Alex S

Hey Audi fans,

Guess what it was? The fuel pump!? Apparently, after reaching the bottom of the gas tank, my fuel pump started to groan at a full stop.

At first I thought it was a bad rotor. And finally the car died. I thought must be fuel. Must be low on fuel. Fuel Pump is struggling. The BOMB or Actuator or what ever else is in this car is eating up valuable juice at these stops and pump is having trouble adjusting and BAM! stalls.
But BAM! starts up better than my old legend on near empty tank of gas. So I dry it to the gas station and I am careful not to stop abruptly (does fine at a slow stop--maybe these cars are made for responsible drivers or something).

Anyhow, the tank seems to hold about 20.5 gallons before the little gas pump icon chimes and appears. Since I don't have a manual, I wasn't sure how much of a reserve I have when this light goes on, and I didn't want abuse my fuel pump cause it seems like the bomb has had enough abuse.

Comments appreciated. I know I sound like an idiot. -Alex

ChuckH

...in the tank, when you hit the brakes. The bomb has nothing to do with it. When the fuel shifts forward,t he fuel pickup can't get any, and so the pump can't send it tot he engine. I ran my 90Q out of gas once, and that's exactly what mine did also. I'd hit the brakes, the car would stop, and then it would restart and go up hills. If you take a corner fast, and you're low on gas, the same thing will happen, only it probably won't stall. it will just hickup. I think you should have 2.5 gallons of reserve, and the tank is probably 20 gallons + a little extra in the filler tube, I'm guessing. The one on my 90Q was 18.5, and the light came on at 2.5. If your light had just come on before you went dry, then there is a sender problem. The sender for the light is seperate from the sender for the guage, BTW. Running your tank dry is very hard on the fuel pump. One thing I can tell you is that if the fuel pump starts ticking, it's essentially a time bomb! Mine started ticking, then engine starting cutting in and out, and then it finally died, all within just a couple hours. Tow truck time! :-(

Hey! We're all idiots working toward common solutions! :-)

Charles

Alex S

Thanks ! -AS