Inaccurate gas gauge solution
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,511
Likes: 1
From: peyton, colorado
Inaccurate gas gauge solution
I've noticed that my nice new VDO gas gauge was not very accurate in telling me how much gas I had in the tank. I checked power, ohms, grounds and float travel. The first 3/4 of the tank would go pretty quickly, then the gauge would show 1/4 with 10 gallons still left in the 20 gallon tank. Then it dawned on me. The gauge shows the LEVEL of the fuel in the tank, not the amount. The tank is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. The first 3/4 of the tank goes faster because the top of the tank holds less fuel. Half the capacity is in the bottom 1/4 of the tank. I guess I'll be driving around with "1/4" tank alot.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 995
Likes: 67
From: Mid-Michigan
A similar problem came up on car talk a while back. They were trying to figure out how to use a stick to measure how much fuel was left in a horizontal cylindrical tank. The solution was a little complicated, and relied on realizing that level and volume were two different things, as you indicated above. Here's the gory details:
Car Talk | Doing the Math
Car Talk | Doing the Math
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