Fluctuating fuel gauges
Discussion
Is anyone else having problems with their fuel gauge? Mine fills up to 38L, stays there for an eternity and then when it drops the readout fluctuates constantly by up to 10L. This obviously makes it near on impossible to work out how much you've actually got left. I had to stop twice to fill up today because it was reading zero one minute and then 11L the next and I didn't want to run out.
Is mine broken are they all dodgy?
Is mine broken are they all dodgy?
I have the same problem. I think once the fuel drops it sloshes about in the tank and produces the wide rang of readings. I tend to stop on the flat and let it settle down a bit to try and get a "true" reading, but like you I'm not very trusting of it and tend to fill up just in case.
When I sold my TVR I thought that would be the last time I ever heard a garage say " They all do that sir".
With the Atom that's true - except for the damned fuel gauge.
Tom... They all do that. I'm sure Simon's working on it. In the meantime, you can work out the average mpg and go by the trip meter.
With the Atom that's true - except for the damned fuel gauge.
Tom... They all do that. I'm sure Simon's working on it. In the meantime, you can work out the average mpg and go by the trip meter.
As some of you know, my Mk1 car had a wiring fault affecting the feed to the fuel pump, a side-effect of which was that the fuel gauge worked perfectly! The wiring has since been fixed ...and the fuel gauge has now returned to reading complete garbage!!
One useful trick is to take a calculator with you on any long trips where you think you may have to refuel. There should be a button labelled "Ran#". Press this, and multiply by 10. If it gives a number greater than 5, then it means you need to refuel the car. A number less than 5, and you've got at least another 30 miles in the tank. A number greater than 10 and it means the car's about to overheat.
Andy
One useful trick is to take a calculator with you on any long trips where you think you may have to refuel. There should be a button labelled "Ran#". Press this, and multiply by 10. If it gives a number greater than 5, then it means you need to refuel the car. A number less than 5, and you've got at least another 30 miles in the tank. A number greater than 10 and it means the car's about to overheat.
Andy
Yeah, I'd just forget about relying on the fuel guage - it would be better to replace it with something useful like a clock.
Better just to work out an average mpg, zero your meter each time you fill up and fill up sooner rather than later.
Seems like I get about 30 mpg from my 245 under road use (while I'm running it in anyhow). I'd expect that to drop to about 25mpg once I'm driving a bit harder.
How big is the tank on the Mark 2 anyhow? Ariel's site says 60 ltr which should allow about 300miles easily on a single tank but I'm sure it's not that large!
I fill up about every 200 miles. On trackdays, I'd top up from a Jerry can every couple of sessions.
Better just to work out an average mpg, zero your meter each time you fill up and fill up sooner rather than later.
Seems like I get about 30 mpg from my 245 under road use (while I'm running it in anyhow). I'd expect that to drop to about 25mpg once I'm driving a bit harder.
How big is the tank on the Mark 2 anyhow? Ariel's site says 60 ltr which should allow about 300miles easily on a single tank but I'm sure it's not that large!
I fill up about every 200 miles. On trackdays, I'd top up from a Jerry can every couple of sessions.
Mk2 tanks are standard 40 litres I believe.
The Mk1 cars are 25 litres - I can confirm that, as mine ran out just as I pulled up at the Nurburgring - and it took bang on 25 litres.
With the Mk1, normal road use will give you about 110 miles to a tank, motorway use at a constant 80 (hypothetically of course...) gives you about 120 miles to a tank. On a track, you'll get in the region of 65 - 85 miles to a tank if driven enthusiastically, though if its a circuit with any fast left handers, you'll want to be filling up after about 50 miles or so, otherwise you'll start to notice fuel starvation because of the way the pickups were mounted on early cars.
A 20 litre Jerry can fits nicely in the passenger footwell, and doesn't bounce out under normal road use. The metal 5 litre Jerry cans also fit nicely behind the seat if you have the seat fairly well forward - I took 30 litres of extra fuel to the 'ring, just in case.
