My low fuel light begins to blink once in awhile. Generally it starts when I'm idling for a couple of minutes, but not always. It has never started blinking while just cruising down the street. The manual says that it's an air leak in the fuel system? While it was still under warranty, I took it in tot he dealer and i was told that my fuel cap was loose. I bought a new fuel cap thinking the gasket was shot on the old one, but that didn't fix the problem. I've replaced the fuel filter and checked all connections and nothing seems to be loose. Anyone had a similar problem?

Thanks,
Ultrajim
1998 C230 (love it)

Does this happen with the tank full?

The blinking low fuel light is telling you that the car has just failed the EVAP test for a large leak. The fault code is P0455. The gas cap could be loose, or the purge valve may have failed. There are a number of possible problems. The reason the light blinks only when the car is idling is simple. The self-test for a large leak is performed only when the car is idling at a stand-still. Also, the test only occurs if the fuel tank is between 1/4 and 3/4 full.

Over the last 18 mos my entire evap system has had to be replaced thanks to the components failing. Both valves, both fuel sensors and the gas gap. Next time something in the system breaks I'm yanking the bulbs for the CEL and the low fuel warning. We don't have e-tests here, thankfully...

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

Thanks for the replies so far. I haven't really paid attention to how full the tank is when the light comes on, but I did fill up this morning. I'll pay attention today when I go home. I saw another thread from some time ago about possibly the charcol canister going bad? I need to get this fixed as we do have emissions checks here in the Salt Lake City area, otherwise I'd not worry about it. I'd rather do it myself since I'm not a big fan of the local MB dealership.

I've paid a little more attention to when the fuel light starts blinking. As stated by another user, it only comes on when the tank is between 3/4 and 1/4 full. The other thing I have noticed is that it comes on more readily when the day is hot. Here in Utah, the afternoon temps have been in the 98-102 range lately. The light comes on when I go home from work in the afternoon (yesterday temp was 101), but when I go to work in the morning, it never comes on (temp around 70-75). BTW, where is the purge valve located?
Thanks

I think that should still be under warranty since you first reported it while it was under warranty. Also, I believe federal law gives an extended warranty for emissions related components. Can anyone confirm that?

Mike

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

are you referring to the purge valve in the hood that has MOT written on it ?
I have the same low fuel light blinking issue with my 00 E430. only added isssue is now I can't seem to fill up gas. the pump keeps stopping as if I have a full tank of gas even when the tank is nearly empty. takes a lot of tries to finally fill up gas.
I've also read some posts where the shut off valve on top of canister was causing this.
which should I replace first ? the purge valve with MOT ? (I've already cleaned it and it does tick/work) or the canister shut off valve ?
Some posts suggest that I could have fuel in the canister. Would fuel in the canister cause the P0455 code and also rough idle when can is running on normal temperature (engine hot not cold like recently started).
thanks in advance.

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Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.