Hi all

I posed a question like this a couple of years ago. My actual question was "How do you bleed the system if you run out of fuel?"

I did not really get a clear answer, but I remember that Chicken George said that the system might self bleed.

I recently did an Outback desert crossing - the Simpson Desert - which was made much harder than normal because of an extraordinary amount of rain. It turned a desert crossing into an enormous mud bash. Deep muddy ruts are harder than sand and I bashed the cross-member in front of the fuel tank backwards into the fuel tank. This affected the fuel gauge, with the result that the gauge said I only had 3/4 of a tank when in fact it was full.

I regarded this as a nuisance and carried on. When the desert run finished at Birdsville I filled up with fuel and pushed onto the next town 300 or so km away, where I slept in the car because the one horse town was fast asleep. Next morning I set out on the road before the service station opened and headed for the next town about 200 km away.

Along the way the gauge dropped down to the reserve. I did not worry too much because I knew that the tank was still about 1/3 full. Then, after a while, the trip computer calculated the range at 10 km, slowly counting down to 0km.

The tank was still close to 1/4 to 1/3 full but the engine shut down to Limp mode and I had to pull off the road. I pulled out a chair, made a cup of tea and waited. About 2 hours later I heard a Road Train coming. He pulled up and I explained the problem. Fuel was no worry for him as he was carrying somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 litres, so 50 for me was neither here nor there.

So the answer to the question seems to be that, you can't run out of fuel because the car will shut down before that happens.

Am I right or has someone else actually run out of fuel. If so, how do you bleed the system?

Diesel & Petrol Powered FL2
1: The Diesel engined FL2 will never completely run out of fuel (unless there's a hole in the tank).
2: The Petrol engined FL2 can run completely dry in "limp mode".
3: The fuel level sensor in the diesel FL2 will put the vehicle into "limp mode" and run on only for a further 1.6kms (1 mile).
4: To prevent going into limp mode driver's should refuel as soon as the amber fuel warning light is illuminated.

5: After limp mode and the vehicle has stopped you will need at least 4ltrs (0.9 imperial gallons) of fuel in the tank to restart the FL2.
6: After restarting the FL2 needs to be driven for 1.6 to 5kms (1 to 3mls) before all engine management and monitoring systems have been completely reset and show accurately the vehicles status.

7: If you've driven into a full engine stop after limp mode you need to reactivate the system as follows:
a) Press Brake Pedal and at the same time Press On the Start/Stop button and Crank Engine for min 5secs
b) Release Stop/Start Button
c) Press Brake Pedal and at the same time Press and Release the Start/Stop button to Crank the Engine. The engine should Fire and Tick Over normally within 5secs.
d) If Not - Pause for minimum of 10secs with the Ignition in Convenience Mode (i.e all dashboard display lights on) Before Repeating action 7c.

8: "Bleeding" the system in the traditional sense is not required if you follow the above LR recommended procedures.

9: WARNING: when attempting a start do not crank engine over for longer than 30secs as a fuel pump failure may occur.

FINALLY - GOOD PRACTICE
When driving your FL2 anywhere it is highly recommended to carry with you your Owners Manual as it is full of useful information that will get you out of trouble.

It is also prudent to have read it at least once from cover to cover.

And when going "native" across wide open spaces where refueling opportunities are sparse, carry a spare fuel can.

So, the basic advice is "When all else fails read the Instructions".

As for the spare jerry cans. I had been carrying 60 l of extra fuel to do the desert run, but as i had reached more populated parts - one town per 300 km - there seemed no rerason to carry spare fuel.

Just fill it up, modern diesels just fire straight back up...in my experience anyway! Mine: 2012 Golf GTI Edition 35
Family's: 2009 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Auto, Stornoway

Yorkshire - God's County

Big Dave wrote:

Just fill it up, modern diesels just fire straight back up...in my experience anyway!

errrmmm ... no ....

this topic is sooooo relevant to me right now.

Last week, in my partners 3 year old Zafira, and with the guage still reading a smidgeon, and on the way to a refuel, I ground to a halt - it had run out of deisel. I walked the 2 miles to the station, got a can, filled it up and walked the 2 miles back. (massively off with myself). Stuck the 5 litres in the Zafira and tried to re-start.

Absolutely NoGo!

Called a friendly mechanic, who used a vacuum pump to suck up the diesel to the injectors, then disconnected some pipework to bleed the air out, turn over ignition to bleed, reconnect and then restart and Hey Presto!

