Have you noticed that your fuel gauge's pointer does not drop to the bottom of the scale (like the other gauges) when you switch your TCH off? It only struck me the other day that this was happening. I had noticed that, in the morning, the fuel gauge was always at the bottom of its scale, like the others. So, I sat watching it for a while after switch-off the other day, and discovered that, after about 10 minutes, its pointer drops down. This means that the gauge and the sender in the tank are remaining powered for ~10 minutes after switch-off. This clearly is intentional. I can only speculate that it is for reasons related to possible re-fuelling of the vehicle — keep the fuel gauge active since the driver may be intending to fill up. Does anyone have a better idea as to why this is done?

Stan

Maybe its just part of some some collectively powered subsystem that remains powered for other fuel related functions like the evap control, fuel door, or some of those other whirry noises that happen. I wonder if you sit in the car all day, if the guage will register for a few minutes here and there as something else is occuring.

Two climate control systems, one inside and the other at the tailpipe.

Distance: 29169km (75% city - 20 min trips)
FE: 6.77L/100km or 34.7 mpg
Operating Cost: $0.066/km / $0.107/mile

Droid13 — Are you offering to do the day-long test?!

Stan

Umm.... sure, let me check my schedule. Ooo, doesn't look good.

But seriously, maybe I'll point my laptop's web cam at the dash and do a time lapse video for a couple of hours, see what happens...

Two climate control systems, one inside and the other at the tailpipe.

Distance: 29169km (75% city - 20 min trips)
FE: 6.77L/100km or 34.7 mpg
Operating Cost: $0.066/km / $0.107/mile

Droid13 — That's a good idea! Don't forget that the behavior might depend on whether the fob is inside the car; i.e., whether the driver is inside or not. Even with the fob outside the car, if it's detected by the door lock sensors, this will probably change the timing and extent of some of the power-down stages. So, you probably want to keep it well away from the car during the experiment. You'll also have to provide illumination for the gauges.

Stan

Yea, I never paid much attention before, but even outside during daylight the fuel guage area is quite dark. I'm surprised you even noticed this behaviour.

Two climate control systems, one inside and the other at the tailpipe.

Distance: 29169km (75% city - 20 min trips)
FE: 6.77L/100km or 34.7 mpg
Operating Cost: $0.066/km / $0.107/mile