Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Anyone know how many kms you have after your low fuel indicator light on your dash comes on?
And I have heard that running out of fuel with a diesel is ultra bad. Is this true and if so why is it worse than with gas?

My guage hits the "E" mark around 380 kms. I go to 450 kms without my light coming on and then fill up to the tune of 55litres. The capacity is supposed to be 70 litres. I havent bothered pushing any further to see when exactly the light comes on because I have always had somewhere to be when it got that low. My light does work, so I know I can go longer without fuel, guessing close to 550 kms.
Running out of diesel isn't "bad", it is more a pain. If you just start stumbling and dont actually die, you might get away with fueling up and cranking it. If not, you need to pump the manual primer on top of the fuel filter housing untill it fuels the whole system. I have always been able to start easy enough after doing this but there is a possibility you will need to crack the fuel lines loose at the injectors and then pump the primer to get the air to bleed out.

Anyone know how many kms you have after your low fuel indicator light on your dash comes on?

No, but I can say it's at least 50 (that's the most I've done on it) theoretically it should be almost 100, but I'd rather not test it.

And I have heard that running out of fuel with a diesel is ultra bad. Is this true and if so why is it worse than with gas?

I wouldn't say "ultra bad" but it's certainly more of a pain than with gas, gas engines deal better with getting air in the fuel lines than diesels do, as a result, when you run out of diesel, not only do you have to put more diesel in, there's a good chance you'll have to prime the pump too, this isn't however the end of the world, just pop the "hood", loosen the bolt on the side of the fuel pump, and push down on the top of the pump repeatedly until fuel comes out, tighten the bold again and away you go.

Great. Thanks for clearing that up. I have been getting around 450km before I hit empty but my light still hasn't come on and I not that excited about finding out that my fuel indicator light actually doesn't work and that I have run out of fuel.

Does your dial have to go below E for the indicator light to go on?
On another note
Do you put in any diesel additives or injector cleaner on a regular basis?
Do you recomend ultra or reg. diesel?
My goal is to retire with this vehicle and that means I have another 25 years to go and want to keep this thing purring.
Thanks
Again
Jaime

The light has nothing to do with the gauge itself. It is a separate circuit all together. If you really want to see if it works, next time you are almost out of fuel, undo the drain bolt at the bottom of each tank (very easy to access) and drain the tanks. Then see if your light works and how much fuel it takes for it to turn off.

Hey Guys can you tell me if you low fuel indicator lights up when you turn your key to on before you start your van? I can see on my dash where it is (beside my light for my battery) but I'm not sure if it works and don't really want to be driving around on E to find out.

Great. Thanks for clearing that up. I have been getting around 450km before I hit empty but my light still hasn't come on and I not that excited about finding out that my fuel indicator light actually doesn't work and that I have run out of fuel.

450km? you probably have another 100-150km before the light comes on... (by the way mine works)

Does your dial have to go below E for the indicator light to go on?

most people find that to be true, but as mentioned by another poster they aren't actually related.

Do you put in any diesel additives or injector cleaner on a regular basis?

no I don't, the manufacturers NEVER recommend additives, so I don't use them... this viewpoint is not however shared by everyone on this forum and some people swear by them...

Do you recomend ultra or reg. diesel?

most of the places I fill don't give me the option.

Hey Guys can you tell me if you low fuel indicator lights up when you turn your key to on before you start your van?

unfortunately it doesn't... bad design if you ask me... no way to know if it's burnt out without actually running out of diesel.

Too bad about the light not coming on in the "on" position. Maybe I need to run it lower than I have been and see if it comes on. I think I've put in 60 liters, but that's about the most so far.

Green1, do you know how many liters you are putting in after your low fuel light comes on?

Hmmm, OK. I've put about 60 liters of fuel in and no low fuel light, maybe I need to run lower for it to come on?

you should be getting close, but yes, a little lower, it's about a 75 litre tank, and the "reserve" should be around 10 litres

All very interesting indeed.
I'm getting to 450 Km by the time I hit E. Fill up is generally 52-56 Litres by that time.
My Russik Manual said 57L tank (or thereabouts...currently out in the glove box), but I had read elsewhere on this board that we have 70L tanks on these models coming in from Japan so happy to hear possibly 75L Green1. On the other hand - it's amazing the gauge would read E with 20L to go. But, have also read that its good to leave a reasonable portion of fuel in the tank as it cools the electric fuel pump. Anyway - seems my Deli is just like everyone else's and that's all I care about!!!
In the end, I've never seen the fuel lamp light up either - and maybe that's Japanese engineering to help the average driver avoid ever having to prime a fuel pump etc etc.

I can tell you from experience, the average Japanese car owner is not much of a DIY enthusiast.

My experience with this indicator light is, the light comes on after I have burned 60 litres of fuel. The light was on when I picked up the van and drove to a gas station and put in 60ish litres. Since then I have tested it at least three times and it comes on at the 60 litres burned point. I assume I have about 10 litres left as I have the dual tanks and most seem to think that there is between 70-75 litres with the dual tanks.

When the light comes on, the guage is reading almost an 1/8 of a tank past the E. I love living dangerously

one of these days I'll try fuelling BEFORE the light comes on... strange concept....
(yes, I know it's better to not let it get down that low, I'm just lazy and visit the fuel station as seldom as possible)
I generally put in about 65 litres after the light comes on. (but sometimes it's been on for a while)
but, as I'm used to a vehicle with a fuel guage that didn't work so well (my previous vehicle, not the delica) I'm used to using the odometer more than the fuel guage anyway

My low fuel light comes on with about 10 to 15 litres left in the tank. My Super Exceed will take 75 litres (2 tank system as most here are), tested by running out of fuel. I thought I had enough to get back to town, but I guess not - higher speeds, extra gear and passengers, and wind limited me to 500 km on that tank. In general I expect to get 600 km on a tank, but generally fill up a 450. There are fewer fuel stations on the northern roads and don't want to get caught.

James

My fuel light only comes on when im in park,as soon as i put it in drive it turns off.Iv gotten up to 550 on a tank by accident,bu ti bet i could still get more out of her.

If you want to test the fuel light circuit, crouch down beside the LR tire and look at the side of the rear fuel tank. You will see a connector (orange in color I think) with 3 wires. Unplug it, use a scrap piece of wire, connect the solid yellow one to ground. Then turn on the ignition and the fuel light should work. This does nothing to test the "wet" sensor in the tank though, which on 99% of vehicles I have ever worked on, that sensor has always been the failure.