Low fuel warning light

[Martyn]

Finally saw it today after years of ownership!

I thought it didn't work as you have to play chicken with the fuel gauge for many miles before it finally glows.

Even then I could only squeeze 60 litres into a ( nominal ) 70 litre tank,

I know the arguments against driving down to the last drop, but what's the furthest anybody's made it with the light glowing on a supposedly "empty" tank?

 

[NSXDreamer2]

The only argument is that when you running near empty tank and going through a corner fast, you my "starved" your engine, same goes to hard braking and stuff...

Don't ask me why...

please don't flame me, I didn't find this out from my nsx, but it's quite a lesson...

 

[NeoNSX]

I've heard that going to the last drop is bad for the engine because dirty & crap resides at the bottom of the fuel tank, and that starts feeding into the engine when you get low.

but i've always had my doubts about this theory... would love someone to prove or disprove it either way.

 

[apapada]

I've heard that going to the last drop is bad for the engine because dirty & crap resides at the bottom of the fuel tank, and that starts feeding into the engine when you get low.

but i've always had my doubts about this theory... would love someone to prove or disprove it either way.

In theory, you have a fuel filter to prevent those impurities to ever reach your injectors and causing them to operate erratically. Also, even if the impurities never reach the injectors, too many impurities can represent a bottleneck at the filter level, starving the engine from fuel and causing it to run lean at WOT.

 

[W]

I know the arguments against driving down to the last drop, but what's the furthest anybody's made it with the light glowing on a supposedly "empty" tank?

The largest fill-up I've ever had in the NSX was 16.8 gallons. The furthest I've ever driven between fillups is 430 miles.

 

[BladesNSX]

Hmm...You know I don't think I have ever seen my "low fuel" idiot indicator light up. I assumed it was broken. I have actually heard that it is best to keep your gas tank no less than half way full. Supposedly this is good for your fuel injection system.

I have no idea how or why..

Enter the engine savvy folks

Ken, Sjs?

 

[calexand]

Another reason I have heard it is bad to run your fuel down so low is that the fuel pump is usually relying on being totally submerged to run without strain, and on the fuel around it cooling it. So if you get too low, you may be letting the pump get too hot and/or working it harder.

Chip

 

[nsxtasy]

Hmm...You know I don't think I have ever see my "low fuel" idiot indicator light up. I assumed it was broken.

Most NSX owners have not seen their low fuel warning light because they have never let their gas tank get that empty. As noted in the FAQ here, the warning light goes on when there is roughly 2.7 gallons remaining in the tank. With an 18.6 gallon tank, that means that you must use 15.9 gallons of fuel from a full tank before the light goes on. If you've never seen it go on, you've probably never filled it with more than 15.9 gallons. (At the point when the light goes on, the needle on the fuel gauge is below "E".)

 

[apapada]

Another reason I have heard it is bad to run your fuel down so low is that the fuel pump is usually relying on being totally submerged to run without strain, and on the fuel around it cooling it. So if you get too low, you may be letting the pump get too hot and/or working it harder.

Chip

This is true for fuel pumps that are submerged. Unless I'm mistaken however, some vehicles have the pump(s) outside of the gas tank, but I do not know if this is the case or not for the NSX.

 

[Whatwasthat]

We have fuel warning lights?

All those years and I never even knew the car had a low fuel warning light!!!!

I even remember looking for it awhile back, because I was in some rural area and was worried about finding a gas station. I was wondering if the car even had a light to warn me... but u know its hard to see the indicators if they're not lit.