At 06:13 AM 10/19/2009, mcneely4@cox.net wrote:
>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

Yeah, consistency is what I didn't get last night.  Ugh.

As for an electrical glitch, the battery was quite depleted due to my
alternator issues, but I doubt that's the kind of glitch you mean.

In the plane, I ignore the gauges and instead carefully track the
time.  I guess in my Westy I'll stop looking at the gauge and
carefully track the miles.  Sure, it'll generally go 300 miles on a
tank, and up to 350 miles at a constant 65 mph above 5,000 feet
elevation, but from now on I'm filling the tank at 270 miles!