Ran Out of Fuel, Re-Fuelled, Then Car Won't Start

[Chuck1986]

Here's the story, my car is a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT:
Last night I was driving on the highway and I ran out of fuel. (Haha first time this has happened to me!) I called AAA and they brought me a gallon of gas. Car still wouldn't start. It would crank but wouldn't get above 300 RPMs and it would promptly die. I tried jumping the battery but was unsuccessful to get it to start. Then I tried starting fluid - it finally turned over and I was even able to smoothly rev the engine to 5000 RPMs without a problem. I thought all was well but after letting it idle for a few seconds, again, the RPMs dropped and it died. I tried starting it again but all I'd get were low RPMs and a knocking noise from the engine. So I had to have the car towed to the Mitsubishi dealer, thankfully it was only 10 miles away. They're gonna look at it tomorrow hopefully.


My question is, what do you think is wrong? Could I have destroyed my fuel pump by running it dry? Don't modern day cars have some sort of safety mechanism in the fuel pump to prevent it from dying due to an empty tank? Any help is appreciated, thanks for your time!!

 

[Carbon]

I would suspect a clogged fuel filter. The thought would be that accumulated debris at the bottom of your tank got sucked up. Your idea of a failed pump could be the problem instead.

 

[Chuck1986]

Originally Posted By: Carbon
I would suspect a clogged fuel filter. The thought would be that accumulated debris at the bottom of your tank got sucked up. Your idea of a failed pump could be the problem instead.


The fuel filter is part of the fuel pump assembly and is not serviceable, so if it is clogged perhaps I'll be needing a new fuel pump anyways. After letting the gas sit in the tank/bathe the fuel pump for awhile, would that dislodge any debris that had been clogging things?

 

[Colt45ws]

Ive had a borderline fuel pump die on me after the fuel system was depressurized. Like, I guess it could keep the pressure up high enough if it was already pressurized. However when it was depressurized, that was all she wrote. Had to put a new pump in to get it running again..
...or maybe it just needs more than a gallon.

 

[tinmanSC]

ok, so, i hate and ask the obvious, but are you sure that your initial diagnosis of "ran out of gas" was correct? This could just be a fuel pump issue from the start. Or you had some things floating around in your tank that should not be, and when you got too low on fuel they finally got sucked into the filter. This happened to a Lexus LS I was maintaining, that was a nightmare to diagnose

 

[Chuck1986]

Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
ok, so, i hate and ask the obvious, but are you sure that your initial diagnosis of "ran out of gas" was correct? This could just be a fuel pump issue from the start. Or you had some things floating around in your tank that should not be, and when you got too low on fuel they finally got sucked into the filter. This happened to a Lexus LS I was maintaining, that was a nightmare to diagnose

I suppose there is a chance my "ran out of gas" diagnosis is incorrect, but I do know the "low fuel" light was on for about 60-80 miles...come to think of it, I should've lasted longer since in the past it's come on with over 3 gallons left! On the highway my car gets 27-28 mpg so perhaps I didn't totally run out. If I did suck some junk into my filter I'm concerned I'd need to replace the filter since the filter is part of the fuel pump assembly.

 

[demarpaint]

Try adding about another 2 gallons to the tank. Then turn the key to the on position [don't start it though] then back to off. Do this a few times and listen for the fuel pump. Then try starting it. You might have picked up some junk and might be in need of repairs as already mentioned.

 

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted By: Carbon
I would suspect a clogged fuel filter. The thought would be that accumulated debris at the bottom of your tank got sucked up. Your idea of a failed pump could be the problem instead.


If there's debris at the bottom of that tank, why would this not be 'sucked up' when there's gas in it? The feed line is always sucking from the bottom of the tank. You wouldn't get very far if it sucked from the top of the tank.

Also, most fuel pumps have a pre filter type 'sock' on them to keep out any big junk.

 

[MarkM66]

How many miles on the car?

I guess trying to trouble shoot at this point is irrelevant since you took it to a shop.

But I would of put a fuel pressure gauge on it to see if it's in within spec.

