I normally don't go below 1/4 tank of fuel before refueling. I had let the needle get to almost the 1/8th tank mark. Sunday I drove to the dump which is about 5 miles away and as I am almost to the dump, the engine starts surging and losing power. I let off the accelerator and it seems fine. I dumped my junk and then the truck just died! First thing I did is pull off the EZ box. That didn't help. I could get the truck to idle(poorly) but I couldn't move it without it dying. I went to drain the water/fuel seperator and almost nothing comes out. I turn the key on and I can hear the pump pumping. Turns out the guage is reading incorrectly and I was out of fuel!
To top things off, after my buddy shows up in his CTD and we go get fuel, I finally get it started and somehow I lock the keys in the truck while it's running!! Now we had to drive back to my house to get my other keys and drive all the way back to the dump!!


On another note, we drag raced on the way home and he kicked my butt without the EZ box hooked up and he drives a bone stock 01 SO CTD. I think my bigger tires made a big difference. I plugged the box back in and we raced again and I got him this time but I'll admit it wasn't by much... His truck is pretty fast for some reason. It was faster than my 98.5 CTD which had a EZ box on it too......


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Hey Dodgezilla, does your buddy have manual or auto tranny? Most trucks with the manual tranny will beat a auto anyday, unless they miss a gear.

 

How many miles had you driven with the low fuel light on? I usually have 6-8 gallons left when my fuel light comes on.

 

Something to think about. The pump in the tank needs to stay immersed in fuel for cooling. Allowing it to get down to low on a regular basis may shorten the life of the pump.

WHen my light comes on I too seem to have about 6 or so gallons still in the tank. And, I have no idea how many inches of feul are required to keep the pump immersed. I just know that they can run hot if not covered.

Just food for thought.

 

Ah, all other things being equal, the truck with the auto will beat the truck with the manual every time.

 

Ummm... what pump in the tank?

Diesels don't have a pump in the tank... only a strainer/pickup assembly. The fuel is pulled from the tank via the lift pump, which is in the engine compartment.

 

The light never came on!! That's the problem... The needle was in between the 1/8 and 1/4 marks!! The only warning I got was the day before when the truck started to run a little rough at idle but that cleared up and everything seemed fine. I even drove another 20 miles after that. What really sucks was that the fuel pumps were my next stop after the dump.....

My friend's truck is an auto w/ 4:10s and long bed like mine. It is however probably a little lighter than my truck being a 2500 and quad cab which I would assume is a little lighter than the newer 4 door cabs....I also did see a big difference in power when I put the 315s on. My truck was quicker stock before I put the tires on...

 

How cold was it when this happened? Has your low fuel light worked since? Are you sure that you did not gell up?

 

How about "Algae"?
That might be floating around in there and plug the pick-up when the tank is low!

 

How about the incline/decline.? Those tanks are big and long. I don't know where the pickup is but it is possible the pickup was out of the fuel? I'm the same way, my light comes on with 6 or more gallons. My computer said 22 till empty and I still had 6 gallongs left. When the light came on that time I'd bet there was about 8 gallons.

 

It was about 15-20 degrees out and it is possible that the fuel gelled up. Maybe that's why it started running rough the day before. It's been pretty cold here the last couple of weeks.

I have never run the fuel so low that the light had to come on and I haven't noticed if it comes on when I first turn the key on, I'll try to look this morning.

I was driving down a flat road. No big inclines or declines.

Thanks for the replies men.

 

My gauge showed 1/8 and the dealer said it was "bone dry". He said it was a bad sending unit. The truck was in the shop because of ice in the tank which they claim may have damaged the sending unit...

 

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Actually there is a pump in the tank. It is part of the fuel tank module. It's job is to pump fuel from the tank to the lift pump on the engine. The fuel gauge sending unit is attached to it as well.

The lift pump receives fuel from the tank pump, pushes it thru the filter and on to the high pressure injection pump. Fuel that does not go to the injectors is returned to the tank. Since the lift pump is gear driven off the engine it requires an electric pump to provide it fuel. Hence, the pump in the tank.

 

No - the lift pump is behind the fuel filter canister, in the engine compartment, and is an ELECTRIC pump. The CP3 injection pump is gear-driven off the engine, supplied with fuel by the lift pump which pulls ("lifts") fuel from the tank and pushes it through the filter.

Again - there is no in-tank pump on a diesel. On a gas engine, yes, but a diesel, no.

 

[Again - there is no in-tank pump on a diesel. On a gas engine, yes, but a diesel, no. [/B][/QUOTE]

Okay, if you say so.