Sometimes the Best Solutions are the Obvious Solutions

[stevehogan]

You guys will like this one......

Sometimes one looks too hard for a problem when they should just go for the simple solution.

I have been traveling a LOT since the end of March. (Which is why I have not been very active in the forun.) Have only been home for a total of 10 days since then. Drove my beloved Catera for a total of MAYBE a hundred miles over that period.

Well, I was home on Friday, and my bride asked me go over to the local deli and pick up a couple of Italian beef sandwiches for lunch. I had driven to a meeting that morning and had just come back home.

I hopped into the car and drove over to the deli and bought the sandwiches. I got back into the car and the low fuel lamp came on and the needle was absolutely on "E."

Remembering the other posts about fuel gauge problems, I began cursing my car. I tried whacking the dash - the needle didn't move. I tried restarting the car and still the needle was solidly at "E."

I cursed the car again. I knew I had fuel. I had only driven a few miles since March. I decided to get the tank filled, so that I would not run out, until I had the opportunity to fix the *@)(@& &@$ gauge.

Amazingly enough, the tank took 15.9 gallons and when I restarted the car, the gauge was on "F."

I can only assume that the gauge is intermittent and that I must immediately drop the tank and replace all of the electronics from the float up to, and including, the dash gauges.

I guess I am just absorbing too much from the forums

[Vesicant]

Interesting... there was a time when we were low on gas, drove into the station quickly and the entry ramp was a little steep, so it hit moderatly hard. Parked the car for a second before getting gas... on the restart, the gauge instead of being 1/4's, registered as completely empty.

It Must have gotten caught in the baffles of the tank. That could have been your case...im not sure though what amount of fuel you had left though.

[stevehogan]

Maybe I'm not completely nuts, then. I could have sworn that I had at least an 1/8 of a tank that morning when I started out. Only drove 5 miles. Maybe........

[AllenPacla]

All this time i was driving the Catera, I always thought that the Fuel gauge is unreliable. Most of the times, the gauge won't even read the same since the last time i turned off the car. And to me that's weird. There will be times when the gauge will be so slow in getting up that as you drive along, instead of the gauge reflecting you are consuming gas, it seems like you are getting more gas as you go. I am trying to understand why a big company like GM would put into one car a lot of faulty design and electronics. I mean, they have engineers and designers who are being paid a lot just put their mind into designing a car, and they just suck big time. I mean it's normal for parts to wear and they are added profit for car manufacturers when they do, but then, to have them faulting at a short period of time is just unacceptable.