Gas gauge fail???

Powerman04 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 19, 2010 10:43 pm

OK so I'm driving down the road and my low fuel light comes on. I didn't think much of it until I filled up. I put 13.605 gallons (i have receipts) in the tank. That set off a flag already in my head as too early for the light to start bugging me. I checked my last fill up and it was 14.929 gallons, and I have never had the light come on until tonight.

So am I wrong to think it's strange that the low fuel light would come on now but not any of my other trips, and when the tank still has more in it? I was on level ground and driving straight when this happened. Any suggestions would be great, thanks.

MikeD0106 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 19, 2010 11:08 pm

Mine has come on that early before. It's also come on when I've needed over 15 gallons.

I have pretty consistent driving habits so I judge my fills based on the mileage. I've also made it a habit to fill up at the end of my work week & try not to let it get below 1/4 tank anymore.

LibertyFever · **Posted:** Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:02 am

When you fill up at the gas stations does your gas gauge actually reach full?
My 04 Liberty Sport has a similar problem most of the time when I fill up it the gas gauge needle doesn't reach "F". Most often I do fill up when it reaches empty but I have driven long after the Low Fuel light came on.

I suspect that both of us have either a bad ground or electrical connection at the fuel sender unit on the top of the gas tank. Unfortunately the only way to access it is to drop the gas tank and for me it's not worth all that much bother.

Powerman04 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:13 pm

Well after a day of driving I do admit that the gauge is going toward E a lot quicker then usual. I even made it a point to start slowing down to see the MPG gains. :juggle:

I had no traffic on this tank so far, mostly highway doing no more then 72. Other times was back-roads.

When I did fill up, the gauge did seen to be a tad lower then normal, but I really didn't think much of it. I never top-off on gas so where the pump stops is all it gets filled. I assume each is the same but that's a big assumption now that I think about it. I also found an earlier post that you did about this, so I'm really hoping other people fess up.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:04 pm

The fuel level sender or gauge can be going bad,but your gauge is only a level guide and not 100% accurate(none are) and the low fuel level light is designed to come on when you still have some gas left(can vary) so you do not burnout the fuel pump which can happen easily when the pump is no longer submersed in fuel(which cools it).

LibertyFever · **Posted:** Wed Apr 21, 2010 5:33 am

Checkout what I found when I Googled "Jeep Liberty gas tank";
http://www.jeep4x4center.com/jeep-fuel-system-parts/liberty.htm

I even found a write up on how to drop the tank;
http://www.auerbach.ca/kj/lift_pump/

There's a procedure in the FSM to test the fuel sending unit. I'll PM you with the details.

scoobysnax · **Posted:** Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:15 pm

I think I still have about 3 to 4 gal left of fuel when the gas light comes on. My EVIC has shown "0 miles to empty" and I've still gone another 32 miles at which point the fuel line was right on "E" or just below it. When I filled up I was only able to able to put 17.something gal into it (and I have a 19.5 gal tank.)

jnaut · **Posted:** Tue Apr 27, 2010 11:33 pm

Powerman04 wrote:

OK so I'm driving down the road and my low fuel light comes on. I didn't think much of it until I filled up. I put 13.605 gallons (i have receipts) in the tank. That set off a flag already in my head as too early for the light to start bugging me. I checked my last fill up and it was 14.929 gallons, and I have never had the light come on until tonight.

So am I wrong to think it's strange that the low fuel light would come on now but not any of my other trips, and when the tank still has more in it? I was on level ground and driving straight when this happened. Any suggestions would be great, thanks.

This topic has come up on other forums before. It seems the KJ fuel light is a little 'fast and loose'. According to my manual, the fuel light comes on when there is "approximately 2.7 U.S. Gallons". There seems to be some pretty wide latitude in 'approximately'. My fuel light has come on when I wasn't close to a gas station- and I drove it past the initial fuel light until the gauge was inching below empty, and the sweat was forming on my brow. I've never been able to get more than 16.5 gallons into the tank. I have a 19.5 gallon tank. My guess is my fuel light is coming on when there's at least 5 gallons left in the tank.

Black_Dog · **Posted:** Wed Apr 28, 2010 2:02 pm

I have had problems with the fuel gauge spontaneously failing when about 7/8 full. It would begin working after I burned off another gallon or two of gas (and after I turned the engine on and off). Fixing the sender/pump unit was more money than I wanted to pay so i just lived with it.

The funny thing is that beginning about September last year (at ~70K miles), this failure stopped occurring. The fuel gauge has worked flawlessly. I'm buying gas from the same stations, am refueling at the same intervals, and driving to the same places every day. I don't understand why. But I'm not complaining.

VoodooMann · **Posted:** Wed Apr 28, 2010 11:22 pm

my gas light comes on and I have EXACTLY 28.6 miles until dead.

happened 2 times on the way to gas stations in the middle of BFE.

light comes on.

next exit with a station is 29 miles away. make it to the parking lot and sputtersputtersputtercough.

dead.

28.6 both times.

Gas gauge fail???

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