1 2
DrBoost
DrBoost UberDork
7/30/12 5:12 p.m.

So I ran out of diesel last night. It's only the second time in my life I've ever run out of fuel, the last time was 20+ years ago. I've always said "there's no excuse for running out of gas" so my question to you is, is my excuse good enough?
I was driving the greasecar last night. I knew I was low on diesel fuel, but for me it's not a big deal since I only start off and finish driving on diesel. When the low-fuel light flashes on for the first time, I usually have 2 weeks before I have to start to worry, it had been less than that, maybe 10 or 11 days. But here's the deal.
At some point, I think it happened when I reached for my sunglasses I bumped the diesel/veggie switch (the big switch on the left). That switched me from veggie oil to diesel without realizing it.

With such little fuel in the tank, it didn't take long for it to crap out. Let me tell you, it royally sucks to try to get a diesel started when you can't crack the fuel lines to bleed the air out. I can't believe my battery lasted long enough to get it going. I'm sure I was on the shoulder of US-23 for 25 minutes before it started. Then I went to a gas station, put 10 gallons of diesel in the tank but there was still a trick. I'd switch from veggie to diesel for a few seconds at a time to fill the lines and filter with diesel again without stalling it.
What a pain in the butt.

So, is my excuse good enough or am I a doofus?

Javelin
Javelin GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/30/12 5:15 p.m.

Doofus.

Get a shift light and mount it on the column to turn on at you when you flip the switch to regular-diesel.

HappyAndy
HappyAndy Dork
7/30/12 5:18 p.m.

What he said^. Make an indicator light to warn you when the switch is diesel position. Then you will only be an idiot when you ignore it.

oldtin
oldtin SuperDork
7/30/12 5:20 p.m.

Perfectly rational, reasonable and sound - you're still a doofus . Actually, since you didn't have to go for a walk or call for help and left under your own power, you didn't run out of fuel. At worst case, failed to read all your gauges.

z31maniac
z31maniac PowerDork
7/30/12 5:30 p.m.

I say doofus, but I'm the type that fills up BEFORE the low fuel light comes on.

Never know when you are going to end up stuck in traffic, etc etc

turboswede
turboswede GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
7/30/12 5:43 p.m.

doofus.

Put a safety cage over the switch.

logdog
logdog GRM+ Memberand New Reader
7/30/12 5:54 p.m.

Doofus. If you lived in Colorado you could have coasted down the mountain to get home.

DrBoost
DrBoost UberDork
7/30/12 6:34 p.m.

Dangit! I'm a doofus. All this time I've been telling my wife she was wrong about me, it turns out she was right.
I have an indicator light, but it tells you when you're on veggie since switching to veggie too early will damage your engine over time. I've been meaning to re-engineer that panel, maybe I'll put a different style switch.
Oldtin is right, I didn't read my gauges. In this case I didn't notice my red indicator was no longer on. Man, if only I had a 14mm wrench in my car.

wbjones
wbjones UltraDork
7/30/12 6:43 p.m.

can we safely assume that a 14mm wrench IS now part of the standard load for that car ?

DrBoost
DrBoost UberDork
7/31/12 7:20 a.m.
wbjones wrote: can we safely assume that a 14mm wrench IS now part of the standard load for that car ?

No. I'm going to keep the MB special tool in board, then I can crack the lines even easier. That and I'll watch the indicator lights better.

logdog
logdog GRM+ Memberand New Reader
7/31/12 7:27 a.m.

In reply to DrBoost:

How many tools do you have to carry to keep it running?

aussiesmg
aussiesmg UltimaDork
7/31/12 7:56 a.m.

The cool greasecar makes up for the doofus moment anyday IMHO

mtn
mtn PowerDork
7/31/12 8:12 a.m.

Meh, reasonable excuse to me.

I ran out of fuel a few weeks ago. The Miata doesn't have a low fuel light, so it is kinda a guessing game how much is left in the tank. I was kinda curious how far I could get on a tank, and also how far the needle will drop below E. Turns out that it drops almost all the way below the "E", and it can get 355 miles on a tank. Good info to have.

z31maniac
z31maniac PowerDork
7/31/12 8:18 a.m.
mtn wrote: Meh, reasonable excuse to me. I ran out of fuel a few weeks ago. The Miata doesn't have a low fuel light, so it is kinda a guessing game how much is left in the tank. I was kinda curious how far I could get on a tank, and also how far the needle will drop below E. Turns out that it drops almost all the way below the "E", and it can get 355 miles on a tank. Good info to have.

