[T2] fuel gauge unreliability

[Ned Savoie]

Genius. I need a good dope slap for not thinking of that one. I have a
retired 76 F150 fire truck that gets about 6 miles to the gallon and the
sender quit. I drive it so rarely I can never remember the mileage.

Great tip.


Ned

--

Ned Savoie
Creative Director

Harbour Light Strategic Marketing
Savvy Software, Inc.
621A Islington Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801

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On Wed, Nov 6, 2013 at 6:43 AM, Neal Jarvis <nealfjarvis at gmail.com> wrote:

> I've been lucky with my bus but one of my beetles left me stranded twice.
>
> Now when I fill up I use my cell phone to take a picture of the odometer.
>
> I only drive 150-175 miles then fill up.
>
> That solved that problem.
>
> Neal F Jarvis
> Office Manager
> RJ Berra Inc. T/A
> Services Unlimited Co.
> Tree and Stump Removal Experts
> 4120 Sandy Spring Road
> Burtonsville, MD 20866
> 202-439-3509 Mobile
>
> Sent from my iPhone.
> Please forgive the typos.
>
> > On Nov 5, 2013, at 10:27 PM, Aurelio Sanabria <sufrostico at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > My one is always 1/4 gallon  under the real  measure.
> >
> > Also, when there is only one quarter remaining the needle sticks there
> and only after turn it off and then turn it on again that the needle falls
> to the R.
> >
> > And yes, I learn this the hard way... Like three times the  hard way...
> to be presice.
> >
> >
> >
> > accessys at smart.net escribió:
> >>
> >> 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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> >
> > --
> > Aurelio
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