Most people would like to squeeze every last mile they can out of their fuel tanks. If you can get an extra 15 miles from each tank, this could help you save 2 or 3 trips to the gas station over the year. However, the main impediment to this is a broken fuel gauge. You may think that you’re already running out of gas when you still have a lot left.
When your fuel gauge stops working, you may get increasingly worried about your gas level and getting stranded on the road. If you don’t have enough money to have your gauge replaced or repaired, here are a few ways that you can use to keep track of your fuel level.
Check the manual
By checking your car’s manual, you can easily determine how much your gas tank could hold. Larger cars can hold as much as to 18 to 20 gallons; while smaller cars can hold 12 to 15 gallons.
If you don’t have the manual with you, you can also check the blue book in order to get your car’s specification. Most of the time, cars get to travel about 350 to 400 miles on each tank.
Check the odometer
Check the odometer in order to determine how many miles you have traveled. Remember to drive up to the nearest gas station before nearing 300 miles to avoid running out of gas and getting stranded.
Use a liquid dipstick
Back in the day, you could check the fuel level in your gas tank through the use of a dipstick. However, the design of today’s car and truck fuel tanks have eliminated that possibility due to the fuel float mechanism that supports the sending unit. The sending unit is the communication bridge between your fuel tank (how much gas is in your tank) and the fuel gauge on your dashboard. Depending on the design of your car’s gas tank, it is possible the float may rest in a high (full) position for longer than you might expect. As your fuel level drops, the float drops and sends a message to the dashboard gauge that fuel is being consumed.
If you are concerned that your gauge is not reading your fuel level correctly, schedule an appointment with your friendly professional mechanics at Allegiance Automotive and we can perform additional tests.