Don't know about your particular vanagon, but in general, the gas gauge
is only an indicator, not a precise measure, of the volume of fuel in
the tank.  That the gauge needle did not indicate fuel content with 2
gallons in the tank is no surprise, and that the needle indicated some
fuel content when empty would also be no surprise for many vehicles.  I
would expect consistency, however.  I have learned (the hard way) that
when the gauge on my camper indicates a quarter tank, the tank is right
at empty.  If mine were inconsistent, however, I would expect an
electrical glitch.  Dave Mc

On Sun, Oct 18, 2009 at 10:29 PM, Steve Williams wrote:

> I ran my '84 Westy out of gas today, thank goodness within walking
> distance of a gas station.
>
> I knew the fuel was low, but the gauge was still well above the red
> band, and I've driven more miles on a tank.  I was running errands
> and decided to complete just one more task before filling up.
>
> I put 16.1 gallons into the 16-gallon tank.  The van got 19.0 mpg on
> this tank, so that's pretty normal.
>
> The question is: Why didn't the gauge dip into the red, as it always
> has before?
>
> A clue: The gauge didn't budge when I poured a 2-gallon gas can into
> the tank.
>
> When the engine died, I was sure it was because I had depleted the
> battery.  I'm the guy that keeps posting to the list about the low
> voltage from my alternator.  But that wasn't the problem this time.