Dont trust MTE on the UG.

i dont understand this...in theory, the pump would be pulling the same amount of fuel through it, whether its a full tank or whether its near empty correct?? so how would it burn up quicker??

 

x2

 

We may be talking about two different things then-- my impression was that the fuel pump was in the front and pulled fuel through a line from the tank (of course I'm no mechanic and have little to no actual experience in vehicle repair)

Could there be a fuel "pick-up" or something that you're thinking of??

I'm here to learn now

 

If you look at the Ultra Gauge manual (page 29), it tells you how to calibrate 'fuel usage'.

 

i can't believe these truck don't have a fuel gauge lol

i don't own one yet so i haven't noticed in pictures

 

a light or an actual gauge?

if there's an actual gauge then why are guys relying on these UG's then?

 

my scangauge estimates how many miles i have left so i can decide which exit i should take to get gas. I dont rely on it per se, but it helps out with planning

 

ok great thanks....i was very shocked at the possibilty they didn't

 

Yea i was stupid to rely on the UG, but it anit like it really hurt me, i was reall close to home and just went and got a gas can and put some in and drove home, i mean i was like a 1/4 of a mile from my house after i pushed it out of the road.

 

Thats a good question. Guess the OP decided he wanted to run his tank empty to see how much fuel he could actually hold or something. You got me...

I'm with the other people though... It costs just as much to add 10 gals of fuel at the 1/4 tank mark as it does to add in 10 gals at the empty mark, so there's really no reason to let it go empty. It's not like they're saving anything by squeezing every last drop out, like toothpaste. Guess by waiting till the very end they save themselves 5 min on every 4 fill ups.

I'm more along the lines of "be prepared", and running the tank on near empty isn't even close to being prepared in case I need to go somewhere in an emergency.

 

So I don't have to stop for gas every other day. I usually fill up every 4-5 days.

 

x2

 

You are really spending $50 or more on gas per week? Over $200/month just on fuel? ouch... Thats more than I spend on food a month...

 

i fill up 6-7 times a month

8-9 if i wheel long distances

 

I've also heard this. Another myth is that it's not good to run the tank low because of foreign particles that may be in the tank settle to the bottom & when the tank is ran low there's chance for the pump to pick up these particles & damage the pump. Well that's hard to believe IMO, if there really is foreign particles in your tank, the pump is going to pick it up whether the tank is low or not. There's always fuel in the tank that the pump will not be able to pick up.

I don't believe overheating when the tank is ran dry to be the cause of fuel pump failures. When I worked at the shop, GM trucks seemed to be the most common vehicles that came in with fuel pump failures.

A good number of fuel tank mounted pumps I've seen that get changed out, the pumps aren't always mounted down low. Some are mounted higher up in the tank with a tube for the pick up. So in this case the pump isn't always fully submerged in fuel when the tank is partially filled. But many do have chambers around the fuel pump to keep fuel directed at the pick up.

So if it is overheating that causes pump failures, it's not relying on the pump to always be submerged for cooling. Just the fuel running through the pump should keep it cool if that's the case.

Some types of fluid pumps are not designed to run dry & could cause damage to them if ran without fluids. Not sure if fuel pumps are designed this way. Even if they are, I can't imagine a fuel pump to fail because it was constantly ran without fluid. When you run out of gas, it's not likely for a person to sit there & continuously crank the engine for long periods of times to cause a pump failure (well I guess there are people that would). Unless that person is constantly running out of gas & doing this. Also, for modern cars, when the ignition is turned on, the pump only cycles for a short period of time then stops. The ECU tells the pump when to run continuously. Unless of course you have an aftermarket fuel pump that is wired to key on directly.

Most failed pumps that I've seen that were replaced were because their components simply failed with age or low quality. Leaks, low pressure, or simply no longer turning on. I've changed a lot of Honda fuel pumps but not cause they failed, only becuase the customer was upgrading them to Walbros, etc.

I used to run out of gas all the time with my Integra. The fuel pump never failed on me & I put that car throug hell.

You'rel probably thinking of older carbureted vehicles. Because of the low pressure of the fuel system they often had an additional inline fuel pump closer to the engine.

Although I have installed some bolt on turbo kits that came with a fuel pump to be added inline close to the engine.

Don't all cars have a fuel guage?

What I meant earlier is that 1st gens do not have a fuel lever sender that is monitored through the ECU. I think the later 2nd gens do as many other late model cars. My buddy's explorer is an 04 & it does have a fuel level sensor.

With the fuel level sensor, the UG automatically reads from the ECU how much fuel is in the tank so you don't have to tell the UG when you fill up. That's great if you don't always put a full tank of gas. On my truck if I partially fill the tank, I have to enter into the UG how much I filled. That's annoying & will get old quick as well as having to tell the UG when I filled with a full tank. I know I will be getting tired of this very soon & will not care about it anymore. That's why I don't have DTE & fuel level on my main menu of gauges.