Ok, so I've been trying to figure out what could be keeping my gas light from working in my 2000 civic ex recently. I checked all of the fuses under the dash and they all seem to be fine and I checked all of the fuses under the hood; also good. All of the other "idiot lights" in my car work fine, so I don't think that it's a blown bulb, but I suppose it could be... Are these hard to change? My next question is does the gas light come in relation to the position of the gas gauge or does it come on based upon an indicator inside the gas tank that sends a signal which turns on the light? Does anyone know? Any help would be a greatly appreciated, thanks!!

- Craig

 

Definitely check the bulb. Not too difficult. Just remove the gauge assembly (see manual at link in my signature).

Yes, the indicator light is controlled by the fuel sending unit (via the fuel tank float) above the gas tank. If the bulb is fine, then the sending unit could be bad or the wire from the sending unit to the indicator bulb in the gauge assembly is bad.

 

Thanks! I'll take the dash apart this week and see if the bulb is bad. If I'm not mistaken, the sending unit just sends the signal to the fuel gauge, right? It doesn't have anything to do with the actual sending of fuel to the injectors right? I've been having a problem where it doesn't like to start right at random times and I can never get it to do it when anyone else is in the car. It turns over normally and then seems to stumble on itself like it's not getting gas or something, I can't figure it out. It's been doing it for 2+ years since I bought it and I really want to fix it. I'm going to change the fuel filter this week and see if that helps. If not I might have the sending unit checked. Thanks again for your help!

- Craig

 

The sending unit sends two separate signals, one to the fuel gauge to show fuel level and the other to the low fuel indicator when about two gallons are left in the gas tank.

Correct

Replacing the fuel filter is a good idea. When was the last time that you replaced the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, and rotor?

 

I replaced them before I had the car in for the 60k service, but then my friend works at an Acura dealer and he told me that the after market plugs and wires, etc might be part of the problem so he got me the Honda parts and I thought that helped for a little while but after a while it started doing the same thing so I took it to the dealer and they couldn't find anything. It finally did it with one of my friends in the car last week and I was like see I'm not crazy, but it's hard to explain so the mechanics at the dealer don't seem to understand what I'm explaining. I'm hoping that if the fuel filter doesn't help my dad's mechanic will be able to find something. Thanks again,

Craig

 

Have you actually run out of gas and not had the light come on? It could be that the gas gauge is reading low and it shows empty when there is actually more than 2 gallons of gas left. Carry some gas with you and then drive until either the light comes on or you run out.

 

I ran it until i thought I was gonna run out once, it barely stared and got me to the gas station. When I filled up, I had 1/2 gallon left, it def should have come on before then so I figured something was wrong. My gas gauge, and other Honda ones too, move around a lot, especially when cornering, so it's hard to tell where it really is, but I know by the mileage when I'm getting close and when I need to fill up. My friend's dad told me to run it out too with a can with me but I hate the idea of sucking whatever is in the bottom of my tank into the fuel line/injectors. Thanks for the idea tho!

- Craig

 

Craig,

the bulb test can be done w/o taking out the cluster. the low fuel light should turn on when you first turn your keys without starting the car. then you know that the bulb is fine if it lights up along with all your other bulbs. I have the same problem. I suspect my sending unit but I haven't diagnosed it yet.

 

Thanks for the tip, the light does not come in when I first turn the keys, so maybe the bulb is bad... That would make my life a lot easier lol. I assume it's just a really small bulb that you can get at a local auto parts store?

Thanks!

Craig

 

For neither my 2000 EX nor my 1997 DX does the low fuel indicator light turn ON when the ignition key is turned to position II. I also know that both low fuel indicator lights work.