illuminated at about 220
>miles after filling and I could count on 75-100 miles remaining on the tank.
>
>I have had a 99 Accord for 2 years, and the fuel light has come on 4-5
>times, but at inconsistent mileage, and I usually fill up when I think the
>gage is reading too low to go further. This weekend I ran out of gas, and
>the low fuel light never came on. The gage was below empty, but I had a can
>of gas in the trunk, so I drove to see if the light would ever come on.
>
>Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
>newer Honda?

I forget the behavior of my 87 Accord, I think the light went on
rather late, but all the Hondas I've had since, the light always went
on with 2 to 3 gallons left, generally closer to 3, and never failed
to go on AFAIK.

J.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

Bucky wrote:

> news.west.earthlink.net wrote:
>> Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
>> newer Honda?
>
> I don't know, but my 2001 Civic's fuel light is worthless, I don't even
> pay any attention to it whatsoever. And the fuel gauge is very
> inconsistent too.

I've noticed strange gauge behaviour in my 2004 Civic as well. The "top
half" seems to go down more quickly than the "bottom half". But I really
can't complain; the car did 42mpg on a recent road trip.

On the other hand, the gauge in my '93 Accord was the opposite. The "bottom
half" went down more quickly than the "top half".

I never let the tank get low enough on either car to trigger the light.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

Bucky wrote:

> news.west.earthlink.net wrote:
>> Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
>> newer Honda?
>
> I don't know, but my 2001 Civic's fuel light is worthless, I don't even
> pay any attention to it whatsoever. And the fuel gauge is very
> inconsistent too.

I've noticed strange gauge behaviour in my 2004 Civic as well. The "top
half" seems to go down more quickly than the "bottom half". But I really
can't complain; the car did 42mpg on a recent road trip.

On the other hand, the gauge in my '93 Accord was the opposite. The "bottom
half" went down more quickly than the "top half".

I never let the tank get low enough on either car to trigger the light.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

Bucky wrote:

> news.west.earthlink.net wrote:
>> Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
>> newer Honda?
>
> I don't know, but my 2001 Civic's fuel light is worthless, I don't even
> pay any attention to it whatsoever. And the fuel gauge is very
> inconsistent too.

I've noticed strange gauge behaviour in my 2004 Civic as well. The "top
half" seems to go down more quickly than the "bottom half". But I really
can't complain; the car did 42mpg on a recent road trip.

On the other hand, the gauge in my '93 Accord was the opposite. The "bottom
half" went down more quickly than the "top half".

I never let the tank get low enough on either car to trigger the light.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:59:05 GMT, "news.west.earthlink.net"
<anon@nowhere.net> wrote:

>My 86 Accord low fuel warning light has always illuminated at about 220
>miles after filling and I could count on 75-100 miles remaining on the tank.
>
>I have had a 99 Accord for 2 years, and the fuel light has come on 4-5
>times, but at inconsistent mileage, and I usually fill up when I think the
>gage is reading too low to go further. This weekend I ran out of gas, and
>the low fuel light never came on. The gage was below empty, but I had a can
>of gas in the trunk, so I drove to see if the light would ever come on.
>
>Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
>newer Honda?
>
>
>John
>
>

Isn't it considered bad form to run the gas tank so low? The reasoning
I recall is that stuff settles to the bottom and you don't really want
that being sucked into the engine. Of course, if you do it all the
time, I guess the sludge is sucked in in small stages so perhaps isn't
as bad as doing it all at once. But I'm just a lurker. Perhaps the
knowledgeable folks will chime in.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:59:05 GMT, "news.west.earthlink.net"
<anon@nowhere.net> wrote:

>My 86 Accord low fuel warning light has always illuminated at about 220
>miles after filling and I could count on 75-100 miles remaining on the tank.
>
>I have had a 99 Accord for 2 years, and the fuel light has come on 4-5
>times, but at inconsistent mileage, and I usually fill up when I think the
>gage is reading too low to go further. This weekend I ran out of gas, and
>the low fuel light never came on. The gage was below empty, but I had a can
>of gas in the trunk, so I drove to see if the light would ever come on.
>
>Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
>newer Honda?
>
>
>John
>
>

