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stupid Low fuel light


GPdriver1986

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My light for my fuel light was dead so I replaced it. My fuel was empty and it didn't turn on even when during the bulb test. Yesterday night the low fuel light turned on for the first time except my fuel was full. I also saw that the light kinda flickered for the first few moments. My cluster is just a base cluster.

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i also always thought that GMs had like this 2 gallon reserve after they were empty, or atleast older ones did. Ive never had a car that had a darn light that told me i was runnig low on fuel.

 

Jon

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Mine is kinda sporatic.. sometimes it'll come on when there is a few gallons left.. sometimes it won't come on 'til I'm running on fumes.

 

As far as the flickering.. it sounds like a loose connection.. some soldering will clean that up.

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Generally I have heard most cars its when you can go about 50 miles. On my 94' it comes on when I have 2.5 gallons left. I can drive around all day with the light on.

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Please do not try to drive the car when the Low Fuel light on if you can.

I've had a fuel pump failed (clogged up) when I was driving the car with the Low Fuel light ON. The car was still running when I arrived at the gas station and filled up. Tried to start the car after filling it up and it started but then died. I tried starting the car many times and after 6 re-try then it started fine and we drove home.

 

Tried to start the car the following day and it would not start anymore. It was not getting fuel. I have replaced the fuel filter but that did not fix it. Narrowed it down to a clogged up fuel pump and it has to be replaced and fixed the problem.

 

No matter how high octane your gas is or getting it from a new/clean gas station, sooner or later the gas tank will have dirt inside it an if you let the gas tank low then more concentration of dirt will be sucked in and clogged up the fuel pump.

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The A-#1 reason you are not supposed to run a fuel injected car lower than the theoreticaly 1/2 tank (I know, that's just a pain in the ass) is becasue the fuel pump needs the fuel to keep it cool, the fuel sloshes over it and keeps it cool, when you run it low, you not only threaten the clogged pickup, but you can overheat it. Which makes it --> :evil:

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Well I don't actually do that often but I have once or twice before. Half a tank? I don't care how much a fuel pump is I can't afford to fillup everytime I get gas.

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Half-full or half-empty makes no difference when it comes down to cost. Look at the half mark as being empty, and putting in $10 at a time will really make a difference when it comes to preserving your fuel pump. Not only are they expensive to replace, but they're a PITA to do yourself. Either way, the job sucks. Trust me, trust me, trust me! Make that initial investment of a fillup and keep it above half and never worry if that stupid light works or not. Hell, my '95 doesn't even have one. That could be GM's way of making money on service repairs by having their fuel pumps give up quicker :roll: , I mean, I wouldn't put it past them for a second.

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according to the GM bible for my 94 cutlass 3100, the check gauges light (low fuel light on my dash) comes on with `2 gal left. depending on the condition of your engine thats about 40-50 miles.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My gas light would flicker on and off sometimes, and so would my low coolant light, and my thermostat light. Wouldn't do it with a different IPC. There's a link on the first page of this site that shows how to fix it. It's a common problem with GP Gage clusters.

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My GP's cluster does/did the same. When I had everything out last night I decided to get out the soldering iron and touch up the connections. Haven't driven it yet to see if it's fixed or not. Odd thing though, my cluster had a "delco instruments and displays' repair tag on it, showing repairs done in '96.. You could tell what they had 'repaired' as well, it looked like all they did was touch up a bunch of solder joints.

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