Ran out of fuel with half a tank remaining!!

[PhilUK]

So, driving up the A23 recently with the three kids in the car when.... cough... splutter.... no power and lots of dash lights! Grrr!  >:(

50 minutes later and we are on the back of an AA recovery truck. The AA guys verdict is probably a faulty fuel pump so we set off back in the direction of home with the X on the back of the truck.

At this point it suddenly dawned on me that it has been a long time since I filled up with fuel, way too long considering the car is still showing as having half a tank so I get the AA man to drive us and the car into the services just to make sure it hadn't ran out of fuel. A few squirts of diesel later and she fired straight up!! 

This was a few days ago and the X has been running fine since but the fuel gauge is definitely sticking on half full so I have been keeping a very close eye on the miles.

I presume this is caused by a faulty fuel sender rather than a faulty fuel gauge so has anyone had any experience of replacing their sender?

[shadrack]

I wonder if codes will show you, I think you can do a cluster test to prove if the gauge is working, does sound like a sender, I don't know what the x5 is like but on other bmws if you remove the rear seat and unbolt/screw the metal panel you can get to the fuel sender and its a fairly easy job, why not brim it and rest the milage then just fill up after say 300 miles for now though

[Sanj]

Think that's right shad - Jig had his replaced when he put petrol in the diesel. Check realOEM to be sure.

Think there are two senders btw, one for each half of the tank (no idea how you tell which is which - unless you can look in there and see it's positioning, perhaps).

[535dboy]

Well it is only being kind to you making you feel like your life is not half empty but half full!

[Steamyrotter]

As always the first thing to try is disconnect battery for a bit.
May have had a comms issue with the cluster and got caught up in a loop?!!

[Black X5]

Sounds like a faulty sender as you say.

As Mentioned there are 2- one each side if the saddle tank. One is just a sender, whereas the other is a sender with a built in lift pump (a lot dearer).

I had the same issue on one if my previous Xs- I just lived with it and refuelled before it got to a 1/4 tank (where the fault was on mine).

[PhilUK]

Thanks for the responses chaps.

I have just had a bit more time to research this and uncovered the following info:

http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=974

http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/https://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6503#p6503

http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/https://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=35465#p35465

The nearside sender of the two situated under the rear seat controls the bottom half of the gauge so this should be the guilty party in my situation. And this is the cheaper of the two so that's good news.

Can anyone uncover a part number for the nearside sender for a 3.0d? Had a look on REAL OEM and although it's pictured there isn't a part number.  :blink:

[fenj66]

[quote="PhilUK"] can anyone uncover a part number for the nearside sender for a 3.0d? Had a look on REAL OEM and although it's pictured there isn't a part number.  :blink:
[/quote]

surely its parts 1 or 3?

[shadrack]

[quote="fenj66"]
[quote="PhilUK"] can anyone uncover a part number for the nearside sender for a 3.0d? Had a look on REAL OEM and although it's pictured there isn't a part number.  :blink:
[/quote]

surely its parts 1 or 3?
[/quote]

probably be 3 isn't it? theres non on ecp or ebay, maybe oem only although id be inclined to price oem anyway with something like that

[n1k85]

It was my thread you just linked to above, this was a PITA of an issue and drove me mad! Same issue as you, after half a tank i had no idea how much fuel I had left. I thought it was strange to buy a car from a used dealer and it to half half a tank of fuel in it! Although about 5 minutes from my house I discovered it was actually running on fumes.

I can't exactly remember how I fixed it, i ordered a replacement fuel sender but managed to fix the system  before it actually arrived. I sent the replacement back to FAB Breakers.

IIRC the problem wan't that the car was showing half full but was actually empty, the problem was the tank was actually half full, but one side of the tank could not 'suck' the fuel through to the other.

There's a guide somewhere that shows you how to use the 'hidden features' of the onboard computer, and you can actually see how much fuel is in each side of the tank. I also saw a guide on youtube of a guy using a drill and a coin directly onto the pump on the fuel sender to 'free' it up through vibration.

That could well be what happened with mine, It could have just got stuck and I freed it up when i was messing with it, the car had been standing for a while before I bought it.

Hope you get it sorted, I drove around for a month with a full can of diesel in the boot...

[PhilUK]

[quote="fenj66"]
[quote="PhilUK"] can anyone uncover a part number for the nearside sender for a 3.0d? Had a look on REAL OEM and although it's pictured there isn't a part number.  :blink:
[/quote]

surely its parts 1 or 3?
[/quote]

You're right fenj66, it's part No. 3 Not sure how I missed that!  :-[

n1k85, Was it simple enough to remove the senders? I've lifted the rear seat and couldn't figure out how to get them out at first glance.

[n1k85]

Yeah it's pretty easy, just get a flathead screwdriver on those little notches on the metal surround circle and gently tap it to free it, you can then unscrew it by hand.

[n1k85]

It's been a while since I did it, you may have to remove a rubber grommet first.

These might help:

http://youtu.be/GMptYkzb2dU

http://youtu.be/LXyA9HoXxtA

[PhilUK]

[quote="n1k85"]
It's been a while since I did it, you may have to remove a rubber grommet first.

These might help:

http://youtu.be/GMptYkzb2dU

http://youtu.be/LXyA9HoXxtA
[/quote]

Many thanks n1k85. No excuse for not getting the tool box out on the weekend now!