In front of a huskey in my Home town (Prince Albert sk) there is a break in the median in the road, there is also a sign with the symbol, no left turns, and a tag attached that says Commercial viechles only.
Does that mean only Commercial viechles are not allowed to turn left, or Only commercial viechles are allowed to turn left?
Also, the fuel light: are the auto makers required to turn the light on when there is only enough gas to go a certain distance? Say enough gas to go 20km? Or is it up to the individual auto makers to decide when to turn the light on.
I was wondering this because my mom uses the fuel light as a guideline as to when to refuel the van, the other day, I had to drive into town with the fuel light on all the way.
Um…SK = Saskatchewan, not Alaska. Though I agree letting the gas get that low in the winter isn’t a great idea, as the gas lines can then freeze, and then you’re in trouble! I don’t know the answer to the light question, although I would assume that the amount of gas left has nothing to do with the distance you can drive, but rather a volume of gasoline left in the tank. How far you can drive depends on road conditions and speed. I’ve estimated that my gas light turns on under 5 litres, though that’s really a huge guess, since I’ve never actually seen it turn on!
As for the road sign…the sign tells you who that “no turn” sign applies to - that is, commercial vehicles. That would be you. Emergency vehicles (and things like plows) are allowed to turn. The version of these signs that I’ve seen tends to post the exception (authorised vehicles excepted [from the above sign rule]).
I know that the light turns on when there is a low volume of gas, but what I’m saying is, does a gas guzzler’s light turn on when there is more gas in the tank than when an econo box’s light turns on. Assuming the tanks are the same size.
Are there any gov’t regs that say, the light must turn on when there is only enough gas to go say, 20km. For the gas guzzler lets say 20 litres, and the econo box 15.
I don’t know if there’s a standard volume at which the fuel light would activate (and it would have to be activated by volume, since the distance 1 gallon of gas can take you will vary widely depending on speed, conditions, and type of automobile).
If you’re looking for an estimate, look up your car’s specifications on fuel tank capacity. Then next time the light’s on and you fill up the car, take note of how much fuel is required to fill the tank. Simple math can then tell you approximately how much fuel was left in the tank when you filled up.
Personal experince: My Buick Lesabre seems to turn the fuel light with around 2.5-3 gallons remaining in the 18-gallon tank. Even though I could theoretically travel 60-90 miles on that amount of fuel, I generally assume that the fuel light means “Find the next gas station and fill up NOW!”
I’ll add another question: Does anyone else’s fuel gague seem to drop more quickly in the when the tank is under “1/2 full”? I can generally get 250 miles or so out of the first half a tank and only 100-150 out of the second half…
"On a Toyota, they put a thermistor in the gas tank. It’s not a potentiometer type sending unit. The thermistor has current and voltage supplied to it and a light bulb is in series with it continuously. This continuously heats up the thermistor and at low fuel levels, the resistance drops causing the indicator light to turn ON as the current goes up.
When the thermistor is immersed in fuel, the fuel keeps the thermistor cooled off, the resistance remains high and the indicator light bulb does not light up. Since the indicator always has current flowing through it and the thermistor, it only lights up when the fuel level gets low and uncovers the thermistor. This thermistor line is yellow with a black stripe on my late 90s Tacoma."
Generally, I start looking for a gas station when the guage reads 1/4 full. If the low fuel light comes on I fill it immediately. It is not unusual for the light to malfunction and never come on so don’t depend on it. The gas guage is basically a Voltmeter and depending upon how well the Voltage for it is regulated the reading can vary. In particular, when you first start your car on a cold morning the battery Voltage will be low and you may see it rise as you drive the first couple miles. I also reset the trip odometer everytime I fill the tank as a double check of the gas guage; I know how many miles I usually get on a tank.
Yup. I don’t know the specifics, since I’m a full time student and only part time employee, my gas tank hasn’t been properly full in months, but I do remember it seemed to get better gas mileage the fuller the tank was.
Gas gauges are normally skewed so that the gauge reads empty when there is, in fact, still some gas left. That way, fewer people run out of gas in February in BFE, Saskatchewan
I used to drive a 94 Plymouth Voyager 50+ miles after the fuel light came on. It got about 10 miles per gallon, so there must’ve been about 5 gallons left when the light came on—about a quarter of a tank. I think the light comes on early to give extra warning, maybe to reduce liability for the auto manufacturers.
Yeah, I ran out of gas a couple of times. Life should be an adventure. My current car, a Toyota Tercel, doesn’t have a light at all, so I fill it up when it hits the bottom tick. I’ve driven at least 20 miles below the bottom tick, though.
As for the OP, I’d conjecture that “only” means the sign applies only to commercial vehicles. Those are the ones that would have a more dangerous left turn, right? Okay, I don’t know SK, but in ON there are a lot of “No Left Turns Except Busses” where the word “except” is used instead of only.
As for the general detour of this thread, I have a distance-to-empty display. I’ve had it on 0 twice. Yeah, that sucks, especially in the boonies and you don’t know where the gas station is. But I’ve never run out.
I did run out of gas when I was a poor, young guy driving a Ford Escort. No dummy light in that car, and the E really meant Empty.
