[MidnightTribute]

Ok so here is my problem... 2 weeks ago I drove my tribute and it was less then a quarter tank on gas (I usually never let it go below this but I was running late and made the stupid choice not to fill up... I know, I know...) So anyways, I went back to school, and the truck was left parked at home on a slight incline, my parents then took the truck out for a drive about one week after I parked it. They said it had a very rough idle, and was extremely low on gas (possibly due to the incline making the gas flow to one side of the tank?) and the check engine light was on. So they took it easy and filled it up asap. They drove it once more 2 days later, the idle was a bit better but the check engine light was still on. I came back home again today after about 3 weeks, it has sat ever since they last drove it, which was about two weeks ago like I said. I went to see what was up, and the engine light is still on, the idle is not really that bad, so I need any ideas here... One neighbor said could be the fuel filter, since it may have run out of gas, hence the light. Another friend said a rough idle could be the result of bad spark plugs, or a O2 sensor... I'm going to run an OBD2 reader tomorrow to see if it shoots any codes. But just as help anyone have any ideas? Is this fuel related or just a bad coincidence? I really appreciate any help here, thanks in advance!

 

[CrashNburn]

you get sediment in the bottom of your tank, and sometimes if you let the gas get a bit too low your pump will suck it out. i would change the filter, reset the code, and see what happens from there.

 

[Squishy]

I keep hearing that, but I don't see how it happens. Your fuel pump sucks from the bottom anyways, so fluid level should have no effect on whether sediments get sucked up.

The code may be a direct result of the rough idle (misfire code). Not much we can do until you get the code read.

 

[MidnightTribute]

Ok well thanks for the info for now, I will get the code tomorrow night and find out its meaning, then go from there. My only reasoning for the sediment would be the fact that the truck was parked on an incline, so if the fuel was on one side of the tank, the truck was started up, and the fuel pump started to work, it may have had a time before it got the gas, I have no real evidence of this, I am just taking a educated guess. I'm hoping it's not a misfiring problem, or at least continuous. Thanks for the help thus far, I shall post back tomorrow with what I learn. And I realize that I asked a question to which could have many answers without fully knowing the situation, I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this, but thanks for now and I will be back with info!

 

[Squishy]

On the incline, was the truck facing up or down?

You can reset the computer by pulling the battery cables for a minute or so. That should reset the code, and the light will stay off if it was just a problem from low fuel. If the problem still exists, the light should come back on after a bit of driving.

 

[MidnightTribute]

Thanks, I never considered that! To be completely honest I forget whether it was pointing up or down, I think it may have been up... I appreciate the help, I will try that tomorrow and then if the problem persists I will run for codes. Thanks again! Major help!

 

[Scooter Scott]

Autozone will read your codes for free...I would go and get the code read regardless.

 

[MidnightTribute]

I'm going to run it for codes tonight, when my friends brings me his OBD2 reader, but I did disconnect the battery, and went for a drive and the light went off. So we shall see, thank you all very much for the help and very fast responses!

 

[Blood Junkie]

You've forgotten the golden rule of motoring.

Never let your parents drive your car. :doh:

 

[MidnightTribute]

You've forgotten the golden rule of motoring.

Never let your parents drive your car. :doh:

hahahah too true...

Anyways I drove it a bit today and the light stayed off, but something is still off since it has a lack of power between like 1000-2500 rpm, and at low rpm omits a odd smell, and makes a shuddering noise, so like I said I'm going to run for codes tonight and I'm going to pick up a new fuel filter tonight just as a precaution, thanks again guys! Really appreciate the support!

 

[MidnightTribute]

Ok well I scanned.... got the code P0153, which looks like it means Oxygen Sensor Circuit Slow Response (Bank2, Sensor1), http://www.obd-codes.com/p0153 so yeah... I guess this is not as easy of a fix as I had hoped... oh well thanks alot for all the help!