First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

[southpaw23]

Hey folks,

In case you were stuck on the AYE and cursing yesterday evening due to the congestion, my apologies as i was the cause of it :verysad:

The car died on me cos i apparently ran outta fuel. Found out the hard way that the milleage indicator that calculates the remaining kilometers you can travel isn't quite as accurate as i had thought. But the odd thing was that it indicated 30km remaining so i'm kinda surprised that it was off by that much.

I'm just hoping it was purely cos of the lack of fuel that caused the car to go limp and hopefully there's no other issues and more importantly no long term damage caused to the car as a result of this incident.

Although the dang tow truck did end up scratching my right front rim slightly...which royally sucked :furious:

Ah well...looking forward to more interesting experiences with this car...hopefully more good ones than bad ones..

Guess i can chalk this one up as one of my BMW Singapore Motoring Life experiences

 

[hitmee]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

which model is that?

 

[southpaw23]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

It's a 2004 E46 320i..

 

[hitmee]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

that's odd, coz i remember one of the forumer still manage to drive when the reading is 0km.

different model though.

 

[southpaw23]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

Should i be alarmed by this incident then? Is there other possible problems that's causing this?

questions..questions..

 

[zuoom]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

basically the float in the tank is alittle bit off.

 

[ecoquest]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

I drive the same year/model, but the latest I've waited before re-filling was when the indicator showed I have 40km left to empty.

But my needle still showed there was still quite a bit of fuel left though, so I suspect I could have gone for another 20km.

 

[Azrielsc]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

I have driven my car for about 15km after the indicator shown -----km. 1st and last time though.

 

[jinooi]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

guys, the obc computes distance left based on the amount of fuel left in the tank divided average fuel consumption.

and the average fuel consumption is based on the total distance traveled divided by the total fuel consumed since the obc was last reset.

so if you have very little left in the tank, and you drive fast and furious, you will definitely run out of fuel despite the obc showing that you have some distance left to go.

so bottomline is to trust the fuel gauge, and not the obc, unless you religiously reset your fuel gauge everytime you start your engine.

and do refill your tank when the empty tank light comes on. you'll damage your catalytic convertor if you run out of fuel. and the cat costs a lot of money to replace.

 

[southpaw23]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

Thanks for the useful info jinooi....well, one thing was for certain, i was going really really light on the throttle since i knew that i was running low on fuel...but i honestly thought i still had time to get to a station.

The last time before i filled up, the indicator was also showing a remainder of 30km and i didn't hv any problems there, so it's kinda odd that it died this time around. And isn't 30km a big error margin, even if you calculate remaining fuel against the fuel consumption, i don't see how it could off by 30km.

Oh well....i'll definately not let the indicator go below 50km from now on...

 

[jinooi]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

question is when did you last reset the obc?

and the most accurate gauge is the fuel gauge. if it shows empty, you are really empty.

 

[totoseow]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

E for enough
F for finish

 

[niteblu]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

Oh well....i'll definately not let the indicator go below 50km from now on...

drive an e46 myself, once let it go down till 16km
(not advisable by any stretch)

i think it's actually mentioned in our user manuals.
To pump when the OBC falls below 50km.

In addition to jin's advice about protecting your cat.

i know leaving your car even parked, with an empty tank.
Could result in misfiring (& engine lights) when you start up.
Experienced this once with a Ford Taurus I used to drive...

moral of the story.
Pump now rather than later - you'll have to someday anyhow.

 

[jinooi]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

and there's always other risks when you are low.

e.g. when you are going up an incline - up or down a carpark ramp - and there's not enough fuel to feed to the system and air gets into the system. you'll get what is known as fuel surge. the car will seem to 'stumble' - sudden loss of power even when you floor the pedal. the car will stutter, and the speed will drop. Then it shakes a bit and picks back up when the fuel manages to 'slosh' back into the fuel line. not a nice feeling.

 

[southpaw23]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

question is when did you last reset the obc?

and the most accurate gauge is the fuel gauge. if it shows empty, you are really empty.

Is the OBC the same as the trip meter? ie. pushing the pin on the left? I don't know what the pin on the right does...but i've pushed that before as well.

 

[southpaw23]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

and there's always other risks when you are low.

e.g. when you are going up an incline - up or down a carpark ramp - and there's not enough fuel to feed to the system and air gets into the system. you'll get what is known as fuel surge. the car will seem to 'stumble' - sudden loss of power even when you floor the pedal. the car will stutter, and the speed will drop. Then it shakes a bit and picks back up when the fuel manages to 'slosh' back into the fuel line. not a nice feeling.

Another good point....i noticed that i lost power and got the stutters when i was approaching the rochor exit coming from the keppel...thats when my car died as i was going on the incline.

 

[jinooi]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

haha, just got your car not long ago? you need to read the driver's manual.

you are driving a 320, so it will have an obc. it's the button with 'obc' printed on it, on the left signal stalk beside the steering wheel.

there are 5 modes. if i can remember correctly these are what it shows - time, outside temp, average fuel consumption, avg speed, and estimated distance left on current fuel level.

there are only 2 modes you can reset - average fuel consumption, and avg speed. to reset, press and hold the obc button.

the left button in the instrument console resets your trip meter. twisting the right button adjusts your clock (on the instrument panel as well as your radio).

have fun exploring.

 

[jinooi]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

Another good point....i noticed that i lost power and got the stutters when i was approaching the rochor exit coming from the keppel...thats when my car died as i was going on the incline.

mebbe the comp wasn't wrong.

it was due to the incline that fuel wasn't getting into the engine.

based on avg fuel consumption of about 11L / 100km, you could have had about 3.3L left in the tank (thereby the 30km reading on the obc) - probably the cause for fuel surge and subsequent engine cut due to insufficient fuel.

 

[southpaw23]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

haha, just got your car not long ago? you need to read the driver's manual.

you are driving a 320, so it will have an obc. it's the button with 'obc' printed on it, on the left signal stalk beside the steering wheel.

there are 5 modes. if i can remember correctly these are what it shows - time, outside temp, average fuel consumption, avg speed, and estimated distance left on current fuel level.

there are only 2 modes you can reset - average fuel consumption, and avg speed. to reset, press and hold the obc button.

the left button in the instrument console resets your trip meter. twisting the right button adjusts your clock (on the instrument panel as well as your radio).

have fun exploring.

Guilty as charged....i just picked the car up this past weekend

I'm aware of the 5 modes on the OBC, have been using the estimated distance. Just wasn't aware of how to reset it. So thanks for the heads up.

Guess i should take some time off this weekend to read the manual eh?

 

[jinooi]

Re: First interesting/embarassing experience with the bimmer

loads of info in the manual. wouldn't take a lot of time as most of it is intuitive, e.g. how to switch on the lights, etc. (- unlike the earlier generations of the i-drive, kekeke...)

there are also quite a few things that are not in the manual. it's somewhere in the forum, but i just can't find the thread. that one even more interesting. can somebody help to point out the thread?