out of gas

[Mr Blotto]

This has not been an easy weekend for my bus! First I used my tailpipe as a post hole digger (see No Start-Easy Fix post), then I die on the expressway last night. Cruising at 60 and all of a sudden I lose power and my engine dies. I pull over to the shoulder and eventually get it restarted, but it dies again soon after. My gas gauge is near E, but it has been lower before. I thought it was fuel - either fuel pump or filter. To make a long story short, a half-gallon of gas added and she fires right up (first time in my life I have run out of gas ). So, I assume my gas gauge is getting a little sluggish and that the sender needs to be adjusted??? As I said, it has read lower on the gauge before and I have never had a problem.

Again, a cheap/easy fix....the odds are getting against me....the next issue is sure to be a doooooosey!!!

[weisswurst]

this happened to me in my all original perfectly stock
and Colin approved 7 passenger tintop 82 diesel. (the Currywurst)
Each time (total of 3) the gauge read a little higher when finally
it happened at the 1/2 a tank mark. Just did a new tank, seal kit
and sending unit from bus depot and it's finally accurate.
Also the slurry that came up from the bottom of the tank looked like
a rust milkshake and smelled way nasty so I'm glad I'm not dumping
that into my injectors anymore!
jeff

[TrollFromDownBelow]

I have a "two for one special" kind of gas gauge ... for every one gallon used, it shows I burned two. So when it is at E, I'm actually at a little more than half a tank. However, it is extremely consistent; I can usually tell within 1 MPG what type of mileage I'm getting (of course until it hits E). Must say, it is a bit disconcerting driving on E even when I KNOW it's got plenty of gas. I won't drive more than 175 miles on a tank to ensure I do have plenty of cushion.

[asiab3]

I have a "two for one special" kind of gas gauge ... for every one gallon used, it shows I burned two. So when it is at E, I'm actually at a little more than half a tank. However, it is extremely consistent; I can usually tell within 1 MPG what type of mileage I'm getting (of course until it hits E). Must say, it is a bit disconcerting driving on E even when I KNOW it's got plenty of gas. I won't drive more than 175 miles on a tank to ensure I do have plenty of cushion.

Hey- I gots me one of those too! I usually just start looking for the cheapest station when I see it hit R. I usually take longer trips, so I know what places are better to save a few pennies here or there. One or two times it's been completely out of its pattern and left me stranded or worried that I had a leak. Just fill it up at R and be like "These fine VWs take so little to fill them all the way up"

[SlowLane]

This reminds me of a simiar episode with my first car, a '72 Super Beetle. The poor beast stopped running with the gauge showing over the reserve line. After eventually determining that I had indeed run out of gas and after the obligatory hike to/from the nearest filling station, my friend tried a trick that he had tried with his Beetle. Going into the trunk, he briefly disconnected the sender wire from the gas tank and grounded it. After re-connecting the wire, the gauge read correctly.

Go figure. My best guess is that there must have been some static charge built up in the circuit that was affecting the gauge reading.

[Mr Blotto]

OK - so my gas gauge goes from full to half full rather quick, then it takes forever to get from half full to empty. Does that tell me anything? No way in hell I am diving into the tank now to fix it.....I guess it will be one of those tasks I do when/if I pull the engine.

[yondermtn]

My gauge seems to work from FULL to about HALF and then it drops really quickly to EMPTY. It doesn't ever read between EMPTY and HALF.

[Xelmon]

My gauge doesn't move until the tank is 5 gals down. Then it reads fine for the next 10 gals, and again doesn't read the last 5 gals well.

[SlowLane]

Your best bet at this point might be to figure out how many miles you get on a full tank of gas, then adopt a policy of always filling up the tank and reset the trip odometer when you do.
How close you permit yourself to get to the "almost empty" magic mile number is up to you.