Ran out of Fuel - consequences?
Discussion
Greetings one and all
Travelling back from Birmingham to Sheffield on Saturday night in my S1 111S I managed to run out of petrol ' somewhere ' on the A38. The Refill had not been on for very long and I was sure I would find a station but didn't. Having looked in the Archives I now know that the fuel gauges are something less than accurate and will fill up earlier in future. The AA sent a recovery guy out who managed to get about half of what he'd brought in the tank and half down the bodywork (doh) . He then lead me to the nearest station where I filled up and resumed my journey. Managing to get spectacularly lost almost as soon as I said I had understood his instructions I proceeded to drive around Sutton Coldfield trying to find my way out for much longer than I really would have liked. Eventually I found the A38 and as the early morning dawn was good I just tootled all the way home via Matlock / Bakewell just enjoying the scenery and sticking well within the speed limits. Only when I got back to Sheffield and encountered a car doing about 20 in a 40 did I ' boot it ' to overtake. On doing so there was a kind of bang and the car faltered badly as if it had gone to two or three cylinders. I pulled over to the side of the road where the car stalled. By the time I'd scratched my chin a bit and contemplated HGF, at the first attempt the car restarted and all seems well.
I was lucky that this happened when the roads were quiet and the overtaking manoeuvre was not critical, but in other circumstances it could have been very unpleasant.
To summarise -
When I ran out of petrol the MIL light came on.
After refuelling the car ran fine but I didn't give it any serious acceleration until the overtaking.
At the time of the attempted overtaking the temp was stable at 87, suggesting that the cooling was in order and that HGF is not the cause.
After this the car started and ran fine, the coolant level is also fine and the oil is clean.
The MIL light did not come on at the time the car stalled.
Anyone any idea what has happened here?
Not being hugely experienced I wonder whether it has anything to do with the MIL light? Should I have re set anything - something to do with 5 prods of the gas pedal?
Could it be that running out of petrol has sucked some dirt into the fuel filter and if so would this only become apparent during ( attempted ) rapid acceleration?
Thanks
Basil
Travelling back from Birmingham to Sheffield on Saturday night in my S1 111S I managed to run out of petrol ' somewhere ' on the A38. The Refill had not been on for very long and I was sure I would find a station but didn't. Having looked in the Archives I now know that the fuel gauges are something less than accurate and will fill up earlier in future. The AA sent a recovery guy out who managed to get about half of what he'd brought in the tank and half down the bodywork (doh) . He then lead me to the nearest station where I filled up and resumed my journey. Managing to get spectacularly lost almost as soon as I said I had understood his instructions I proceeded to drive around Sutton Coldfield trying to find my way out for much longer than I really would have liked. Eventually I found the A38 and as the early morning dawn was good I just tootled all the way home via Matlock / Bakewell just enjoying the scenery and sticking well within the speed limits. Only when I got back to Sheffield and encountered a car doing about 20 in a 40 did I ' boot it ' to overtake. On doing so there was a kind of bang and the car faltered badly as if it had gone to two or three cylinders. I pulled over to the side of the road where the car stalled. By the time I'd scratched my chin a bit and contemplated HGF, at the first attempt the car restarted and all seems well.
I was lucky that this happened when the roads were quiet and the overtaking manoeuvre was not critical, but in other circumstances it could have been very unpleasant.
To summarise -
When I ran out of petrol the MIL light came on.
After refuelling the car ran fine but I didn't give it any serious acceleration until the overtaking.
At the time of the attempted overtaking the temp was stable at 87, suggesting that the cooling was in order and that HGF is not the cause.
After this the car started and ran fine, the coolant level is also fine and the oil is clean.
The MIL light did not come on at the time the car stalled.
Anyone any idea what has happened here?
Not being hugely experienced I wonder whether it has anything to do with the MIL light? Should I have re set anything - something to do with 5 prods of the gas pedal?
Could it be that running out of petrol has sucked some dirt into the fuel filter and if so would this only become apparent during ( attempted ) rapid acceleration?
Thanks
Basil
Treason its 'bad' to run out of fuel in a modern car is because unburnt fuel will end up lying in the cat which can damage it.
I'm guessing when the exhaust got to running temperature this unburnt fuel ignited causing the bang and most likely sending a few of the sensors crazy signals for a few moments.
I reckon worst case you have reduced the life of your catalytic converter.
I'm guessing when the exhaust got to running temperature this unburnt fuel ignited causing the bang and most likely sending a few of the sensors crazy signals for a few moments.
I reckon worst case you have reduced the life of your catalytic converter.
The fuel pump uses the fuel as a coolant and a lubricant.
If you run out of fuel it is possible to overheat the pump and cause some distortion of the internals.
For assurance that the pump is ok (but maybe with shortened lifespan) you would have a fuel delivery test performed.
The exhaust pop could be related to a poorly performing pump , but is more likely to be unburnt fuel or a weak plug wire under load causing a brief rich misfire from the brief no-spark condition.
If performance does not noticeably deteriorate in the next week you should be ok.
Check that:
1, pump delivery is to spec.
2, plugs are good.
3, Resistance of plug wires is to spec.
m
If you run out of fuel it is possible to overheat the pump and cause some distortion of the internals.
For assurance that the pump is ok (but maybe with shortened lifespan) you would have a fuel delivery test performed.
The exhaust pop could be related to a poorly performing pump , but is more likely to be unburnt fuel or a weak plug wire under load causing a brief rich misfire from the brief no-spark condition.
If performance does not noticeably deteriorate in the next week you should be ok.
Check that:
1, pump delivery is to spec.
2, plugs are good.
3, Resistance of plug wires is to spec.
m
Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff