Minor Problems...Maybe...

rodenta1031 · #1 10-31-2006, 05:59 PM

Well, i recently bought a 1990 Plymouth Laser for $500 with 105,000 miles and i'm very pleased with it, and it seems to be doing alright. Im not sure if these are actually problems but i guess someone can probably answer them.

First, when i have my blinkers on, when im turning, i hear 2 clicks when i turn the wheel. Its like it clicks at quarter turn, then half turn. Its pretty annoying as it sounds like somethings cracking or breaking, and i can kind of feel it in my hands. Maybe its supposed to be like this im not sure, but i don't think it was like this the first day i got it, although i cant recall exactly.

The second problem is regarding gas mileage. It seems to be running through gas quite quickly as after like 5 miles of driving it seems to me like I can tell that it has gone down on the gauge. Im going to start trying to calculate the mileage im getting but i havent done that yet. Also, Ive heard these have 15.8 gallon gas tanks, but at the empty point, it actually has 3 gallons of gas in the tank, basically so if you fill up at empty you should fill up around 12.8 gallons of gas. I haven't tried this yet, but im guessing it might be right. Also, so that would mean each quarter of the guage would be around 3.2 gallons. If you fill up completely and you get around 25mpg then it should get you around 320 miles to empty since that should be around 12.8 gallons. From what it looks like, i had half a tank, and im halfway between empty and a quarter tank and i think ive only gotten 60 miles so far, so im hoping to test the whole MPG on the car soon. What could be causing the poor gas mileage, ive heard something about the O2 sensor maybe?

Thanks,
Dylan

gthompson97 · #2 10-31-2006, 07:06 PM

Have you done a tune-up to it yet? How long did it sit for? It could have bad gas in it and need a bad tune up. Plugs, air filter, fuel filter, oil change, and possibly new plug wires.

MishaA · #3 10-31-2006, 07:33 PM

Fuel gauges are NOT even remotely precise devices. They are there just for a raw reference. To more or less acurately evaluate your mileage you need to fill your tank up completely until pump shuts off, reset the trip counter, and drive the car until almost empty. Than come to the same pump and fill it up till shut off one more time. Take the number of your trip counter and divide it by the number on the pump meter. This method gives you the most accurate mileage estimate without special equipment.

gthompson97 · #4 11-01-2006, 02:51 AM

A fuel gauge may not be exact, or even close, but if he's got only 60 miles on the odometer and has less than 1/4 tank, something is obviously wrong.

rodenta1031 · #5 11-01-2006, 04:38 AM

Does anyone know anything about the blinkers? Its pretty annoying, and it only happens when the blinkers are on and im turning...

MishaA · #6 11-01-2006, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gthompson97

A fuel gauge may not be exact, or even close, but if he's got only 60 miles on the odometer and has less than 1/4 tank, something is obviously wrong.

On one of my cars it takes about 200 miles for fuel gauge to travel half way from full, and about 100 miles for the rest of it...

gthompson97 · #7 11-01-2006, 10:44 AM

That's because your tank isn't a perfect geometric square, it will have different readings for different lengths traveled because it's larger on the top than on the bottom. Ya read me?

Rodenta, try pulling of the steering column cover and see if there's anything broken inside.

MishaA · #8 11-01-2006, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gthompson97

A fuel gauge may not be exact, or even close, but if he's got only 60 miles on the odometer and has less than 1/4 tank, something is obviously wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MishaA

On one of my cars it takes about 200 miles for fuel gauge to travel half way from full, and about 100 miles for the rest of it...

Quote:

Originally Posted by gthompson97

That's because your tank isn't a perfect geometric square, it will have different readings for different lengths traveled because it's larger on the top than on the bottom. Ya read me?

Assuming your last quote is in reply to my last post, yes I read you. But cant understand how to put together two of your posts on the matter. The numbers I gave are pretty close to the numbers rodenta gave, why are you giving two different answers?

l_eclipse_l · #9 11-01-2006, 02:24 PM

The fuel gauge in these cars is notoriously bad, even compared to other cars. It is not accurate whatsoever. Get some real mileage numbers like the procedure explained earlier by MishaA, and go from there. I'm guessing the mileage is not as horrible as you think.

With the blinker thing, I have no idea. It could be a piece of plastic inside the steering column rubbing or broken like gthompson said. Does it still happen if you do a hard turn without using your blinker?

Mikelb · #10 11-01-2006, 03:37 PM

when I turn my wheel to the left or right (with blinkers on) I hear the same clicking. It's not really loud and I believe it to just be the contraption that turns the blinkers off when you straighten the wheel. If you're only hearing it with the blinkers on, I'm guessing that's what it is.

and by blinkers, I'm assuming turn signals

rodenta1031 · #11 11-02-2006, 11:43 AM

Yea, thanks for all the replies, and yea i mean turn signals. It looks like you have the same thing as me, and i agree that i think it may have to do with the part that makes the blinkers turn off, although i dont think it is supposed to make the clicking. As one person said, maybe a piece is rubbing, or a piece broke off of it. And as for the gas mileage, im going to try to test that over the next few days. Thanks...

gthompson97 · #12 11-02-2006, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MishaA

Assuming your last quote is in reply to my last post, yes I read you. But cant understand how to put together two of your posts on the matter. The numbers I gave are pretty close to the numbers rodenta gave, why are you giving two different answers?

What? I didn't give 2 different answers. My first 2nd post was concerning rodenta's problem, my 3rd post was according to your post. How is that not hard to understand?

MishaA · #13 11-03-2006, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gthompson97

What? I didn't give 2 different answers. My first 2nd post was concerning rodenta's problem, my 3rd post was according to your post. How is that not hard to understand?

Huh? OK, trying to rephrase.

Rodenta was concerned with his mileage because his fuel gauge was moving too fast, as he thought.

I replied that fuel gauges are not accurate, and he does not need to worry until he measures his mileage more or less accurately.

You replied, that based on the fuel gauge behavior, you think “something is obviously wrong”.

I replied with an example of one of my cars being perfectly OK despite of very similar fuel gauge behavior.

You proceeded to explain to me that my car is OK, because of geometric parameters of my fuel tank – thanks, I knew this before.

Now, my question to you was:
What makes you thinking that my car is OK and rodenta’s car is NOT OK, despite of almost identical fuel gauge behavior?

gthompson97 · #14 11-03-2006, 10:56 AM

Although the fuel gauge in OUR cars (E/T/L) is not exactly accurate, I can say I've NEVER seen one that has been that far off, therefore leading me to believe that he has a very bad efficiency problem, which I have seen many times.

MishaA · #15 11-03-2006, 12:02 PM

See your point now

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