My gas gauge acts a lot like Steve's and it's a 90 model.  Near the
red and you better have a gas pump in your sights.  When my gauge
points to the half mark, I've got 5 gallons left; period!

YGGMV

DM&FS

At 08:13 AM 10/19/2009, Dave Mcneely 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
>
>
>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.