When does your low gas light come on?

Went and got gas today just as the light came on, was only able to put in 21.6 gallons. I am supposed to have a 26 gallon tank, right? Is it normal for the light to come on when I still have over 4 gallons left in the tank? I was on level ground.

 

Yes

https://www.tundras.com/threads/1st-gen-lunch-table-general-discussion.60450/page-1774#post-3352215

 

https://youtu.be/TuEdU_lrtZk?feature=shared

 

It doesnt. Very rarely do i let it get to 1/4.

 

smartass

 

Coolest fuel pump in texas.

 

Would you prefer the light came on when you had no gas left in the tank?

 

No but I was surprised to have 4+ gallons remaining. My '04 Taco will only have ~2 gallons left when the light comes on. It's just good to know how much is left and this was the first time I let the tank get that low.

 

It could be a variation in the dash light itself since it’s part of a resistive circuit that determines when the light comes on. I don’t know the specifics but I know it’s just not an ordinary bulb.

 

Never. I've never gotten that low on gas. What is wrong with you?

 

You have 6 gallons left when the light is on and the DTE isnt even factoring that. So when the light comes on, look at the DTE and then tell yourself you have 6 gallons left plus whatever mpg you’re averaging.

 

1gt computer system:

 

We got a low fuel light on our trucks? Sweet! Now i’m going to have to find it

 

The gen 1 gauges aren't real great. If I hit my brakes too hard at 1/8 tank, the light will come on.

The gauges are just a cartoon depiction of what is actually going on.

 

With my 86 CJ, I could make a right hand turn and the light would come on. Make a left hand turn and I could watch the gauge rise.

 

This is what's in your fuel tank. The white sock is the intake. By design, that sock doesn't sit on the bottom of the tank. So given the "footprint" or the area of the bottom of the fuel tank, imagine how much fuel you'd have to add to a bone dry tank in order for it to reach the level of the intake sock. I bet it's a couple of gallons... and even then it's going to be slurping like a straw sucking the last drops from a Big Gulp.

Also, look where the float is in relation to the intake. When you can see what's in there and how it works, you can appreciate it for what it is: a VERY general estimate of the approximate level of fuel in the tank. With that in mind, you really do want the low fuel light to to err on the conservative side... at least I do.

EDIT: I just copied an pasted that pic without really looking at it. Looking closer, it appears the sensor with the red wire wound around the rod is for the low fuel light. So that further shows the difference in level between when the low fuel light comes on and where the intake is.

 

Yeah, and logic on the sensor location, although not all years use that style sensor, some use a slide contact apparently ... lots of other vehicles I've had use a float, which that almost looks like it could be a float but not made of metal?

I suspect the sensor is near the top of the pump body because the pump supposedly uses the liquid gasoline as a cooling agent for the pump itself to prevent it from running too hot, which again 'supposedly' can lead the pump to premature failure. This is where the "never run your tank below 1/8 (or 1/4)" recommendation came from, if you ever heard that during your lifetime from grandpa or your dad.

In addition, most tanks have one or more baffles inside, sometimes going so far as to box-in the pump, typically with gaps at the bottom of the baffle, so the pump is always surrounded by gas, Example of that in vid below, note the tank is trisected with three vertical baffles. Any time I've had custom aluminum tanks built for GenIII/GenIV SBC swaps, the two dudes I've used in the past always baffle like this and usually tell me which Walbro pump to use for the application that will jibe with the engine + tank design.

Pay close attention during the blue liquid test!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WURmykoUW9g​

 

I haven't seen it in years but also try not to get down near E. I wonder if my light is burn't out. Is that one a regular bulb on the 2000 or something unique?

 

It's "regular" in that it is simply an incandescent bulb and is same one used on any 00-04 Instrument Cluster for fuel

There are approx 19 Type 74 bulbs but the fuel bulb is slightly different in size and is a A14V3.4W bulb. As been mentioned, the fuel bulb must remain an incandescent since the sender unit uses resistance to determine the brightness of fuel level indication, which is why it fades in and out as one gets close to what Toyota views as getting low on fuel. LED can not be used being it's a diode, either on or off.

 

A few weeks ago I had my gauge cluster remove from the dash, searched for the LOW FUEL light with a flashlight pointing at the backside of the board, and i still couldn’t find where it’s supposed to illuminate. So that’s why i figured that the 1st gen truck’s didn’t have one.

 

If related to your 04, like mine it should be just left of your ABS indicator.

 

It’s this grey light holder. Is your’s missing?

 

I can assure you from experience that the gray socket works in any of those holes just as the black one will work in the fuel light spot. When I removed all of mine to swap bulbs, I did not pay attention to the fact that the gray one came out of the fuel light hole. It’s actually now in my high beam indicator hole. Both fuel light and high beam work.

 

I know this post is a couple years old but just wanted to comment. This makes sense. The Taco gets a lot better fuel mileage than the Tundra, I know mine did. Think about it this way. If you're on the interstate, most Tundras are probably getting around 15/16 on highway. I know some get more, some less depending on many factors, but the point is that, at 15 mpg, that gives you ~60 miles to get to a gas pump. Could be tough at 3am somewhere in the middle of nowhere!

 

I used to see my fuel light a lot when living out in the country in Oregon. If I was getting home after midnight, I just had to make sure I had enough range to drive the 15 miles into town in the morning to get gas. 60 miles range was what it always worked out to when the light fully came on. Now that we're allowed to pump our own gas it's a little bit easier to find gas at night, but now I always assume that if it's after 10pm I won't be getting gas anywhere in the Cascades.

 

I don't believe I have ever seen that indicator light illuminate. Unlike the D (transmission drive light) that no longer illuminates, the low fuel indicator probably works fine but I don't run that low on fuel.

About 10 years ago the fuel gauge decided to indicate less than 3/4 of a tank about 10 minutes after I filled up. Since then, 95% of the time it seems correct, but now and then on a full tank the needle will drop below 3/4 and remain there for a few miles before coming back to the full mark. I always reset the trip meter after fueling and refuel at 300 miles. .

 

I've got a brand new D light sitting on a shelf for mine, but haven't been bothered enough to replace it and I think it's been dead for almost a year.
My fuel gauge always drops while the truck is off and then slowly climbs back up to where it's supposed to be while driving. I use it as a rough estimate and primarily rely on the trip meter.

 

^^
This.

I've been driving my 2002 for 22 years and I have yet to let the gauge drop below a 1/4 of a tank, I mostly try and fill up when it nears 1/2 a tank.

 

I considered replacing the D light at the time. After watching a YouTube vid I decided to forget about it. Didn't seem too difficult nor super easy, but rather something that I might wish I'd left alone before finished (often the case for me). Anyway... the first time the fuel gauge started dropping was unsettling. I was looking in the rear view mirror for a trail of gasoline!