Isn't it considered bad form to run the gas tank so low? The reasoning
I recall is that stuff settles to the bottom and you don't really want
that being sucked into the engine. Of course, if you do it all the
time, I guess the sludge is sucked in in small stages so perhaps isn't
as bad as doing it all at once. But I'm just a lurker. Perhaps the
knowledgeable folks will chime in.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:59:05 GMT, "news.west.earthlink.net"
<anon@nowhere.net> wrote:

>My 86 Accord low fuel warning light has always illuminated at about 220
>miles after filling and I could count on 75-100 miles remaining on the tank.
>
>I have had a 99 Accord for 2 years, and the fuel light has come on 4-5
>times, but at inconsistent mileage, and I usually fill up when I think the
>gage is reading too low to go further. This weekend I ran out of gas, and
>the low fuel light never came on. The gage was below empty, but I had a can
>of gas in the trunk, so I drove to see if the light would ever come on.
>
>Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
>newer Honda?
>
>
>John
>
>

Isn't it considered bad form to run the gas tank so low? The reasoning
I recall is that stuff settles to the bottom and you don't really want
that being sucked into the engine. Of course, if you do it all the
time, I guess the sludge is sucked in in small stages so perhaps isn't
as bad as doing it all at once. But I'm just a lurker. Perhaps the
knowledgeable folks will chime in.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

dgk wrote:
> On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:59:05 GMT, "news.west.earthlink.net"
> <anon@nowhere.net> wrote:
>
> >My 86 Accord low fuel warning light has always illuminated at about 220
> >miles after filling and I could count on 75-100 miles remaining on the tank.
> >
> >I have had a 99 Accord for 2 years, and the fuel light has come on 4-5
> >times, but at inconsistent mileage, and I usually fill up when I think the
> >gage is reading too low to go further. This weekend I ran out of gas, and
> >the low fuel light never came on. The gage was below empty, but I had a can
> >of gas in the trunk, so I drove to see if the light would ever come on.
> >
> >Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
> >newer Honda?
> >
> >
> >John
> >
> >
>
> Isn't it considered bad form to run the gas tank so low? The reasoning
> I recall is that stuff settles to the bottom and you don't really want
> that being sucked into the engine. Of course, if you do it all the
> time, I guess the sludge is sucked in in small stages so perhaps isn't
> as bad as doing it all at once. But I'm just a lurker. Perhaps the
> knowledgeable folks will chime in.

That's not the only reason. The biggest reason I see is that the fuel
pump, if in the tank, uses the gas for cooling. Running tank too low
reduces it's ability to be cooled by the fuel.

Re: Low Fuel Warning Light
 

dgk wrote:
> On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:59:05 GMT, "news.west.earthlink.net"
> <anon@nowhere.net> wrote:
>
> >My 86 Accord low fuel warning light has always illuminated at about 220
> >miles after filling and I could count on 75-100 miles remaining on the tank.
> >
> >I have had a 99 Accord for 2 years, and the fuel light has come on 4-5
> >times, but at inconsistent mileage, and I usually fill up when I think the
> >gage is reading too low to go further. This weekend I ran out of gas, and
> >the low fuel light never came on. The gage was below empty, but I had a can
> >of gas in the trunk, so I drove to see if the light would ever come on.
> >
> >Why would the low fuel light be intermittent and so inconsistent on the
> >newer Honda?
> >
> >
> >John
> >
> >
>
> Isn't it considered bad form to run the gas tank so low? The reasoning
> I recall is that stuff settles to the bottom and you don't really want
> that being sucked into the engine. Of course, if you do it all the
> time, I guess the sludge is sucked in in small stages so perhaps isn't
> as bad as doing it all at once. But I'm just a lurker. Perhaps the
> knowledgeable folks will chime in.

That's not the only reason. The biggest reason I see is that the fuel
pump, if in the tank, uses the gas for cooling. Running tank too low
reduces it's ability to be cooled by the fuel.