£55 to the mechanic and back home to face the music indoors  Chris

Actually there's an easy way around this on HPCR engines.

On the back of the HPCR fuel pumps is a valve that regulates the pressure to the rail. What you need to do is remove the fuse that contols this and crank the engine till it fires. What this does is remove the min and max pressure signal and allows a frre flow of fuel at absolute max pressure into the rail. It will however set up a fault code and you should not run for more than 20 seconds. But once it fires and runs within 5 or so secs it will have bled itself. Then re-connect. It will log a fault code though as historic.

It's not widely mentioned in manuals due to the potential damage it can do. If it fails to start after that then it's usually a case of going back to basics.

Friend of mine had a similar problem with his s-Max.
When feed to fuel gauge failed the car would not run as it thought it was out of fuel - even though there was plenty in the tank. There's always a way forward!

2008 Freelander Td4 GS - Stornoway Grey - Now Gone - Sob
2011 Freelander Td4 GS 150 - Rimini Red - in its place - Better x far x 4!!

I actually thought nowadays modern diesels sorted themselves out when they have fuel put in....

this summer a mate of mine ran a new Transit camper dry, put a couple of gallons of diesel in and it was fine, and also his Navara, same story and it was ok, both on the advice of an independant LR mechanic. Mine: 2012 Golf GTI Edition 35
Family's: 2009 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Auto, Stornoway

Yorkshire - God's County

Thought the Idea of a fuel gauge is so you do NOT run out of fuel.....???
Been a professional driver for over 40 years never ran out of fuel once..
always check the gauge and level in the tanks and fill up as needed

Simple,s...!!!

that way never drag any C**P INTO THE INJECTORS and never had any mobile
spanner monkey out in the cold and wet trying to "Bleed it through" Wales
Were the mud is thicker, and the ruts are deeper.
(And we have the water to wash it off, and more on the way..! )
Sd4 and chrome Ar*e piece, Auto box for best fun
09 Xs Gone
12 xs Gone
HSE with Leather seats and 4 years warrenty.. staying for now !

Running the tank low doesnt pull crap out of the tank. the fuel is recirculated constantly much of it returning from the injectors to the tank through the leak off system. so the fuel is constantly filtered. if there is crap in your tank you will no well before you run low on juice.

This old myth comes from people refuelling using dirty containers after running out, they never admit to using the dirty container and blame the crap that was 'already in the tank' At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Once upon a time, a long time ago, when I was wearing a green suit, I got called out to an 8 tonne green Bedford that had run out of fuel. We got him started after we got some diesel and the driver, (at fault), had done the required 250 pumps, by hand, on the primer lever. (A right pain in the a**e I can tell you).

Ironic thing was that he actually had loads of fuel on board. 2,000 litres to be precise, in jerry cans. Only problem was... it was petrol.  We Don't Care About Pot Holes !!

It's bio-diesel that pulls crap outof your tank. But there's unlikely to be any in cars as new as ours. Plus the crap is usually rust, and I suspect we have a plastic tank. Old LR petrol vehicles (Series III) had a little glass filter bowl which constantly filled with rust flakes. And which broke when you dropped it as you took it off.

mudslinger wrote:

Thought the Idea of a fuel gauge is so you do NOT run out of fuel.....???
Been a professional driver for over 40 years never ran out of fuel once..
always check the gauge and level in the tanks and fill up as needed

Simple,s...!!!

Clearly not a follower of Clarkson then! Playing Russian Roulette with the Fuel guage is a favourite pastime!

I remember my old motorbiking days, when all you had was a lever you turned to Reserve when it spluttered after a couple of hundred miles. If you turned the lever to Reserve AFTER you had just passed a motorway service station (and in those days they were 30 miles apart at least!), and Reserve only contained 25 miles of fuel, then the inevitable would happen .... Glad I had AA membership!  Chris

You can NOT run out of fuel in most modern common rail diesels, the car will stop after being electronically switched off when fuel falls below reserve level but still leaves a small ammount of fuel in tank and in system.
To restart a modern commom rail diesel which is totally dry is not a roadside job.
You must NEVER try to bleed these systems by slackening pipes/unions as the extremely high opperating pressure of system is capable amputating fingers or causing other serious injury. All FL2's (3) Gone
2011 Mercedes C180 CGI Gone
FL2 GS Auto SD with heated leather, factory tints, alloy spare and a few other bits.