92_rugby_subie Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 So I have been carefully shifting to make my gas reserve last as long as possible until I got gas money from my mom (I know sad isnt it ) But I noticed that I dont have a gas light thats working. The spot is there, I can see it in just the right light, but it never lights up... Proof, heres where my car was last night, and my Loyale came on before this so why isnt my 1986 GL Sedan lighting up? Sorry its blurry, 35 mph was probably not the best time to snap a pic, but its below the E and nothin came on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 It is possible that the fuel gauge may not be indicating the correct fuel level in the tank. As you sure the gauge is accurate? If the gauge is indicating correctly then there could be a possible connection problem to the sensor in the tank to indicate the low level. Those models used a thermistor I believe to turn on the light in the dash when the fuel got real low. When the fuel level went below the sensor it would heat up and change resistance to a lower amount and turn on the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 In the Legacys I've owned the light is always really good. Comes on at about 2 gal left. In my GL..... I've never seen the light. And I'm known for running so low on gas my engine starts to stall if I go up a hill or accelerate. heh. As you said, it has to do with no money. In my gl I've had the gas gauge pretty darn far below E. Put in 15 gal. which leads me to believe the light is broken. Next time you fill up fill ALL the way up, it's a 15.9 gal tank. Then you can see how close you were to the end. PS. I'm jealous that you have a working speedometer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 suppose there is rust in the rear quarter cargo hold. I had a problem with my yellow light, and the problem was a corroded wire where the sender harness passes thru the cargo hold, under the metal plate. This is where the plug is for the sender unit, it's a good place to check out for trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Responsible Jon Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Interestingly enough, the gas light in my 82 Brat works correctly, even if the gas gauge is showing a false high reading because of my headlights and fan being on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 Both tail-lights do leak, so I suppose rust in the back is probably likely.... My speedometer works, but is a few off cuz of the bigger tires... Im told at 60, Im going 58.24 so... yea lol, I was going ~ 35 lol. I only put $20 in it so I dont really know how much I had used, I hope to not take it low like that again, I know its bad for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 The light for low fuel actually has nothing to do with the gauge. It is a separate thermistor in the fuel tank. The fuel keeps it coll until exposed. Once exposed, it heats up and the resistance changes (drops) allowing current to flow and the light comes on. I the light is not coming on, there's only a few things it can be. The thermistor is open. A quick ohms check on the correct wires at the tank will show this. There is no power to the thermistor. Voltage check on the correct wires. The light is burnt out. The circuit from the thermistor to the bulb is open. Ohms check again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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