Ran out of fuel, no dead car.

[Thermo1223]

2006 Chevy Malibu Maxx 3.5l V6

I got mutiple calls from my FIL this morning, didn't hear my phone but apparently he ran out of gas. So him & his wife go get gas, then try & start the car. This doesn't work as the car acts like it has dead battery. He even made an attempt trying to restart it after it shut off the first time to see if he could get it off onto the shoulder a bit more. That didn't work either, he got nothing.

My guess is his alternator was probably dying for quite sometime, finally kicked the bucket and he was running on battery alone until the car died. Hell he could have gas but if the voltage was low the instruments wouldn't work right anyway.

He thinks there is some reset switch or the like but after listening to him talk as soon as I heard the "the clock reset" I tend to believe the above scenario more.

I haven't looked at it yet as he is at work but I bet it is that. If a car ran out of gas I could see it not starting if you burned out the fuel pump. It would still crank though, his car is just dead no power at all.

[gribly]

I think I'd agree with you based on the information given.

[Thermo1223]

Ya I mean this is word of mouth from him but I think it is certainly probrable.

If a mod could fix the title... It should read "Ran out of fuel, now dead car"

[DreamWarrior]

I don't know what a car feels like when it runs out of gas, but I do know when happens when an alternator fails (well, in my case it was b/c of a loose wire on the regulator and so the alternator just wouldn't produce any current). The car didn't go very far and it started to buck and then died. However, I had a voltage gauge on the car, so I could watch it dip well below 12 and then watch the car die...so I knew what was going on. I believe, though, I could have maybe mistaken it for running out of gas...well, that is unless of course I could see how much fuel was in the car before-hand, lol.

Having said that, all the gauges did pretty much die on me while the battery's life drained...so...I suppose it's possible if he doesn't pay attention to his fuel levels that he didn't see its level and just assumed that's what happens. But...I do find that kind of hard to believe. I mean, I always know how much fuel is in my vehicle. Probably why I don't know what it feels like to run out of gas, lol.

[Thermo1223]

Well he did run out of gas but his battery was original so figure roughly 5 years old.

Apparently the little he tried to start it after first running out of gas to try and move it off the shoulder into a parking lot was enough to drain the limited capacity the battery had. This coupled with his use of the hazards when we was gone for 30-40 mins to go get some fuel. I quick jump and started right up.

Bought a new battery at Advance and now he's good to go.

His battery acted the same way my Forester did before I replaced it. It started every cold winter morning even below 0F, albeit a little slow. As soon as I put a constant load on the battery(like lights) it was dead within 15 mins. It seems his was the same but better now than during a trip 3 hours from home.

The funniest part was the guy on the highway offramp flipping completely out as I drove up the shoulder with my hazards on to give him a jump, his WTF face was priceless. Although common sense would indicate the guy with a hood up needed help so why else would I drive on the shoulder with my hazards on. It wasn't like I driving actually up the onramp.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...00.97,,0,20.56

[TheMorlock]

explain to him there is this thing called an electric fuel pump and if you run out of gas then after you fill the tank you turn the car on for a few seconds and off for a few seconds rinse and repeat a few times to prime the lines before engaging the starter.

senile people should not drive.

[JPF_]

Originally Posted by DreamWarrior

I don't know what a car feels like when it runs out of gas, .

The engine shakes as if a cyl is not running.......putters a bit. Then dies on you. You can restart the car and it most times will idle.....but depends on the car.

[Thermo1223]

Originally Posted by TheMorlock

explain to him there is this thing called an electric fuel pump and if you run out of gas then after you fill the tank you turn the car on for a few seconds and off for a few seconds rinse and repeat a few times to prime the lines before engaging the starter.

senile people should not drive.

He's not that old and it really wouldn't have mattered his battery was shot anyway. So no need to be petty.

[RazorWind]

How do we know he ran out of fuel? If the symptoms he has indicate an electrical problem, it seems a lot more likely that the car stopped running because it had no electrical power, and is simply low on fuel.

[TheMorlock]

Originally Posted by Thermo1223

He's not that old and it really wouldn't have mattered his battery was shot anyway. So no need to be petty.

So you have any idea what can happen if you dont prime the system? You can blow parts off the engine.

If as he said originally the engine cranked than the car would have started if primed correctly. Just because he has more than one problem does not mean he should ignore proper recovery techniques.

[Tex Arcana]

Originally Posted by TheMorlock

So you have any idea what can happen if you dont prime the system? You can blow parts off the engine.

If as he said originally the engine cranked than the car would have started if primed correctly. Just because he has more than one problem does not mean he should ignore proper recovery techniques.

Problem is, you really have no idea yourself, because you've never owned a car in your life, preferring to suck dick for rides.

[Thermo1223]

Originally Posted by RazorWind

How do we know he ran out of fuel? If the symptoms he has indicate an electrical problem, it seems a lot more likely that the car stopped running because it had no electrical power, and is simply low on fuel.

He did run out of fuel that was confirmed just so happened the 2-3 times he cranked was enough to kill the already very weak battery apparently. Alternator checked out fine.

[Thermo1223]

Originally Posted by TheMorlock

So you have any idea what can happen if you dont prime the system? You can blow parts off the engine.

If as he said originally the engine cranked than the car would have started if primed correctly. Just because he has more than one problem does not mean he should ignore proper recovery techniques.

Dude shut the fuck up, seriously just shut the fuck up.

Proper recovery techniques? WTF are we going on African rescue mission now? Seriously?

You show me one instance where parts miraculously started flying off an engine after running out fuel. You don't prime...takes longer to start simple as that. Maybe that's we he did I DON'T KNOW but I do know it killed the weak point in the starting system so we could easily diagnose & replace it. What I DO KNOW is you seem have this superiority complex about you and for that you can go fuck yourself buddy.

[TheMorlock]

Originally Posted by Tex Arcana

Problem is, you really have no idea yourself, because you've never owned a car in your life, preferring to suck dick for rides.

only for the long distance rides. for inside the city it's strictly hand jobs

[TheMorlock]

Originally Posted by Thermo1223

Dude shut the fuck up, seriously just shut the fuck up.

Proper recovery techniques? WTF are we going on African rescue mission now? Seriously?

You show me one instance where parts miraculously started flying off an engine after running out fuel. You don't prime...takes longer to start simple as that. Maybe that's we he did I DON'T KNOW but I do know it killed the weak point in the starting system so we could easily diagnose & replace it. What I DO KNOW is you seem have this superiority complex about you and for that you can go fuck yourself buddy.

I blew the rockers off my engine when I ran it out of gas and did not prime the system correctly before trying to start it.

no magic required. as the battery ran down trying to prime the system while turning over the engine, I released the starter the electrical surge detonated the mix in a cylinder you fucking moron.