MichaelB43

I read my manual and it stated that a blinking low fuel indicator may mean that your gas cap is not on tightly. However, this is not the case with my car - which currently has a blinking low fuel indicator light.

It was blinking, then not blinking, then blinking again. Now it is blinking and is accompanied by a check engine light.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Mike

scorchie

Lots of them. But whether they apply to your situation or not really depends on what kind of car you have (some kind of Mercedes W202 I'll assume) and what the model year or date of manufacture is.

-s-

budgood

its probibly your fuel sending unit. mine is acting up i noticed it started to happen when i would over fill my tank and it usually acts up lot when i fill'er up i was told that the best way to keep track of fuel is to use the odometer to track your milage and reset at every fueling or your looking at a 4-6 hour job with the dealership charging you up too 100 dollars an hour for labor

MichaelB43

Sorry, it's a '99 C280 Sport.

Ashkan's C43

how many miles do you guys normally get to a tank? 200 something right?

scorchie

WIS agrees with your user manual, and states that the blinking light is due to either the filler cap not being on tightly, or a fuel system leak, or a problem with the pressure sensors. If the problem is not corrected, the check engine light will also be illuminated.

Since you have a 1998, it has superior diagnostics built in, and connection to the diagnostic computer will tell you what the car thinks is the problem. If you still want to try it yourself, try to borrow someone else's filler cap to see if it changes the light. If not, search around the car for a fuel odor, although leaks internal to the fuel injection system will not lose fuel and will not be detectable by inspection.

-s-

chess

I have a 1999 C280 too and I once noticed the same problem. Not only was the light blinking, the gas indicator was near 50% though I just got my tank filled. I pulled over - but found no problem. When I started my car again the problem disappeared! After several such incidents I found out that it depends on how you start the vehicle. If you hold the key in position "2" for a tad bit longer this won't occur. If you start as though you are in a hurry, there is a high chance that you will see that light!

ryhi

i average about 270 miles on a full tank in my 230k...city miles no highway

GDawgC220

i average about 370-400 miles / tank...combined city and highway driving

scorchie

Can't you start your own thread instead of hijacking this one?

-s-

MichaelB43

Thanks Scorchie. I kind of thought my post was over and done with after the mileage question was added. In any case, my car goes in for an oil change soon and I will have them look at it. At this point, the check engine light is illuminated, but the fuel light is not. I service the car at Hatch and Son, and they told me over the phone that it is probably a fuel leak, which could run anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand or so to fix, depending on what they find. Hopefully a few hundred fixes it!

Mike