Have a 96 Dodge Grand Caravan ES which runs great. However, when gas tank is half full or less, the car will, only occasionally, lose power as if it is not getting gas. Every few minutes you can start it and limp along for a minute or two at 10 mph and then it will die again. As soon as I can get it to a gas station and fill tank, it runs fine again. And this only happens once in a while - say like once every couple months. Anyone know what is going on here?
One possibility is that there is a lot of sediment in the gas tank. It can clog the internal filter known as the gas sock. With a full tank there is enough hydrostatic pressure to allow fuel to enter the sock, but the flow is blocked at low levels. To correct, you have to remove and clean out the gas tank.
Hey thanks for that - interesting that the auto mechanics only solution was installing a new fuel pump - which to me didn’t sound like the right solution since the car runs fine most of the time. Is removing the fuel tank and cleaning a big job?
You may also have a plugged vent in your gas cap. When the vehicle experiences the problem again just loosen the gas cap. If it runs after that just buy a new gas cap.
You no longer have a vent in your cap, the tank and vapor recovery system are sealed to prevent gasoline vapors from escaping, The only vent that I know of is on top of the tank but I don’t know if it is replaceable. The next time is acts up, remove the cap and listen for air hissing into the tank. If you hear it , or if the car runs fine with the cap off, you do have a plugged vent and when the vacuum in the tank reaches a certain point it prevents the gas from flowing. The only cheap fix I can think of is probably illegal.
Hey I like the clogged vent idea , however, not sure that is it because the last time it happened I walked to the gas station with a 5 gal gas can, proceeded to put that in the car, and it wasn’t enough to get us going. And so the gas tank cap was open a sufficient amount of time to let air into the tanks but yet no go.