Hitchcocks Forum

The low fuel warning lamp coming on when i go round bends, brake hard, accelerate etc is annoying to say the least. It son my C5 2018 Classic.

Has anyone ever fitted a 555 timer delay circuit relay between the fuel tank float and the LED lamp? I am thinking of doing this and setting it at say a 2 second delay to get rid of the low fuel light flickering on and off until the fuel is actually low!

Any thoughts welcome.

I hate using microelectronics in electrical systems so I always look for a simpler fix.

Add some weight to the float on the sender unit so it sits more in the fuel than on top of it, then tweak the bend so it still triggers at the right level?

You could do it with a transistor, a capacitor and a resistor/pot without the need for a 555 chip.
https://youtu.be/7GOM_cNTt0Q

Good ideas Stinkwheel, i'll give it some thought

The float is a magnet that operates a reed switch so as it bobs up and down when the fuel gets low, the switch is continually being opened and closed. It only moves up or down about half an inch. Nothing to bend or adjust to help.

Mann wrote: ↑

Tue May 05, 2020 11:30 am

The low fuel warning lamp coming on when i go round bends, brake hard, accelerate etc is annoying to say the least. It son my C5 2018 Classic.

Why are you looking at the lamp in those situations?

Haggis wrote: ↑

Tue May 05, 2020 8:42 pm

The float is a magnet that operates a reed switch so as it bobs up and down when the fuel gets low, the switch is continually being opened and closed. It only moves up or down about half an inch. Nothing to bend or adjust to help.

Interesting. I thought it would be one of those floats on a rotary switch like a ballcock.

I wonder if glueing a baffle to the float (like a flat plastic disc) would have a dampening effect on it's movement. Effectively encouraging it to stay more static in the liquid rather than bobbing up and down in it.

@papasmurf, looking at the road is so overrated.

Seriously though I wear an open face helmet and it is hard not to see the dam light twitching away.

I have found a timer delay relay which looks like it would do the job by pausing it’s live output by an adjustable amount of between 0.5 to 10 seconds, but it is 30 quid. I quite like the idea of building a circuit

Take a little piece of duct tape and place it over the lamp. It will never bother you again.

Mann wrote: ↑

Wed May 06, 2020 7:25 pm

@papasmurf, looking at the road is so overrated.

Seriously though I wear an open face helmet and it is hard not to see the dam light twitching away.

I have found a timer delay relay which looks like it would do the job by pausing it’s live output by an adjustable amount of between 0.5 to 10 seconds, but it is 30 quid. I quite like the idea of building a circuit

Dump the light and fit a reserve tap on the petrol tank.

papasmurf wrote: ↑

Thu May 07, 2020 6:21 am

Dump the light and fit a reserve tap on the petrol tank.

It doesn't have a tap, it's EFI.

Frank