Not to be a shiny happy person, but why not just fill up between 1/4-1/8 of a tank left?

Ranger50
Ranger50 SuperDork
7/31/12 8:27 a.m.

It's a doofus move, but hey, you survived it.

I would think of installing a car alarm type LED up in the cluster area for when it is on #2 powered by your existing switch.

Ian F
Ian F UberDork
7/31/12 9:07 a.m.

I ran my truck out of diesel a couple of winters ago. It took a lot of cranking before it would finally fire up and boy did it blow smoke like crazy for a bit afterwards. Fortunately, I had recently installed a pair of brand new Bosch Type 27 batteries which last a long time.

As I was letting it warm up and smooth out, a land scaping guy with a fleet of diesel trucks suggested if it should happen again (Dodge trucks are known for crappy level senders), disconnect the intake hose to the air filter and cover it up before cranking (usually easier with 2 people). Then when you crank, the air-starved engine will self-purge the injectors and it'll start much faster. I would imagine you need to be careful not to go too far and hydro-lock the engine with fuel.

Luckily, I've never had to try this.

bastomatic
bastomatic Dork
7/31/12 9:07 a.m.
mtn wrote: Not to be a shiny happy person, but why not just fill up between 1/4-1/8 of a tank left?

I'm guessing the diesel would go bad if he kept that much in the tank. I forget the mileage he gets, but I'm sure one gallon goes a long time.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
7/31/12 9:31 a.m.

Sounds like an understandable mistake. I like your veggie control panel BTW, especially the veg oil / dino juice switch, LOL

dculberson
dculberson Dork
7/31/12 9:44 a.m.

I'm gonna have to third the thumbs ups on your control panel. I especially like the french fry background.

mtn
mtn PowerDork
7/31/12 9:44 a.m.
bastomatic wrote:
mtn wrote: Not to be a shiny happy person, but why not just fill up between 1/4-1/8 of a tank left?
I'm guessing the diesel would go bad if he kept that much in the tank. I forget the mileage he gets, but I'm sure one gallon goes a long time.

I believe this was in response to my post--no diesel involved for me.

z31maniac wrote:
mtn wrote: Meh, reasonable excuse to me. I ran out of fuel a few weeks ago. The Miata doesn't have a low fuel light, so it is kinda a guessing game how much is left in the tank. I was kinda curious how far I could get on a tank, and also how far the needle will drop below E. Turns out that it drops almost all the way below the "E", and it can get 355 miles on a tank. Good info to have.
Not to be a shiny happy person, but why not just fill up between 1/4-1/8 of a tank left?

After years of driving SAAB's and BMW's, I normally do--fuel pump issues and all.
However, in this case, I had just gotten back from the Indy 500, moved, started a new job, paid off the last of my college expenses, and hadn't been paid yet from said new job. I had a little bit of a liquidity problem and figured I could make it without having to eat Ramen any more. I almost did make it, too. I finally did get paid, but was so busy that I just never had time (okay, I never made time) to fill up.--I was actually on my way to the gas station when I ran out. Just a quarter mile longer and I would have made it--actually, less--about half that and I would have been able to roll downhill.

pinchvalve
pinchvalve UltimaDork
7/31/12 10:36 a.m.

No one with a Veggie Control panel that cool in their car can ever be a doofus.

EastCoastMojo
EastCoastMojo GRM+ Memberand UberDork
7/31/12 10:43 a.m.

Needs a switch marked "Crazy Ivan", you know, for those tactical getaway maneuvers.

DrBoost
DrBoost UberDork
7/31/12 10:45 a.m.
logdog wrote: In reply to DrBoost: How many tools do you have to carry to keep it running?

Thus far, I'm the only tool required to keep it running

slantvaliant
slantvaliant Dork
7/31/12 11:18 a.m.

If you ran your car on bacon, the problem would be cured.

DrBoost
DrBoost UberDork
7/31/12 2:27 p.m.
slantvaliant wrote: If you ran your car on bacon, the problem would be .cured

I see what you did there.

1 2

You'll need to log in to post.

Our Preferred Partners
xAqUlWnGHNGv6yNOlscOU5yEMkLNJIJSfgjiLOd3SYN1WXjc7aKIttAmcrvoRPco