Hey guys, I have a 2001 Accord EX V6 and the low fuel light does not ever come on. I have already tested the bulb and it is fine. The gauge works fine as well.

I read some other forums before joining up here and everyone ragged on about how it's just cosmetic and you shouldn't let your gas run low and all that crap.

The point is, I take great care of my car and every little thing that goes wrong bugs the heck out of me until I get it fixed. The list is very small now, as you can tell, lol.

Anyways, any help would be great!


I'll be sure to check in at the New Member section as soon as I can, gotta get some recent pics of my car too!

 

What testing of the sending unit have you done so far? What is the "MAX" number of gallons of gas you've ever had to put into it, when you thought the light should have come on?

 

I haven't touched the sending unit yet. Not sure what to try with it. I have run it out of gas completely a few times and the light did not come on. I know that the light did work at some point, when I first bought it 12 years ago. Max gallons was probably just shy of 15.

I know that the light is there cuz I can shine a flashlight through the hole and make it light up and I have had the bulb in hand and tested with 12v power supply. I even swapped the bulb with the speedo and no change.

 

The next step is to unplug the sending unit electrical connector. Looks like there is five wires going to it. Jump the light green/red wire to the black wire (or ground) on the side of the harness going to the gauge with the key in the II position. The low fuel light should turn on. I'd try jumping to a good ground like a metal bolt after testing using the black wire.

The sending unit should be in the back of the trunk. I think you have to lift the cover for the spare tire to access.

The wires to the plug are ordered:

123
45

You jump wire 1 to 3.

If the bulb turns on, there is a problem with the sending unit. If the bulb does not turn on, there is a problem with the wiring.

You can also test for voltage from wire 3 (lt grn/red to ground) using a volt meter to ground or the blk wire (#1). It should have 12V.

 

This is a description of how the low fuel indicator works:

A thermistor is mounted in the fuel tank unit. When the thermistor is cool, its resistance is very high. When the thermistor’s temperature increases, its resistance decreases. Fuel in the fuel tank transfers heat away from the thermistor fast enough to keep it cool so the thermistor’s resistance stays high and the low fuel indicator light does not come on. When the fuel level drops below the thermistor, the thermistor’s temperature increases. With less and less fuel to cool it, the thermistor’s resistance decreases, eventually allowing current to flow through the low fuel indicator light and the thermistor to ground, which turns on the low fuel indicator light.