empty gas tank warning light?

[TrailFiend]

ran out of gas the other day in my 99' tahoe. ive only had it for 2 months, and never seen the light come on, and i shouldnt have let it get that low anyways. my question is, does this truck have a gas light or not. my fuel guage is weird too...when i fill up, it goues about 1/4 tank PAST FULL. and when i ran out, it had just barely reached the red part. i think its burnt out. any help?

 

[treepete]

I have the 99 yukon, and it does NOT have this low gas light.

I noted the same trouble with my gas gauge. when its full, its waaay to the right, long past F.... as soon as I even get CLOSE to the empty mark, its totally empty.

But of course its hard for me to say what the trouble is. the damn needle has its own problems. It sits there and shakes really fast all the time. like its trembling. A super high-speed jiggle, about one needle-width of travel, back and forth.

 

[jj99yukon]

But of course its hard for me to say what the trouble is. the damn needle has its own problems. It sits there and shakes really fast all the time. like its trembling. A super high-speed jiggle, about one needle-width of travel, back and forth.

man thats crazy! my 99 yukon does the same exact thing. its really weird. if theres anyone out there that knows what the hells goin on let us know.

 

[ugachs24]

Man that's really strange. On both of the newer generations, it is the total opposite. On my '04, when it displays "FUEL LEVEL LOW" and the light comes on, I have 4 gallons left in the tank. The light usually comes on right when it lands on the red empty mark. On the '08, you've got 3.5 gallons left when it says "FUEL LEVEL LOW."

But when you fill them up, it will barely go over the full mark at all, even if it is so full that it squirts out the hole.

 

[sterios]

That is just the way these trucks are. They are really top heavy when full. You will most of your mileage in the top half of the tank and then the gauge will drop like a rock from there. Nothing you can do about it. I ran out twice in my 96 yukon when the needle was close to the red mark just before the empty mark. I just replaced my fuel pump and sending unit and it does the opposite now. Races to the empty mark and then I get about another 150 kms before it actually runs out. I carry a spare can of gas now till I get it all figured out as to range and mileage city or highway. Good luck

 

[Getwired]

I believe I read somewhere (here or on GMTrucks.com) that there's a TSB out on those type of fuel-gauge issues. It's supposedly and instrument cluster issue, but I've heard of fuel pump / sending unit failures to. You might call your dealer with your VIN and see if there's a TSB / recall on fuel gauge-related issues...

 

[djtecthreat]

I suddenly gain more a lot more gas according to the needle when i accelerate or go up a steep hill in my '96, and if i have less than 1/3 of tank (a little above a quarter) and i hit the brakes quick or go down a steep hill it pegs right to "E". My '93 suburban was the same, I just took that in as a characteristic of having the beast. My Ford was really bad though, the needle would be accurate until you got down to 1/2 tank then all of a sudden you'd look down and the fuel light would be on as if it couldn't read anything below 1/2 until empty, I usually go by mileage since my first time running out of fuel.

 

[SSport]

I suddenly gain more a lot more gas according to the needle when i accelerate or go up a steep hill in my '96, and if i have less than 1/3 of tank (a little above a quarter) and i hit the brakes quick or go down a steep hill it pegs right to "E". My '93 suburban was the same, I just took that in as a characteristic of having the beast. My Ford was really bad though, the needle would be accurate until you got down to 1/2 tank then all of a sudden you'd look down and the fuel light would be on as if it couldn't read anything below 1/2 until empty, I usually go by mileage since my first time running out of fuel.

My 96' is the EXACT same way!

 

[jj99yukon]

thats just the floaters in the tank. alot of older cars and trucks and the floater. kinda like a riding lawn mower gas gauge.

 

[sasquatch094]

who knows if mine works.. i never let it go close to the E and its always filled bcuz of winter. .the condensation makes water and it goes in the gas. so water and gas equals bad combination.. idk.. i havnt let it go down very far and i never had any problems with my 95 hoe.. beats me