Fuel Guage

[Bubba]

does anyone know when the fuel needle gets down near the red how far you have left in the tank...roughly?

im kinda skint so my fuel is getting very low.

[Jack]

Not wise to run it too far into the red, you risk sucking dirt up from the tank (especially so if you fill up with cheapo supermarket fuel), clogging the filter up, and fuel starvation when cornering.

[Leeboo]

Lol, you can go quite far into the red. I regularly run right down to the bottom of the red section. I've never had starvation on corners etc.

I reckon, when you hit the highest point of the red section, you have another 20-30 miles. I've never let the car run out, but I've went a long time in the red.

[Philsutton]

Trusting a nova fuel guage is massive school boy error, they vary so much.

[Spudly]

As above, theyre compulsive liars, my old 1.4 used to test the fuel light itself as they do when you fire it up so i always assumed it worked, driving along one day on the way to the fuel shop with not much fuel left but no light on i assumed i was fine, err no ran out in the middle of a busy road just at the peak of the dinner hour rush!
Oh how silly did i feel!:cry:

[Nova_Tek]

hmm IIRC when I drained my tank to fit my new sender I stuck in about 4 - 5 litres of fuel from one jerry can. I checked my guage and it showed the needle just starting to move off the rest pin on the dial and it came to the start of the red zone.

I then stuck in the rest which was another 10 litres from 2 more full jerry cans and it showed just under half (MK2 fuel guage) so its not quite a linear measurement. On the safe side if we say the red zone is 1 gallon then thats a decent estimate.

Most cars probably have a bit more then a gallon when in the red but you dont wanna chance it too much. just stick a fiver in there mate from morrisons or ASDA if you're strapped for cash ast least you got some in there.

And yeah not good letting it run dry, any poo in the tank will be poo in the fuel system.

[Bubba]

i never trust fuel needles. my cav once had the light just ping on, i had to drive 8 miles to get fuel and i ran out on the forecourt. Trip computer said i had 35 lol

[Mike]

Mine lasted about 2 miles on the red lol

[Adam]

When i fitted a brand new tank and put 5L in out of a can it took the gauge to about mid way/near the far end of the red section. So id say the red section is about 5L in terms of fuel.
I never let mine get into the red if i can help it, just incase the gauge is actually slightly wrong(which knowing a nova, it is)

When the light comes on, if you cant see a petrol station in the distance, you're basically f**ked lol, as theres about 50p of petrol left

[Mike]

Corsa's are where its at for being on red lol ive done 38mile so far with the fuel light on :D

[MK999]

mine is about £10 worth from top of the red to 1/2 tank, and £10 to near empty to just over 1/4... so i assumed it could take £40 worth of fuel, i found out when i tried to stick £30 in (long trip, usually stays low enough to not be lugging around fuel for no reason) on a 1/4 full tank that this was not the case when it started pissing out after £25 went in, turned it on and the fuel guage sat on the needle stop lol

[Adam]

They hold 42L, so about the same in money.
The pump should click off before it overfills though.

The gauges do go wayyy off the scale, i put £30 in (29L) when it was just about touching the edge of the red and the needle now sits over the max mark.... Lol

[MK999]

Strange, maybe there was just a bit of an airlock in the entry tube and it spurted up a bit :confused: but it should release pressure through the pipe that leads to the carbon canister afaik... dunno what happened there then. Was just surprised at the way it was linear until halfway and then it decided £15 was looooads of fuel and went bonkers lol

[Bubba]

When the light comes on, if you cant see a petrol station in the distance, you're basically f**ked lol, as theres about 50p of petrol left

fuel light :wtf: iv never seen a fuel light lol. maybe the bulbs broken :eek:

[Jack]

Not all Nova dials have a fuel light.

Heh, I remember running out of fuel in the Celica once. Had quarter of a tank at Cribbs Causeway, thought ahhh thats plenty to get to Cheltenham (bear in mind this was the first time I'd been there so didn't know how far it was). As soon as I got on the M5 all my fuel seemed to just vapourise. Managed to make it into Cheltenham, and literally rolled onto the Shell forecourt lol The mrs, who was in her car in front, wondered where the hell I'd gone :D

I have run out once since then but that was when my gauge sender broke so I thought I still had quarter tank, whoops lol I reset the trip counter each time I fill up and go by that these days, but I usually will refuel before touching the red.

[Leeboo]

Yeah Nova fuel gauges go way past the highest 'nick' on the gauge.

If you fill your Nova, the needle moves very very slowly at first, then plummets when you fall below the highest nick. Makes you think you're gonna get like 400 miles to a tank, then crushes your dreams!