[T2] fuel gauge unreliability

[accessys at smart.net]

in carrying fuel in containers remember to put in some fuel stabilizer so 
it will not be varnish when needed, every few months I pour my spare into 
the tank and refill the container just to keep things fresh.

Bob

On Tue, 5 Nov 2013, Robert Mann wrote:

> Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2013 08:54:57 +1300
> From: Robert Mann <robtmann7 at gmail.com>
> To: VW type 2 late aircooled <type2 at type2.com>
> Subject: [T2] fuel gauge unreliability
> 
> 	I was aware that my 40-y-old petrol gauge was not fully accurate.  In 
> 7y of consistent performance, it has always slightly failed to show Full when 
> the tank has just been filled to the visible top, and alleged Empty when I 
> can go a further c.25 mi on econocruise.  Systematic skewing of readings like 
> that is not a practical problem; no complaints (tho' I would like a Reserve 
> tap).
> 	But last week I set out a half-h early to drive 30 mi to a rare 
> lecture by a world leader in applied ecology, whom I had met 30 y ago.  I'd 
> been content to pay $10 to the host Ak Museum website, because I have admired 
> this eminent scholar's thought for 4 decades (and sold c.800 of his textbook 
> to my students over a dozen y).  My fuel gauge showed 1/4 and so I breezed on 
> past a handy filling station, fixated on trying to beat the Rush Hour Creep 
> over the harbour bridge and thru beautiful downtown Auckland.  The experience 
> became dismal, frustrated as I arrived late, missing some of the lecture and 
> unable to contact the visitors & the chmn to arrange to dine with them.
>
> 	A few mi along the motorway the engine quit in the manner of a fuel 
> failure.  I could find no fault to explain this most unwelcome stoppage, and 
> concluded the gauge had stuck at 1/4.
> 	A good friend chanced along within 5 min, so it was straightfwd to 
> take the next exit and get soaked $19.99 for a 10-litre plastic petrol 
> bottle.  Serve me right for not having spare fuel on board.
>
> 	 I realise that many old bus-drivers know this full well (probably 
> having made a mistake like the above); my aim in passing along this bitter 
> shameful experience is to warn younger players that the fuel gauges in our 
> middle-aged vehicles are not to be entirely trusted.  They can, for instance, 
> suddenly quietly stick.
>
>
> Conclusions:
> 	1.  Carry spare fuel in a suitable can ( some modern plastic 'cans' 
> are approved for petrol), clamped in a safe pozzie within the bus (check that 
> cogent content <:-|}.  Top ideas for this positioning, for given-size cans, 
> will doubless surge in.
> 	2.  Do not assume a decades-old fuel gauge will continue to perform 
> consistently; it may stick, so do not put blind faith in its readings.  The 
> same warning applies to any USA-model gages :-P designed to show gasoline 
> content <:-|
> 	3.Continue or revive the habit established on pre-gauge vehicles e.g 
> typical motorcycles and of course Splitties: note the odometer reading at 
> full, and keep track of distance travelled since. Use your 
> previously-measured mpg to estimate by mental arithmetic how much fuel 
> remains.
> 	4.  If you get too elderly to remember the 'full' odo reading, you 
> should write it e.g  on a small cardboard list taped to your dash or 
> otherwise handy to the driver.
> 	5.  If you have become gravely hooked on kompughtink, write or rip a 
> program to do all this for you :-X
>
>
>
> -- 
> Robt Mann
> Whangaparaoa, New Zealand
> '73 VW 1600dp Devon camper
> '53 Meteor V8
> various Jawa-CZ and Jawa-NZ strokers
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