Chim Fuel Gauge Reading

[Dave Minett]

I have noticed most recently that fuel gauge dial reads quite erratically especially when at the lower end .So in use the gauge falls steadily from full to half but then quite quickly from half to quarter when in real terms it’s almost empty . I know this because on several occasions the car has misfired and upon refilling it’s returned to normal performance. Has anyone had experience of this and has corrected this. I suspect it’s not the gauge but the sender in the tank . Maybe changing this would get some consistency.

[Brithunter]

You gauge sounds pretty normal when compared to mine. The gauge in mins show full then stays full for a lot time then quickly drops and the light comes on (93 Chimaera) in fact at the Burghley Horse Power run did the whole run with the gauge showing empty and light full on. So I try to refill at the 300 mile mark now. She was showing 326 miles when I filled up at Burghley and was not empty. Of course if one if driving harder will need to fill up sooner! But saying that filling up around the 300 mile mark got me safely down through Europe.

[pb450]

I've been driving for over 40 years now and from my early days of car ownership, with less than reliable fuel gauges, I've always used the tripmeter as my fuel gauge. Setting it to zero on each tank fill (I always fill, never just ten quid or whatever, don't see the point.)

You quickly get to know your car's rough fuel consumption and you know the size of your tank. Hay presto, a fuel gauge! As said above, always refill at a certain distance. (My go-to refill mark is around 250 miles. I get nervous at 300.)

So don't worry about an erratic gauge. They're all like that sir! Be thankful it works at all.

[Brithunter]

As am not doing longer trips ATM am just putting a certain amount of monies worth in when the gauge its the empty mark as we know it's not really empty. If I intend to travel further than locally then I'll fill her up. No point carrying around a full tank in my local jaunts.

[pb450]

Fair comment. There is an arguemnt though that the money you save from not carrying the extra fuel around, you lose on multiple visits to the garage forecourt.
In truth though, if you have to worry about such things, you shouldn't be driving a TVR!