Am I out of gas? **On side of road**

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Marshall

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I am surprised no one has asked how come the tac is reading at 3500 RPM, how damn fast where you going? Getting to a station faster don't get you better mileage ,you know.
I had a fellow up the road that was always running out of gas , and walking in to " borrow" a gallon to get to town, or home.
 

2012RAM1500RT

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I am surprised no one has asked how come the tac is reading at 3500 RPM, how damn fast where you going? Getting to a station faster don't get you better mileage ,you know.
I had a fellow up the road that was always running out of gas , and walking in to " borrow" a gallon to get to town, or home.
Some of the one's I've seen are walking to a gas station with an empty gas can.........! News flash........ If you run out of gas and you open your trunk knowing there is an empty gas can in it (from the last time) you may need to stop and think about the decisions you make. Hopefully you are not the important decision maker in your family! LOL
 

BLUEDERANGO

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Years ago when I was the Service Director at a large Dodge Dealer we had a customer that had her car towed in 3 times and DEMANDED warranty coverage because she ran the car out of gas when the low fuel lite had come on and kept going. 3 times, some people just don't learn or are not at all capable.
 

Yangster

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My gauge and DTE are pretty accurate. I've filled my tank up with 30-31 gallons several times and the DTE is usually in the 40-50 range.
 

RKLubbock

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Had 20 miles to empty and travelling on the hwy, then started losing power.

Engine stayed at 3500 rpm, but truck just kept slowing.

The truck turns over, but just keeps cranking.

2021 1500 with 13k miles.

Hoping I am only out of gas??

Thoughts?
Never let your fuel run that low. The gas in your vehicle's tank keeps the electric fuel pump from overheating. The fuel pump is just above the strainer, which is just above the bottom of the fuel tank. ... This will ensure more of the pump is covered in gas, keeping it cooler and making the pump last longer.
 

JHoward

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Had 20 miles to empty and travelling on the hwy, then started losing power.

Engine stayed at 3500 rpm, but truck just kept slowing.

The truck turns over, but just keeps cranking.

2021 1500 with 13k miles.

Hoping I am only out of gas??

Thoughts?


I don't think any question to be redundant, that's what this forum is supposed to be about by helping others, yep some folks don't know everything and that's good because if we did we'd all be boring.

I don't know where my truck's low mileage fuel indicator would because I don't let the fuel go below half ... IMO, that it would be a very good thing for you to to keep adequate fuel in the tank. JM2¢ and enjoy your truck.

JHoward
 

GTyankee

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3 to 4 gallons is pretty much unusable in the 4th Gen Rams & possibly earlier models

I don't see any port to allow fuel to get into the cup that surrounds the fuel pump

 

turkeybird56

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Had 20 miles to empty and travelling on the hwy, then started losing power.

Engine stayed at 3500 rpm, but truck just kept slowing.

The truck turns over, but just keeps cranking.

2021 1500 with 13k miles.

Hoping I am only out of gas??

Thoughts?
Just an opinion, BUT, I am not a mechanic, BUT, never run these fuel tanks so low if possible. Fuel cools fuel pump in tank and as said above, all electronic guesstimates on what is in tank is just that, guestimates, just like your MPG lie-o-meter, all guestimates, and the oil pressure all electronic guesstimates. . Following idiot lights or DTE estimates could leave you hanging. A good rule of thumb, IMHO, if U get to a 1/4, time to feed the beast, just saying. But do what makes you happy.
 

CandyBo

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A Tow Truck friend texted me the following:

MECANIC'S SECRET

A little-known secret about most modern-day vehicles and that is in tank fuel pump.

Gasoline is naturally cold when you allow your fuel gauge to go below a quarter of a tank the fuel pump is exposed wow still pumping fuel the pump will overheat because it is not cooled by gasoline and the pump will burn up.

The average fuel pump cost between $400 and $500, Plus the labor to remove the fuel tank change the pump and re-install the fuel tank total cost can very easily be over $800
 

James Heaton

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Wow, I don't know anyone was dumb enough to actually use the DTE indicator on a vehicle for anything but a reference. Fuel pumps sit in fuel for two reasons, to not lose prime and to cool the pump motor. Running them low on fuel is costly and leads to premature pump failure. That is not easy to repair and very inconvenient when it does fail. I try to not to get below a quarter of a tank but absolutely don't get below 50 miles. Gas tanks are not always linear shaped containers. My Low fuel comes on at about 80 Miles on every Ram I've had (this is my 5th).
 

pacofortacos

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As a former Chrysler tech, unless something has changed since 1983 with fuel pumps (and it hasn't), I have to call BS on the low fuel hurting the fuel pump. In my experience it is more urban legend than a fact - though fuel does cool the pump to a degree, the main cooling is internal, not external.
I have driven car to empty for hundreds of thousands of miles and never had one fail due to low fuel or as far as I can remember, any pump fail - except on the boat.

Interesting fact - the ONLY bad fuel pumps we ever saw and changed out were almost exclusively on 3/4+ full tanks. I don't remember ever changing one with low fuel.

Same with sucking stuff up - the sock will stop the garbage and water and garbage sit on the bottom of the tank.

The pump sits in a little cup (basically) so as long as there is gas in the tank the pump is in the gas - if the pump doesn't have gas, it stops pumping and the car and fuel pump shut off.
 

pacofortacos

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Years ago when I was the Service Director at a large Dodge Dealer we had a customer that had her car towed in 3 times and DEMANDED warranty coverage because she ran the car out of gas when the low fuel lite had come on and kept going. 3 times, some people just don't learn or are not at all capable.
We had one lady drive in "with a pretty red light on" in the dash. She had just driven from Washington DC to Pittsburgh with the light on for several miles. This is back when the oil light was just a light and a pretty red at that.
Needless to say, the motor didn't sound to good.
 

TestPilot57

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I'm sorry, I don't believe anyone wise enough to own a RAM would drive until the range indicator read 20 miles to empty, have the truck die, and STILL ask if he's out of gas? On board gauges are not that accurate. :mad:
IME when it tells me I should be dry I still have at least a couple gallons left. UNLESS< of course, my "33 Gallon" tank actually only holds 28 gallons...
 
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jawzs2

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Years ago when I was the Service Director at a large Dodge Dealer we had a customer that had her car towed in 3 times and DEMANDED warranty coverage because she ran the car out of gas when the low fuel lite had come on and kept going. 3 times, some people just don't learn or are not at all capable.

People like this are exactly why I got out of the car business years ago, Parts and Service Director at Ford dealer, not Dodge, but the customers are the same. I had a guy who wanted the nail in his tire covered under warranty and scream at me that one day I'll be working at Toyota after I told him they stopped using nails to build cars over 50 years ago. The thing is, if he started off as a decent bloke I would have fixed it for free.
 

TestPilot57

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The only time I let mine get below 1/3 of a tank is when I've saved up fuel points to the point I can get a fill up at a ridiculous price and I'm just driving around close to home. Getting 29 gallons of mid-grade for 80 cents a gallon is just fun. I don't care about the money so much as the feeling I've traveled back in time briefly.
You have a 1/3 line on your gauge? Is that a special "Fuel anxiety" option, or...?
 
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