The other day we were low on fuel and about the right time (3 or so gallons left), the low fuel light came on. Then it went out and when I put gas in I had about .9 gallons left in the car! I know, I know: not smart. But since then I let it go with about 1 gallon left and the light never came on.

 

It's rare for us to let the tank get this low, but being my first sub I think I'm not used to the gauge readings. Anyways, I'm wondering why the light is not going on anymore. is this a fuse issue?

 

Thanks for your expertise!

There's a way to test the light.

 

What year and model car do you have?

thanks for your response!

1996 obw, 2.2 (if that matters)

Crud.....I can't seem to find the diagram that shows which pin to ground to check the light.

 

Anybody else have the info?

I had this problem on my 93 accord and actually ran out of gas. My light was good. I checked this by connecting a jumper wires from two of the terminals at the sending unit. I think this tricked the car into thinking that the tank was empty. Also the instrument cluster is SUPER easy to remove. You can check the bulb that way just make sure to not turn on any electical or just disconect the negative at the battery while the cluster is out. I bought a new sending unit and this fixed the problem. My understanding is that subies have two sending units and I think you will need to check both but I am not sure. You can remove the sending unit and hook up an ohmmeter. The resistance should be 50 at empty and should change steadily as you move the float to full. At full the resistance should be one ohm. I would recommend buying the factory manual for your subie. I had one for the honda and it helped me out a bunch with these very specific problems.

 

Hope this helps.

thanks for your response!

1996 obw, 2.2 (if that matters)

I would also love to know. I have the same problem and while I try not to go too low I would still like to have a light just in case!

 

 

My "manual" signature:

--------------

'96 BG 2.2

I've never seen my low fuel light... but I usually fill up before 270 miles... so i don't even know if the light works, and would like to know how to check it

I've never seen my low fuel light... but I usually fill up before 270 miles... so i don't even know if the light works, and would like to know how to check it

 

It only comes on when your tank has about 2 or 3 gallons left. My gauge doesn't work, but the light does, so I use the odometer and the light to make sure I don't run dry.

I have a 96 obw also. I have let the gas get pretty low and never had a light come on.

I have a 93 leg 2.2 and i drove more than 30km with the gas needle below the bottom part and no low fuel warning light. ANd i still made it home. Then we filled up the following day because we forgot the wallet. Yankers!

Do the low fuel lights typically come on when the needle is lower on the gauge than other cars? I have run my obw a little below the empty mark, and no light showed up.

I dont even know where the light is....does the little gas pump icon light up??

 

I was starting to think i didn't even have one till this topic came up.

in my 94 svx the low fuel light used to come on around ~5-6 gallons left (if you can believe that!) It has an 18 gallon tank.. and when the needle hits "E" I have 4 gallons left. Then for a while the light was on ALL the time unless I was almost out then it would go OFF. Now it doesn't work at all but the gauge still works fine. I know it just adds to your mystery.. but there ya go.

i have 2 legacys 95 sedan, 97obw. both hit empty long before the fuel light comes on. the tank holds 15.9 gals. if you're only pumping 12 gals you've got fuel left. my light comes on around 14.2 gals gone.

 

 

 

I dont even know where the light is....does the little gas pump icon light up??

 

I was starting to think i didn't even have one till this topic came up.

i have a 94 legacy l...

 

the manual says its a 15 gal capacity tank but never have filled up more then 11ish or so. i have never seen the low fuel light and hit the e with usually around 300 or so miles..

 

(been averaging 32ish for hwy)

 

i would love to find out if my light works

put a gal of gas in a gas canin the trunk. drive the car till it hits empty, then drive it till the light comes on or it quits. put in the 1 gal. check the light. then fill up with gas.

 

if you don't want ot be on the road when it runs out, let it idle in the drive way.

 

on the hiway my light comes on around 330. i avg. 25 mpg a little better on the hiway. if you're getting 32 mpg on a 15 gal tank, you can go

32mpg X 14gal = 448 miles and still have a gal left. try driving 350 miles befroe fill up.

 

i have a 94 legacy l...

 

the manual says its a 15 gal capacity tank but never have filled up more then 11ish or so. i have never seen the low fuel light and hit the e with usually around 300 or so miles..

 

(been averaging 32ish for hwy)

 

i would love to find out if my light works

i know i should bring a gallon along with me one day and see where i go kaput, but never got around to it as well.

 

does the low fuel light come on when the car starts and the other lights on the dash light up??

i know i should bring a gallon along with me one day and see where i go kaput, but never got around to it as well.

 

does the low fuel light come on when the car starts and the other lights on the dash light up??

 

Nope.

I know there's a way to test it. I gotta dig through my manuals some more to try and find that procedure to test it.

I've dug through the Factory Service Manual for my 2002 Forester, and found the following:

 

- Low-Fuel Warning Lamp comes on when fuel tank sensors read 9.0 L (2.3 USgal, 1.9 IMPgal), but only if the reading is consistent for either 10-minutes or 10-km of driving.

 

- this setting corresponds to a resistance across both fuel-tank sensors (in series) of approx. 80 ohms (or more).

 

- the actual lamp is embedded in the printed-circuit board of the combination-meter, and there doesn't appear to be a way of testing the lamp. I suppose that one could take the lamp out and test it with 12V, but that wouldn't confirm that the rest of the wiring was OK.

 

- the lamp is NOT tested when starting the engine (one could ask WHY NOT?, but Subaru, in its wisdom, has not included that feature).

 

- as far as I can tell, the ONLY way of testing this lamp is to run low on fuel (as others have suggested).

 

EDIT: Just had another thought... Try disconnecting the two fuel-tank sensors, and apply a known resistance of more than 80 ohms (say 100 ohms) across the wiring terminals (and wait 10-minutes too). This might fool the combination-meter into thinking that it should illuminate the low-fuel lamp.

Decided to test the light too.

Came on at a traffic light on a slight upgrade, went away when I reached hilltop. Did not light up for a few hills after that. Came on again when I was driving in a parking lot at the mall. Did not come on when I started the car after shopping.

The car took in 13.4 gallons after that.

I wonder if it is supposed to stay on once gas level drops below smth?

Found the info I was looking for today when I was testing my own fuel sender issues. The test does work, I tested it on my car.

 

The only issue I can see is that it sounds like the newer cars do not have a separate device to turn on the low fuel warning light like the older cars.

 

Anyway, here's the scan

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8080/subaru_manual_scans/FSM_Scans/Legacy_Low_fuel_warning_light_test.jpg

where exactly is this connector r22 located??

ya same question here.

Bear in mind that any test and/or wiring arrangement will be specific to a particular model-year, and maybe model-type as well.

 

Which model and year is the above test designed for?