RR low fuel question

RR P38, 4.6. This has happened twice now, and has got me wondering:

When running on an almost empty tank (but with some left according to the
fuel gauge), the engine has started to lose power. The more I put my foot
down, the slower it goes, but if I ease off to a light throttle it seems to
drive as normal. Putting petrol in cures the problem. So far, so normal -
running out of petrol, been there, done that. However...

When I have run out of petrol in other vehicles, the engine has lost power,
started to splutter and kangaroo, and then stopped within a few hundred
metres. In both cases with the RR, the loss of power has been gradual and
predictable (i.e. no spluttering), and I have been able to travel several
miles before stopping to fill up - although at low throttle openings and
moderate speeds. It's almost as if cylinders are cutting out one by one as
the fuel gets lower.

Typical of the RR - it even runs out of fuel in a civilised way! In both
cases it was reassuring - once was on a fast unlit A-road after dark, towing
the Series on a trailer, and once was on a motorway in between service
areas - as it gave me enough time to get to a safe place to refuel.

Is this a cunning plot by LR to avoid sh*gging the catalysers, a feature of
modern fuel injection systems, or just "one of those things"? The fuel
gauge was replaced under warranty less than a year ago, but it must be
faulty at the bottom end, as it was not reading empty, although from the
amount it took to fill it, it had only 5 or 6 litres left on each occasion.
Most gauges would be reading empty long before that.

Any thoughts?

--

Rich

Series 2a
RR 4.6
V8 trialler
dog, wife, kids, whatever

In message <[email protected]>
"Richard Brookman" <[email protected]> wrote:

> RR P38, 4.6. This has happened twice now, and has got me wondering:
>
> When running on an almost empty tank (but with some left according to the
> fuel gauge), the engine has started to lose power. The more I put my foot
> down, the slower it goes, but if I ease off to a light throttle it seems to
> drive as normal. Putting petrol in cures the problem. So far, so normal -
> running out of petrol, been there, done that. However...
>
> When I have run out of petrol in other vehicles, the engine has lost power,
> started to splutter and kangaroo, and then stopped within a few hundred
> metres. In both cases with the RR, the loss of power has been gradual and
> predictable (i.e. no spluttering), and I have been able to travel several
> miles before stopping to fill up - although at low throttle openings and
> moderate speeds. It's almost as if cylinders are cutting out one by one as
> the fuel gets lower.
>
> Typical of the RR - it even runs out of fuel in a civilised way! In both
> cases it was reassuring - once was on a fast unlit A-road after dark, towing
> the Series on a trailer, and once was on a motorway in between service
> areas - as it gave me enough time to get to a safe place to refuel.
>
> Is this a cunning plot by LR to avoid sh*gging the catalysers, a feature of
> modern fuel injection systems, or just "one of those things"? The fuel
> gauge was replaced under warranty less than a year ago, but it must be
> faulty at the bottom end, as it was not reading empty, although from the
> amount it took to fill it, it had only 5 or 6 litres left on each occasion.
> Most gauges would be reading empty long before that.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
It sounds as though the enigne management systems is just doings
its job, i.e. keeping the engine running as best it can under
the circumstances, only giving up when there really is no fuel.

Richard
--
www.beamends-lrspares.co.uk [email protected]
Running a business in a Microsoft free environment - it can be done
Powered by Risc-OS - you won't get a virus from us!!
Helping keep Land Rovers on and off the road to annoy the Lib Dems

"beamendsltd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:364346fb4c%[email protected]...
> It sounds as though the enigne management systems is just doings
> its job, i.e. keeping the engine running as best it can under
> the circumstances, only giving up when there really is no fuel.
>
> Richard
> --
> www.beamends-lrspares.co.uk [email protected]

How old is it? Have you checked the fuel pick up lines.

Similar symptoms on a diesel manifested when the fuel pickup line from the
tank sucked air in but not a big enough hole to leak fluid out. I expect
petrol may week out sooner.

Gets worse when the tank is low as it takes more effort to suck the fuel up
the pipe.

probably no where near the mark but worthy of consideration all the same.

Mine was a 1990 Rangie.

Lee D
--

www.lrproject.com

Workshop photos from Landrover repairs
& other such tinkerings.
Home of Percy the Jag powered Landrover

On or around Sat, 9 Oct 2004 16:19:48 +0000 (UTC), "Richard Brookman"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>RR P38, 4.6. This has happened twice now, and has got me wondering:
>
>Is this a cunning plot by LR to avoid sh*gging the catalysers, a feature of
>modern fuel injection systems, or just "one of those things"? The fuel
>gauge was replaced under warranty less than a year ago, but it must be
>faulty at the bottom end, as it was not reading empty, although from the
>amount it took to fill it, it had only 5 or 6 litres left on each occasion.
>Most gauges would be reading empty long before that.

I'd love it to be a cunning device so that when you've only got about 5
litres of fuel left it switches to maximum-economy mode... but I suspect
there's a more mundane reason, somewhere.

FWIW, the gas systems run out like this - you gradually lose power until
it'll only run at idle, and eventually it stops, 'cept that by then you've
normally switched to petrol.