martyyn 2 Report post Posted April 14, 2007 There I was a few months ago filling the car up first the first time when it started pouring petrol out of the top of the tank. At this point it took 55 litres At the time I thought the auto stop on the pump had failed but it happened again a few weeks ago when I was filling up again. This time it took all of 61 litres but the same thing happened and what I noticed was that the petrol was pouring out in waves, I chucked the cap back on and it stopped. Today I tried to see what was going on but even though it was empty I only got 40 litres in before the pump stopped. I pulled it out a little and kicked it off again but it stopped a couple of litres later. What I noticed was that as it was pumping in the petrol in the tank appeared to be making 'waves' and at a certain point it overflowed and cam shooting out the top. Now mines an SA built so Im assuming long range tank and today I could get no more than 45 litres in which is only just over half way on the needle. Any of you other SA boys had a similar problem ? Shoud the tank be filled with baffles or something to stop the waves ? I dont want to half fill the tank each time I go and I dont want to half fill it then wait for 5 mins whilst it settles before trying again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted April 14, 2007 Happened once in my SA - I thought it was the pump and so did my nut at the servo and got some cheap fuel. Then it happened once again, but never since. Been over a year now since it last happened. So sorry I can't help you with a solution, but at least you're not alone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLLIE 26 Report post Posted April 14, 2007 go surfing man! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
my_e36 43 Report post Posted April 14, 2007 That sometimes happen to my Jap import if I use the full trigger on the fuel gun. One of those forecourt guys says just use 1/3 to half squeeze and you'll be fine. Don't know if that helps... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
QuickSilver 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2007 this is such a text book annoying problem, kinda funny to read about it, but my old ford did that as well, id be filling away and it would shoot back out the cap, kinda like the bottle and the tap effect, ie, filling a bottle rapidly with water and not pulling it away in time, water goes everywhere, in my fords tank id be hearing sloshing all over the place, and would take ages to setlle, but me not really caring would never fill it up fully anyway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jazzbass 1 Report post Posted April 14, 2007 I normally never let my car get below 1/2 on the gauge. This means there's always some liquid in the tank and as a possible aid for your problem, some mass inertia to reduce any wave motion which can occur if the tank is almost empty and you slosh in some fluid. Worth a try? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jpp 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2007 Only time when filling it right up its shot back out is when the nozzle wasn't right down the hole as far as it goes. No problems since, and have used the same pump since. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted April 14, 2007 Ive tried it with the pump all the way in, half way out, filled half way and left it but always the same. I was just trying to find out exactly how empty the tank is when the needle says empty. Unfortunately when the needle says its empty the OBC tells me I have another 100kms left ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jazzbass 1 Report post Posted April 15, 2007 Only ONE way to know for sure... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted April 15, 2007 I normally never let my car get below 1/2 on the gauge. This means there's always some liquid in the tank and as a possible aid for your problem, some mass inertia to reduce any wave motion which can occur if the tank is almost empty and you slosh in some fluid. Worth a try? I'm the opposite - with SA long range tanks I neverfill all the way up - why carry round an extra 30kg of fuel when I can get to Auckland and back on 2/3rds of a tank? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
antony 0 Report post Posted April 16, 2007 (edited) a bit off topic, but how big is a SA tank? just out of curiousity. I've been around 60km on my fuel light, with my automagic, mostly open road. but i filled up before it ran dry, must have been close though Edited April 16, 2007 by antony Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted April 16, 2007 Thats what I was trying to work out. Id done 520 kms, the needle hadnt moved for days, the OBC said 40km to go and I there was no light on the dash but I didnt want to go any further. The most Ive been able to put in was 62 litres, but I probably lost two of those with it spilling out ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bimmer boy 21 Report post Posted April 16, 2007 Thats what I was trying to work out. Id done 520 kms, the needle hadnt moved for days, the OBC said 40km to go and I there was no light on the dash but I didnt want to go any further. The most Ive been able to put in was 62 litres, but I probably lost two of those with it spilling out ! I found this the hard way, I was semi waiting for the fuel light to come on and tell me that I need to fill up but ran out of gas on the way to the petrol station Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jazzbass 1 Report post Posted April 16, 2007 My tank is 70 litres capacity. I once tried the 'run-out' trick just as an exercise in learning to trust my fuel guage. When it was hard on empty, but still running, I put 68.2 litres into it. I now trust my guage. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jochen 4 Report post Posted April 17, 2007 My car has a 65 litre tank according to the manual I have, on a few occasions, filled my 65 litre tank with 68 litres !! Also, my record to date is filling up when the OBC said I had a range of 5km left Martyn: do you realise the OBC fuel consumption - and this range - can be calibrated on the E38? What you do is manually work out your fuel consumption long-term and compare with OBC, then alter the claibration value for the fuel Also: if your fuel filling problem is on the E38, there is a 'breather' or 'balancer' pipe from the LH tank to the RH tank. Some early cars (if I recall correctly) suffered problems with the balancer pipe. ?? must look it up on TIS... Jochen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
QuickSilver 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2007 (edited) if ur doin the run out test, do it controlled, have a fuel tank sitting in ur boot for wen u run out, when exactly is my damn fuel light SUPPOSED to light up in my e30??? its crazy ive run REAL low sometimes and it still hasnt lit up, Edited April 17, 2007 by QuickSilver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
will 169 Report post Posted April 17, 2007 if ur doin the run out test, do it controlled, have a fuel tank sitting in ur boot for wen u run out, when exactly is my damn fuel light SUPPOSED to light up in my e30??? its crazy ive run REAL low sometimes and it still hasnt lit up, maybe the bulb is fused??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted April 18, 2007 Martyn: do you realise the OBC fuel consumption - and this range - can be calibrated on the E38? What you do is manually work out your fuel consumption long-term and compare with OBC, then alter the claibration value for the fuel Ive had the OBC on the e38 saying --- and driven for another 20km on top of that and not had any problems. I was aware that you could recalibrate it but could never get the enthusiasm to work out my fuel comsumption !What I was trying to do was work it out for the e30. I thought an SA tank was 65 litres and even though Ive had (or what I thought was) bone dry its not taken more than 62. The issue though was the petrol pouring out of the tank when it got anywhere near full. As Bravo says Im not the only one so Ill learn to live with it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
antony 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2007 my e30 tank is 65 litres, does that mean it's a long range one? what other sizes do they come in? o and i didn't even know i had a fuel light till i let dad drive my car when i was away, and when i got back he gave it to me on the fuel light Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
QuickSilver 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2007 lol, i doubt a fule light bulb is fused, but could be blown, wata mission just to get that workin again, lol maybe ill just find out by running outta gas, exactly how far past e, or should i say R does the needle go?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jazzbass 1 Report post Posted April 21, 2007 silly boy! The e stands for 'enough'! The R is just an indication that you should use regular grade petrol, instead of that avgas stufff... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pureboiracer 0 Report post Posted April 24, 2007 maby your inlet tube for the petrol is too small and cannot handle the flow rate of nz pumps. try just pumping it slow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
