When one traditionally fills up their tank of gas, the apperatus ‘clicks’ and stops feeding fuel when the tank is just about full, I’m not sure how this works (I’m sure some of you out there know how the mechanism does it magic though? but my question is what might it mean if this evening when filling up, the nozzle ‘clicked’ just as i was started to fill an nearly-empty tank. It kept doing this making it hard to fill-up, so i moved to the next pump, and had similar issues which eventually resolved themselves.
I’m concerned that because i tried two different pumps (at the same station) that this might be an issue with my car. So what makes the gas-pumps stop and is it likely that theres a problem with my car?
I have this happen sometimes. I think it’s because the filler pipe on the vehicle has a bend and, if the nozzle is pointing partially toward the wall of the filler pipe, it prevents the free flow of fuel. It doesn’t take much to activate the shutoff device, so even a small obstuction can cause it sense a backup and close the valve. Simply try adjusting the angle of the nozzle in relation to the filler pipe and it should work OK. This may require a little bit of experiment, but it always works for me.
More than likely it is the nozzel on the pump. In some there is a vacuume sensor that tells it to shut off if there is no airlfow passing through. If the sensor is not working properly or has a bad fit or pumps too fast it will shut off. If it only happens at a few stations it is not your car. Some older cars won’t allow the vacuume at all. A friend of mine has to fill his 5 gallon cannister and transfer it into his old vehicle. When I have thta problem, pulling the nozzel out a few inches will usually get the gas flowing, or even turnign the nozzel upside down.
Do you typically “top off” your tank, meaning that beyond the first automatical click off you try to fill it all the way up or otherwise try to reach the next round number or dollar figure on the display (hint: use a credit or debit card, you won’t care about cents any more). It’s possible that you’ve clogged up the carbon cannister in the tank with gasoline. This is part of the emissions system that normally only passes gasoline vapors for recovery into the tank. It affects the back pressure to the pump if it’s clogged, and you get the symptom that you’re talking about.
If it’s a Ford, I’d venture to ask if it’s a Taurus?
I have encountered this problem quite frequently when filling up my brother’s car. Well, we live in NJ so technically I am not filling the tank but the gas attendant does have issues with it. Based on my experiences with my brother’s amazingly fuel efficient Land Rover, it is a problem with the filler neck like A. R. Cane said. After extensive trial and error I have managed to figure out that not all gas stations lend itself to this problem. Stations with brand new nozzles have no issues and the ones that are really old have no problems as well. Of course, the more competent attendants simply raise the nozzle angle and the problem is usually solved.
but the gas attendant does have issues with it. Based on my experiences with my brother’s amazingly fuel efficient Land Rover, it is a problem with the 