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charlie croker
Member
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Posted: Monday April 10th, 2006 08:30 pm |
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Hi all
I have 1997 1.3 mpi, when the fuel tank is full 34 liters the gauge reads full but when the gauge reads empty there is approx 13/14 liters left in the tank. Is this a common fault?
Many thanks
Ian
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Shaun Cronin
MCR Member
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Posted: Monday May 1st, 2006 04:01 pm |
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Ian,
I have a 2000 model year Cooper Sportspack and my fuel guage is exactly the same! I even put in a new tank sender unit at a cost of £50 but to no avail. I just do about 200 miles and fill it up again, miles and maths are more reliable than a mini fuel guage!
Shaun
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Andrew1967
MCR Member
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Posted: Monday May 1st, 2006 08:59 pm |
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Hi Ian and Shaun
I thought this problem only applied to ageing Mini's, as my Mini 30 does exactly the same as your cars. Obviously this is not the case??!!
If you get to the bottom of it, please let me know 
regards
Andrew
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charlie croker
Member
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Posted: Wednesday May 3rd, 2006 08:16 pm |
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Someone on another forum has suggested the following fix:
You have to run the car down until the fuel level is below where the sender unit is in the tank. Then take the sender unit out, and syphon the petrol out until the tank is empty..
Then pour in approx 4 or 5 litres of fuel, and can then (using trial and error) bend the float arm on the sender unit, so the gauge reads just on the empty mark on the gauge. Then refit the sender unit locking ring again.
This will give you more 'resolution' around the lower gauge readings, at the expense of accuracy/resolution at higher readings..
I haven't tried it yet as I haven't had the time, but it seems to make sense. Will let you know if it works.
Ian
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hanlminiman
MCR Member
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Posted: Wednesday May 3rd, 2006 09:13 pm |
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I agree with Shaun. 200 miles per tank, stop have a rest and carry on.
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hanlminiman
MCR Member
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Posted: Wednesday May 3rd, 2006 09:13 pm |
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| I agree with Shaun. 200 miles per tank, stop have a rest and carry on.
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Andrew1967
MCR Member
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Posted: Wednesday May 3rd, 2006 09:26 pm |
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Hi Ian,
Be interesting to hear if it works and certainly worth a try especially if a new sender won't cure the problem.
Typical example of the inaccurate read out on my 30. Today the gauge was almost on empty, put in 15 litres of fuel and the gauge is now just under full!!!
I suppose one good thing is that at least there is more fuel in the tank than the gauge admits to rather than saying it has more than there actually is!!!
Good luck with the experiment Ian!
Andrew
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jamesquintin
Member
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Posted: Monday May 8th, 2006 09:13 pm |
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Hi all
Same on my car! I think the guage is marked diferently because they warn you about running out of petrol on cars with catalists...
On my old Mini City E i used to wait until the float was hittin the bottom of the tank before i filled up! (ah the student days)
Laters
JQ
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craig 1010cc
Member
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Posted: Monday October 16th, 2006 05:29 pm |
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All of my minis have done this (my latest only uses about 14 ltrs before its on empty). I've only ever had 1 that read right and that as a 2nd hand sender I fitted in my 1st mini after the original failed (it caought me out as well as I had got so used to there being 30 miles or so left when it hit the bottom of the gauge i ran out!!). The only thing I did was to make sure that the float was totally empty of perol.
Bending the arm would work well, but would carry a can of fuel just in case
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hanlminiman
MCR Member
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Posted: Monday October 16th, 2006 06:36 pm |
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| It is not a unique fault as my 1997 mpi is the same. I agree with the 200 mile rule and follow it.
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charlie croker
Member
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Posted: Tuesday October 17th, 2006 07:39 pm |
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Hi all
The modification is to remove the float and bend it so you have 5 ltrs in the tank on empty . trial and error! dont forget to empty the tank first.
Ian
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99Cooper
Member
| Joined: | Saturday November 18th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 26 |
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Posted: Saturday November 18th, 2006 03:25 pm |
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| My 1999 Cooper MPi is the same! I thought it was just me, but obviously not! The most i've got in from "empty" on the gauge is about £15 (at around 85p/litre) - how much should I fit in there?! Last edited on Tuesday November 21st, 2006 08:03 pm by 99Cooper |
Tom
MCR Member
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Posted: Sunday November 19th, 2006 10:06 am |
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I read somewhere that if you let the fuel run down until the tank is almost empty [a good trick I know] then fill it to the brim, the fuel sensor [did not know that I had one] will learn to read the fuel level correctly. All sounds like it might also help to sprinkle fairy dust on it as well. Worth a try.
regards
Tom
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charlie croker
Member
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Posted: Monday November 20th, 2006 01:03 pm |
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The only fix is to empty the tank remove the sender and bend the float rod a little bit,then replace the sender and fill with 5 ltrs. The idea is to get the gauge on the red line with 5ltrs fuel in the tank.You dont need to buy a new sender unless th old one is broken,if a new sender is required you can get one from Ben van leeuwen in the Netherlands ,with the modifcation,so you have nothing to do only fit the new sender.
Ian
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jonathan
MCR Member
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Posted: Monday November 20th, 2006 09:23 pm |
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| I've not had my MPi very long and only filled it up once. I've done about 200 miles and the tank appears to be nearly empty. Maybe I should run it dry and see how many miles it can really do before it's empty. Ahhh, those student days!
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taffy1967
Member
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Posted: Tuesday November 21st, 2006 02:56 pm |
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That might not be such a good idea considering you have a catalytic converter.
Still I imagine the fuel filter will prevent the nasty stuff reaching your fuel injection system and your engine will simply cut-out?
I also imagine you'll then have to reset the ignition cut-out switch after filling with petrol too?
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hawaiianblue
Member
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Posted: Saturday June 2nd, 2007 07:08 pm |
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I've run mine out a couple of times, it hasnt harmed the cat.
I've also removed the float and 'calibrated' it, the gauge works fine now.
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jonathan
MCR Member
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Posted: Saturday June 2nd, 2007 07:41 pm |
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how did you calibrate the float?
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hawaiianblue
Member
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Posted: Saturday June 2nd, 2007 07:57 pm |
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Same as above really, drained the tank (via the fuel filter union on a ramp)
put a couple of litres in then removed the sender and bent the float arm down bit by bit until it was just showing empty on the fuel gauge.
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MiniGTR
Member
| Joined: | Saturday November 10th, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 7 |
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Posted: Saturday November 10th, 2007 01:40 pm |
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I just let mine run until the gauge is reading below empty for a bit, then fill her up again .... works fine till that one time I was going up a fairly long hill .......
Still, always drive with spare 5 litres in the boot now !
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