shogun1552

My low fuel light is not coming on is there a fuse for that?

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Nope. It takes the tank getting quite low to make it come on. You want to risk getting stranded just to see if a non-critical warning light comes on?

emergencybm

iTrader: (1)

Just pay attention to your fuel gauge. Relying on a light to catch your attention when your almost out of gas is lazy. In addition the fuel in your tank helps to regulate the temperature of your fuel pump. Running your tank down to nothing is a good way to excessively heat your fuel pump and fry it prematurely.

Just some food for thought

Former User

The low fuel light in the cluster of my 97 Civic wasn't coming on. After doing the diagnostic tests, I found that the fuel sending unit was bad. Replaced it and now my light works again -- comes on when there's about 2 gallons left in the tank.

CO671

iTrader: (1)

Hope this question helps OP and many of us:

I noticed you mentioned fuel sending unit being the cause in multiple threads over the past years here on Honda-Tech, however which one did you get?
I only see this option on RockAuto:


Did you go OEM or aftermarket, new or used?

Former User

I bought the OEM Honda unit from Majestic. I think it was $90 for my 97 Civic DX.

Racer02gtstang

So my 99ex should have a low fuel light? Never though it had one. Lol

jonsey1886

Yea it should.

Simple low light check-(also just FYI the Fuel Gauge will usually "float" quite wildly when driving i.e. going from half-to near "E" when accelerating/decelerating)

Tools Needed:

10mm Socket (or 10mm wrench and long spindly arms)
Drive for socket
Phillips-Head screwdriver
Large-ish Paper-clip
Shop-vac (or something to clean up the mess you'll find (purely optional) )

Pre-steps:

Ensure that all your fuses are in good working condition and pull the instrument cluster.

i.) drop the steering wheel as low as it can go and lock in place.

ii.) 2 phillips head screws on the plastic surrounding the cluster. pull it out directly towards you & try not to break it

iii.) then 4 that anchor the cluster itself, unplug the electrical connectors and pull out

iv.) check the bulbs and replace any blown ones as necessary (small bulbs are size #74, large ones are #194)

v.) Re-assemble cluster assembly reverse of removal.

Steps

1.) Pop trunk/hatch

2.) Find black handles (these unlock your rear seats) & pull them

3.)Seatbacks should now be free and move "down" so grab the 10mm socket and remove (starting from driver's side) 2 10mm bolts (on door side) 2 more 10mm bolts (about "middle") of the 2/3 back seats and finally 2 10mm bolts on the passenger's side door area

4.) Once you have all 6 bolts stowed safely there is one last 10mm bolt to remove and it should be dead in the "middle" of the seat partition. On my 98 LX it is black and goes inside a silver hinge type thing that 2 of the earlier 10mm bolts went into.

5.) Once this is removed (be careful as there are two small plastic pieces that are easy to lose) the entire back part of the rear seats should remove as one big piece (no need to remove the seat backing yay!!! )

6.) After wresting with the belts and buckles to get them separate from the seat back you just removed look "down" on the driver's side area (you may have to jiggle the seat cushion a bit) and you should see one FINAL 10mm bolt (on my vehicle it's brown) that goes into a U-shaped piece of metal. Remove that and the seat cushion should easily raise up (total removal not required) towards the front seats.

7.) After grabbing all the lose change you never thought you'd see again (I made $1.10 USD from this) and the ancient french-fries Johnny and Suzie lost last year, take that vacuum and clean up. Or not...your choice really.

8.) Okay now that it's all nice and clean again you should see a nice metal plate with 6-8 phillips head screws in it. Take out the screwdriver and remove all of them, then pry the plate up-gently mind you so that you don't damage the gasket underneath.

9.) You should see 2-3 plugs now arranged like this





Unplug the "FLOAT" plug and take a look-see. It should have 3 wires going into it and be orange/red-ish. Take that paperclip you should have and bend it out so you have a nice long u-shaped metal piece and stick each end in the two connector ends

xxxxxx=Paperclip end in here
yyyyy=DON'T TOUCH

10.) Now stick the key in the ignition and turn it ON. Your little yellow low fuel light should come on & the fuel gauge should drop like a rock towards "E"

11.) MAKE SURE YOU TURN IT OFF BEFORE IT HITS THE BOTTOM (BELOW E) OR IT COULD GET STUCK THERE

12.) If everything works the way it should-order a new float and use that 10mm ratchet to pull out the 6-8 10mm bolts holding the float unit in place. Replace it, and plug it in-do a quick check to ensure it is sending properly. If that light doesn't light up you have a wiring problem-have fun taking it to a mechanic and having them trace it.

13.) Enjoy having a properly working fuel gauge and low fuel light.

EDIT: WILL UPDATE WITH PICS ONCE I GET CAR BACK FROM SHOP