>> Edited by atom120 on Monday 6th June 12:30
The Mk1 cars are 25 litres - I can confirm that, as mine ran out just as I pulled up at the Nurburgring - and it took bang on 25 litres.
With the Mk1, normal road use will give you about 110 miles to a tank, motorway use at a constant 80 (hypothetically of course...) gives you about 120 miles to a tank. On a track, you'll get in the region of 65 - 85 miles to a tank if driven enthusiastically, though if its a circuit with any fast left handers, you'll want to be filling up after about 50 miles or so, otherwise you'll start to notice fuel starvation because of the way the pickups were mounted on early cars.
A 20 litre Jerry can fits nicely in the passenger footwell, and doesn't bounce out under normal road use. The metal 5 litre Jerry cans also fit nicely behind the seat if you have the seat fairly well forward - I took 30 litres of extra fuel to the 'ring, just in case.
>> Edited by atom120 on Monday 6th June 12:30
ran my Mk 1 out of fuel second day I had it. Gary at Big Thunder had forgotten to tell me that when the guage said 9l it meant the tank was empty. Since then I have noticed the litlle petrol pump flashes below about 13l, but since it is only about 3mm high its not very noticable. [Not like VW, which yells refuel now dumkopf when the range drops below 50 miles.] My experience on range is petty much the same as Andy's.
Andrew
Andrew
My big thunder car has a 25 lt tank and will do about 130 miles on a 70 and a bit mph motorway run.
I was thinking on the way down to the Haynes track day that the fuel economy did not seem as good as it should be. I reckon the reason is this.
i) The Big Thunder cars do not have the standard ECU fitted, rather they have a Pectel device that provides traction control, amongst other things.
ii) When the new ECU was fitted a new engine map would have been created or an off the shelf one installed, since Pectel ECUs are for race cars it is unlikely that this map would have been created with fuel economy in mind, more likely to be set up for performance.
I have tried to get hold of the Pectel software to confirm this, but it is £300 and I am not that fussed ! An ex colleague has access to it but I don't see him that often, needless to say I will post my findings here if I ever sort it out.
Ben
I was thinking on the way down to the Haynes track day that the fuel economy did not seem as good as it should be. I reckon the reason is this.
i) The Big Thunder cars do not have the standard ECU fitted, rather they have a Pectel device that provides traction control, amongst other things.
ii) When the new ECU was fitted a new engine map would have been created or an off the shelf one installed, since Pectel ECUs are for race cars it is unlikely that this map would have been created with fuel economy in mind, more likely to be set up for performance.
I have tried to get hold of the Pectel software to confirm this, but it is £300 and I am not that fussed ! An ex colleague has access to it but I don't see him that often, needless to say I will post my findings here if I ever sort it out.
Ben
Yeah, the ECU programme probably has a fair bit to do with it as well. Mine used the standard Rover ECU (118bhp) and in general road use, it did almost 40mpg most of the time.
I had a lot of problems with the Rover ECU though - must have had about 4 of them on mine in the end - I think part of the problem was the reliably of the connector to the ECU as much as anything else though.
I had a lot of problems with the Rover ECU though - must have had about 4 of them on mine in the end - I think part of the problem was the reliably of the connector to the ECU as much as anything else though.
Big Thunder told me that the ECU was set up to give max power throughout the rev range and that is why my car is a b@st@rd to start from cold and is so willing to stall until warm. Thee ECU must have had the flexibility of a stock unit dialled out of it. It also has a completely different wiring loom. Toby told me in January that they still had then the old units and looms.
jensen-healey said:
Big Thunder told me that the ECU was set up to give max power throughout the rev range
Would explain why the Big Thunder 120s hold up so well against the newer Honda machinery on track. Daz said that he doesn't actually think the new 160s at Brunters are much quicker, if at all, when compared to the old 120s!
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