 

[bullwinkle]

Once you get 2 or 3 gallons in the tank, try banging on the bottom of the gas tank with a rubber mallet or even your fist-that's gotten me moving/home again-but you're going to need a fuel pump, you might get lucky & shake the pump enough to get it moving again. That's why you never let your gas get below 1/4 tank-the fuel cools & lubricates the pump-run it low enough. it'll seize on you!

 

[eljefino]

IDK if your car has a return or returnless fuel system. Return systems have a line that goes from the fuel pressure regulator back to the tank, and 95% of the gas the pump pushes just goes in a circle and dumps back in the tank.

Returnless has just one line.

If you got air bubbles in your line, a return fuel system would promptly burp them out. Not so on returnless.

It would have been worth holding the idle at 4000 RPM for a minute, it wouldn't have hurt your motor running lean or anything because there's no load on it.

But let's see what the dealer says.

 

[-Clayton-]

My wife ran our caravan out of gas once, 1 gallon wasn't enough to get it started back up. I think I poured about 3 gallons in it and it fired right back up.

 

[Donald]

I just had problem with a clogged sock in the tank. The vehicle would start and run fine, but no power going up any kind of an incline.

 

[Vikas]

I do not quite understand as to *why* you drove 80 miles once you got a low fuel light. Was there some bet involved?

Just because your calculations show you have 3 gallons left in the tank, does not mean all of that is usable. The gas under pick up point will never reach engine.

- Vikas

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: MarkM66
Originally Posted By: Carbon
I would suspect a clogged fuel filter. The thought would be that accumulated debris at the bottom of your tank got sucked up. Your idea of a failed pump could be the problem instead.


If there's debris at the bottom of that tank, why would this not be 'sucked up' when there's gas in it? The feed line is always sucking from the bottom of the tank. You wouldn't get very far if it sucked from the top of the tank.

Also, most fuel pumps have a pre filter type 'sock' on them to keep out any big junk.


More chances of sucking up dirt in a near empty tank than a full tank. The gas is always moving around, and the OP could have been sucking up air and gas if the tank was really low. There is also a greater chance of overheating a fuel pump, many use the gas to cool them. Driving 80 miles with a low fuel light is pretty far.

 

[Chuck1986]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
I do not quite understand as to *why* you drove 80 miles once you got a low fuel light. Was there some bet involved?

Just because your calculations show you have 3 gallons left in the tank, does not mean all of that is usable. The gas under pick up point will never reach engine.

- Vikas


I won't totally excuse myself of stupidity on this. I grew up in Massachusetts where on the I-90 there are rest stops with gas stations every 20-25 miles. (Same seems to be true for New York too). Unfortunately, as I learned the hard way, this is not the case for the I-90 in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Before the gas light even came on I had the intention of stopping for gas at the first plaza on I-90, but it never happened.

Shortly before breaking down, I did exit with the intent of re-fuelling since there was a sign that said "gas, food - exit 17". However, I drove around and couldn't find the said gas station.

 

[carbuyhelp]

That's just tough luck.

I believe this same thing also happened to our car. After having it serviced, we now treat the mid level of the fuel gauge as the caution level. Whenever our fuel gauge reaches half, I always make sure to fill up.

 

[Nick R]

When the fuel pump in the expedition died, it acted like it ran out of gas. I wonder if running so low on gas caused the fuel pump to overheat and fail? I mean the fuel in the tank is what cools the pump motor, right?

 

[mechtech2]

Put more than one gallon of fuel in it.

 

[Chuck1986]

The dealer finally got a chance to look at it this morning and they had a pretty grim diagnosis:
They said the fuel system is completely fouled and that I'd need new spark plugs (they're supposedly fouled) and the fuel tank needs to be dropped and cleaned. Estimate is over $700 so you can imagine I'm a bit skeptical. Injector pulse is normal (does that mean the fuel pump is ok?)

Could the spark plugs really be fouled that badly just from running out of fuel? I ask this cuz they only have about 12k miles on them and they're the iridiums. Also, I have a tough time buying the fact that the fuel tank needs to be dropped and cleaned. If the fuel system truly is fouled is there a chance that if I added several more gallons of fuel, it might start? (In theory that would dilute the crud, as the AAA guy only gave me one gallon.)

Since the dealer has my car and I can't drive it home to look at it myself, it's a tough predicament.