Re: E36 M3 wacko fuel gauge

[Ed Wodzienski <general@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 17:39:20 -0500
>From: "Lane Flynn" <vortexic@domain.elided>
>Subject: Re: E36 M3 wacko fuel gauge
>
>This came up a few months back either on the digest or on the BMW NG.  IIRC,
>it affects E36's and maybe E34's and was caused by leaving the key in the
>ignition while filling up (whole big discussion on why ignition electronics
>connected to gas tank electronics).  The solution seemed to be that if you
>turned the car off and on a few times, the gauge would go back to normal and
>the problem wouldn't recur as long as you made sure to take the key out of
>the ignition when getting gas.  HTH; I've never had this problem but I
>always remember to take the key out before I get gas.
>- --Lane Flynn

The curiosity was killing me, so I tried it. About three fill-ups ago, I
refueled my car with the ignition on (engine off) just to see if this
problem reared its ugly head. And you know what? It didn't! Everything
worked fine. In fact, it was kinda fun to see the gas gauge and range
calculation (via OBC) change quickly with the addition of new fuel. One
thing I did notice was that the range calculation was overly optimistic
after the refueling was complete. Usually I'll get something like +347
miles after an ignition off refill. However after refueling with the
ignition on, I got +410. Hmm... Anyway, just another data point on the
wacky fuel gauge issue.

- --
Ed Wodzienski (E3)
'98 M3/4 via Euro Del w/Euro Headlights (Waiting to be sharked)
'90 Ninja ZX-7

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