Oh dear

BP is the only one who guarantees their fuel. Hope everything is OK.
Cheers Pete

I dread that hope its as easy as a new filter.

G'day VickiW

The warning light coming on can mean a few things.

A build up of water up to the sensing point in the fuel filter body and that would then require draining, so the warning light goes out. Best to get a new filter fitted if that happens as the dewatering capacity of the filter will now be almost nil.

The filter may have clogged and is causing a restriction to normal flow rate. This is detected and lights the light too.
The filter may have clogged because of a lot of contaminants suddenly introduced via the fuel you purchased OR it has built up over time and the filter has slowly become clogged and now too clogged. Therefore the light.

The other reason for the light is, if dealer serviced, the filter may not have been periodically replaced or in fact ever replaced at the correct service interval.
This is quite common. Some new vehicles have not received a fuel filter replacement at all and this is not good. However, most show on log books as having been replaced.

Your filter should have a drain on it and if you crack open the drain, water should come out IF water is present.
If no water or very little then it could be the clogged scenario by rubbish or lack of due filter replacement.
A service centre "with integrity" will be able to determine the fault and correctly report to you.

PS. May not be related to the independent around the corner at all.

Ross M

I have had three incidents regarding contaminated fuel. 1. 2006 Navara 2.5 diesel...engine light came on. Checked filter & replaced same. Water. Car was fine after that. 2. NP diesel Pajero NO Light on vehicle just stopped......fault ....owner put $20 of unleaded into diesel fuel tank which was showing low fuel light.....vehicle shuddered to a stop.....put 60 ltrs of diesel into vehicle no problems until hot weather,put a/cond on & at idle vehicle idled rough nearly stalling.....diagnosis....damaged injector pump....replacement $5500!! I thought I had contaminated fuel....only contamination was in owners brain!!! Ha Ha. 3. NT Pajero, vehicle just stopped ......dirty fuel.....told by Mitsubishi dealer if that's the case YOU PAY for damage caused by dirty fuel then try & prove your case with fuel company.....many thousands of $$$$ involved with repair......luckily blocked filter...replaced same vehicle OK. Regarding different brands & I am not rubbishing any company here but I have been told that fuel is being bought into this country by companies from Singapore & in particular Caltex fuel there are two qualities of same...local & overseas. I don't know if anyone has experienced problems with cheap promotional fuel from one of these servos (spend $70 & get 18 cents a litre off fuel) but for safety sake and considering past experiences maybe our local refineries are worth considering ie Mobil & Shell & leave all the discounters alone

Hi Vicki
I asked the question on this forum not long ago about picking up dirty fuel and someone suggested buying the "Mr Funnelman fuel filter" i am yet to get one but they look and sound the go. I think they are at BCF, they have different flow rates, so will be able to fill up quick. In regards to try and claim on where you picked up dirty fuel, you would have to be using the same supplier or company each time, because lets say you fueled up at Caltex then a BP either one would argue who had the dirty fuel. I heard of a guy picking up dirty fuel costing him $$$$$$ and the car company, the fuel company and the filter company all tried to put the blame on each other, but no one would accept responsibility. How could he prove which one caused the prob, without a big case and more money!

Hi Vicki,
Its not only the independents
I sample my fuel often – with a Mr Funnel.
That is I pump about 5 to 10 litres through the funnel into a Jerry can.
I then empty what’s left in the bottom of the funnel into a clear bottle and examine it.
Been using it for about 12 months and after sampling fuel at bowsers in a lot of shoddy looking roadhouses and country towns around WA - I found the most polluted to be my Shell service station in Perth.

According to the dealer, dirt (from fuel) in the fuel filter requiring the filter be replaced.
They said normally the fuel filter in the 76 isn't replaced as it has a reservoir beforehand (the filter before the filter?) that is emptied at servicing.
The said it may be fine from now on, or if there is a lot more dirt in the tank the problem could re-occur in which case they need to take the tank out.... yuk

Anyway, I now have the choice, to try & run it low until holidays to see if the problem re-occurs or do the opposite. Since holidays are in 2 weeks think I will take option 2 until I get back. Think I need to work out how to check this pre-filter-filter reservoir in the meantime though.

Now, focus on holiday - south coast beach trip yay! Maybe this time I will work out how to use the Blog.
Cheers,
Vicki