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Fuel gauge an Miles to empty questions

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  #1  
Old 12-07-2011, 08:35 AM
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Fuel gauge an Miles to empty questions

I know well enough not to trust my Lie-o-meter but are'nt they somewhat accurate as far as miles to empty? I have run out of fuel twice when it told me I had 75 miles to go and the gauge was showing an 1/8 of a tank.

Is their anyway to reset this or am i just stuck with my now Guess-o-meter thanks

'06 F350 CC dually auto 90K
thanks Tom
 
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Old 12-07-2011, 09:29 AM
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Once my "low fuel" light comes on, I'm good for about 30 miles. That's usually the "get yer butt to the fuel station" point. In my case, the 'miles left' is usually pretty spot on.

Joe
 
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Old 12-07-2011, 10:07 AM
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I think it's calculated off of previous gas mileage numbers. When you ran out, did you use 4wd a bunch or have the truck in a condition where your mileage would've dropped off significantly?

For what it's worth, my MTE is always wrong. It'll drop to zero when I know I have about 5 gallons left (which I confirm with the Gallons Used gauge, which is close to what the pumps reflect when I fill up).
 
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Old 12-07-2011, 12:44 PM
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no low fuel light and it was just normal driving i just filled up this morning I am gonna see what happens
 
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Old 12-09-2011, 10:05 PM
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longbeds have 39 gallon tanks
short beds are 29 gallons
My 02 has never been right
 
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Old 12-10-2011, 09:31 AM
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I've verified twice that I have four gallons remaining when my truck is at zero MTE. The big question is, how much of that fuel can be used... But that's another topic.
 
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Old 12-10-2011, 10:58 AM
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Mine's the same, 24 gallons at "zero MTE". I've always suspected it was Ford's way of making me not run the tank dry, which kills fuel pumps.
 
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Old 12-10-2011, 11:10 AM
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Doe the 6.7 not limit power when low on fuel? My 6.4 surges when accelerating at 5 MTE and evens out when holding speed. I've never been able to get more than 27 gallons at fill up on a 30.5 gallon tank.
 
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Old 12-10-2011, 11:12 AM
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Just realized these are gas issues, not diesel. Sorry.
 
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Old 12-10-2011, 01:34 PM
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Bottom line, if you ran out of fuel with the gauge showing 1/8th of a tank, you have a mechanical problem.
 
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Old 12-10-2011, 03:06 PM
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yea usualy the MTE is the other way round it'll go to zero or below empty on the gauge while you still have some fuel remaining..

with the running dry while showing fuel thats def. an issue somewere.

my guess is a bad fuel sending unit/ float arm thats rusty/scaly.

i had good success using a few BIG bottles of fuel treatment/cleaner when my trucks fuel level indicator dropped to below zero and stuck there a few years back. been fine since
 
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Old 04-19-2014, 01:23 AM
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Fuel gauge issues

It may not be a mechanical problem! You might just need to reset the fuel gauge display to get -- and keep -- it in sync with the amount of fuel you have at any given time. In the 2004 F350 (and probably others), in your overhead controls press the “Mode” and “E/M” buttons at the same time immediately after you fill the tank. To get it working properly do this by running the tank down about half full 5 times then completely refilling/resetting it. Continue resetting it after every 2 or 3 complete refills…forever. Mine works great now.
 
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Old 04-19-2014, 04:21 AM
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Originally Posted by BobbyDiesel71
longbeds have 39 gallon tanks
short beds are 29 gallons
My 02 has never been right
You must be talking diesel, my 2000,2003 f350 v 10 longbeds were 38 gallons. My new f250 6.2 longbed is 35 gallon. I just ran the 250 to 4 mte an pumped in 31 gallons. Which ment there was about 4 gallons still in the tank.
 
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Old 04-19-2014, 11:13 AM
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Diesel MTE fix

Sorry 'bout that. Yes, I was talking about my F350 diesel. I'd never trusted the mte anyway, and almost always filled up when the fuel gauge showed half full. I also thought Ford might be fudging the mte so we wouldn't run dry but I couldn't afford to test it. I was in the middle of nowhere in western Colorado when mine ran to 0 mte that night and it was pretty much dry. Luckily there was a farmer with 5 gals of diesel sitting in the bed of his Chevy. [shudder] Well I wrote up quite a fun story about the incident, made even funnier after taking my truck to the dealership for something else and explaining to the service manager (the one in white shirt and tie...) that I couldn't find anything in the manual addressing this problem. He obviously figured since I'm a chick I didn't know anything, so he tracked down a manual and sat at his desk studying the index and leafing through the book while I sat there. After a while I bet him a beer that he wouldn't find the answer in it and I left. When I returned he had the answer, but he didn't find it in the manual: their top mechanic was the only one in the place who knew about resetting the display. So I didn't owe the manager a beer, which was unfortunate because he was kinda cute.
 
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Old 04-19-2014, 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Pit Crew
You must be talking diesel, my 2000,2003 f350 v 10 longbeds were 38 gallons. My new f250 6.2 longbed is 35 gallon. I just ran the 250 to 4 mte an pumped in 31 gallons. Which ment there was about 4 gallons still in the tank.
My 2000 has a 38 gallon tank too and when my low fuel light comes on I can only put 30 gallons in it. I can jar the tank and hear plenty still sloshing around in it, but I try to fill it up before it gets that low.
 


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