Crazy gas guage

[TeKKnoTeKK]

Just wondering if anyone else's gas guage does this.....after I fill up my tank the gas guage will show full for several days. After 2 or 3 days it starts going down, and at a more rapid pace than normal it seems like. Weird or what?

[88LXi/87CRXSi]

Originally posted by TeKKnoTeKK
Weird or what?

That depends on the miles u put on each day! 2-300 mi. a day that's weird I guess. About 30-40, then probably normal. remember when u fill ur tank ur float bowl gets totally submerged in fuel. It won't start to start dropping until you've used enough gas so that the float isn't pinned to the top of the tank, couple gallons at least i figure. Gotta uncover it at least half the float I guess.

[accordlx]

I have a similar problem. It seems that the top half of my tank holds like 10 gallons. When my car is half empty according to the gas guage, I only have like 4.5-5 gallons left.

[locknload68]

When my car goes below the E, it still has 3 gallons or so in the tank.

It kinda funny when people get in my car and they're like "Man, you need some gas, you're on the E." I just laugh cuz I know the range of the car and go by that.

[A20A1]

don't worry... for some reason my dimmer switch controlls both turn signal lights on the console and a few other ligts and causes my gas guage to read constantly full

[ACCORD EX]

my gauge always shows lower than my tank is filled with ! so when i see it @ half it means i got abotu 65 % of the tank !
but showing lower is better than showin more ! :p

MIKE

[njpeter]

I could go on about gas gauges all day..I drive over 500 a week..the guage certainly isn't linear, but since the pump is in the tank, I try to never let it run till the yellow alert light comes on. Seems I haven't had any fuel pump problems since, I previously ran it until the light came on.

I figure 16 gal @ 30 per give me a 480 mile range, but I always fill it at 300 miles or so since I can't get by the entiure workweek anyway without a gas stop.

On a good traffic week I can go 200 miles to the half mark, with the drop from full starting at around 70-100 miles. A gallon used guage ( I have this on my van) is much better way to go for me, but it's not happening on my 3g.

With some carful driving and the idle system working well I'm averaging 30..and that's with at least 20 minutes idle time at tool booths.

i got my first 3g in 1990, a three year old artic white lx..still have her

[89accordlxi]

Originally posted by TeKKnoTeKK
Just wondering if anyone else's gas guage does this.....after I fill up my tank the gas guage will show full for several days. After 2 or 3 days it starts going down, and at a more rapid pace than normal it seems like. Weird or what?

Yeah, I have noticed the same thing. I can drive about 70 miles before the gas guage will go below full. After that, it will drop slowly until about half a tank. After half a tank, it drops very rapidly.

Here is the average behavior of my tank. I can go 150 miles when it shows 1/4 of a tank. 220 when it shows half, and about 340 when it is on E. I can go about 360 before the warning light comes on.

So basically, I can go 220 miles on the first half of the guage and only 120 on the second half of the gauge.

Peace out..

[1988starter]

My gauge works perfectly untill I get about half way down then ad I break it drops and when I start again I do not alaways get it all back On E I got about 3 gallons left. Also I have noticed on my GF 86 accord the gas guage goes down when when the car is off same with the sisters 86 Prelude but mine stays staionary does anyone else have this feature.

[89accordlxi]

Originally posted by 1988starter
Also I have noticed on my GF 86 accord the gas guage goes down when when the car is off same with the sisters 86 Prelude but mine stays staionary does anyone else have this feature.

Yes, My gas guage always returns to E when I turn off the car.

[TeKKnoTeKK]

Mine will drop a little when I turn the car off, it doesn't drop all the way tho.

[CoAsTeR]

my old car did the same thing, but that was because the bottom half of the tank was smaller than the top half..... I dont know if thats true in our case. But the same thing happens to me too with my accord......

[njpeter]

fuel ranges would be interesting..in summer I do much better then winter...o2 treated fuel in winter..less gas...more air.

I guess 360 miles sounds about right for the yellow light.

The honda shop manual warns against moving the guage needles. I recall that the needle holds the last position...now I'll have to pay some attention.

I'm just stuck in the 12 gallon 350 mile range and will be for a couple of more years at least. I don't run over 3k much except on the on ramp..I didn't care that much when gas was $1 it's creeping up again

That snake oil magnet around the fuel line looks interesting "govt approved" ( the numbers looked reasonable)..magnets affecting fuel burn..well maybe by a large stretch of the imagination.

[Afrosheen]

Yeah my 88 hatchback does this too. 200 mi on the first half then 100 (if I'm lucky) on the second half. This is mainly a safety feature. When it starts glowing it means you have about 3-4 gallons left in your tank. It's a 16 gallon tank and you're probably filling up from E about 12 gallons right? There's your extra gas, in the hidden reserve.

They designed it this way because fuel injection isn't as tolerant as carbs when it comes to running out of gas. Injectors are cooled by the gas flow and if it runs out they're prone to getting cooked. So when it's on E don't panic but don't keep flooring it with the AC on either.

[damackz]

Mines is on crack!!!! it goes up and down depending on when i press the speed!! if i go up a hill the needle moves up, when i go down it moves down........grr