Dumb question, but I don't have an owner's manual. Wondering if my SR5 86 4Runner has a low fuel light. I got all the way down to E today on the guage. No light ever came on and I was sweating how much farther I could go.

 

i am almost 99.9% certain they do not have a low fuel light. If they do then that means the bulb was burned out in both my 85 and 86 trucks cause i ran out ALOT and there was no light to greet me.

 

My 89 has a low fuel light...can't speak for 86 models. It has to go a ways on E before it comes on mine.

 

My 86 has a low fuel light...it's on right now

 

hahaha my 87 didnt have a low fuel lights and it was an sr5

 

Pic??
I don't recall my '86 SR5 having one

 

Maybe just the bulb? Mine is an sr5 too. If I remember I'll snap a pic when I get home. It's kind of creepy how it slowly lights up while you drive lol.

 

my 93 has the bulb and "lens" to the gauge, but it's never come on (and i have run out of gas before). i checked the bulb, it's fine.

my guess is it has to do with the sending unit somehow...

 

My 86' ext. cab has a low fuel light, my 87' 4Runner does too. Both are SR5.

 

Both of my '88's have it and one is an SR5 the other a DLX

 

All of the SR5 clusters with a tach have the low fuel light in the cluster, now to determine if your vehicle had that option or not check the gauge sending unit on your fuel tank, if it has 3 wires then your truck has the low fuel light option, if it only has 2 wires then your truck does not have this option. My 86 reg cab was an SR5 model came with the factory sunroof, overhead map lights and sliding rear window. It also has the low fuel light and it works.

 

Cool...I traded my '86 4runner in back in 90 so it has been awhile..

 

The one in my '90 pickup will come on just before the last mark, turn off after a while, and then come back on about 5-10 miles later. Does it every time. Is this a 'this is your final warning' type of thing or just a worn spot in the switch. Don't really care enough to pull the bed and test it, just curious if anyone knows.

 

Mine has one. It come on and off as the gas sloshes around in there. I usually have 3-5 gallons left when it comes on.

 

I should mention that when it comes back on the second time, it stays on until I fill it back up. What's weird is it stays off for a good 5-10 miles of driving before coming back on the second time, which makes me think it's not just the gas sloshing around. It's done it since I bought it in 2004 and I've put over 100k miles on it since then. Based on the FSM testing procedure, there's really no way to tell if the switch was engineered to give first and second warnings or if it's just a worn spot.



I don't really care but it would be cool if someone actually knew the answer to this.

 

Mine comes on with about 10% fuel left. It lights up slowly, and the gauge is pretty well bottomed out when it comes on (it's past the bottom bar, and is pretty well touching E). Mine is an '86.

I try not to run it there frequently anyway, as it's apparently bad for the pump.

 

My theory is that the fuel pump is cooled by the fuel it is submerged in. If you run the tank low a lot then the life of the pump would shorten from the excess heat. But again, that's just my theory. Also if you run it dry there is a chance the pump will suck up some trash from the bottom of the tank. Also reducing the life.

 

It ended up taking 12.6 gallons. How big is the tank?

 

17.2 gallons..you had a little wiggle room. What was your gauge reading?

 

It had just reached E